Meet Study Abroad Student Duncan Roskovensky

Duncan is a freshman at the University of Delaware who spent his first semester at JCU as a study abroad student. He is a Fashion Design and Innovation major with a new-found passion for traveling.

Tell us about your background.
I’m from Wilmington, Delaware. This is my first semester of college: I’m part of a program, back home, called World’s Scholars, which means I get to study abroad for my first year, and then again for my third year.

Duncan Roskovensky

How did you find out about your passion for fashion?
I am a very artsy person; I’ve always loved creating things. When I was little, I enjoyed building furniture with my dad, and I learned knitting and how to draw when I was very young. I love creating worlds and stories. When I was seven, I started designing my own characters, and at some point, I fell in love with designing their clothing. I would draw dresses and skirts and jewelry and then add more and more things. I slowly fell in love with this hidden-in-plain-sight part of our world: everyone wears clothes, but there is so much more to it than meets the eye. You can learn and understand a lot about a person from what they wear. It’s a small aspect of our lives, but it is so influential.

What made you decide to come here to JCU?
I was kind of struggling with where to apply for college because there aren’t many places to choose from if you want to study fashion. Some of these places are extremely rigorous, and I knew that if I had gone there, I might have fallen out of love with fashion. So, I decided on my in-state university, which actually has a very strong fashion program. But what really drew me in was the chance to go study abroad for a few months. When I got in, I had to choose between four international universities, and I eventually picked JCU. Rome is the perfect hub of history and fashion, and I fell in love with it before I even got here. 

Tell us about your experience as a study abroad student in Rome.
The stories I have of these three months… It’s a story in itself that I will take with me for the rest of my life. While I was here, I took advantage of Rome’s strategic position and traveled around Europe with my friends. But I particularly enjoyed exploring more of Italy through JCU’s travel programs, thanks to which I’ve been able to learn things that I would have probably never learned. I also loved going to Milan for Fashion Week in September with a friend.

When I came to study in Rome, I didn’t know anyone. Back in the States, I went to a very small high school. At first, I felt way out of my bubble. This way, I was able to push myself out there. I was alone at first, but now I have a multitude of friends and people I’m very happy to have met. With them, I had the opportunity to organize and plan our travels: book the tickets, deal with luggage and packing, and go to the airport all on my own. All of this really taught me a lot about myself. Until you’re out of high school, in your, let’s say, “individualized space,” you can’t really find out if you are capable of the responsibility and the maturity to do everything on your own. It’s been a very eye-opening and remarkable experience for me.

I graduated high school with a small class of about 70 people. Immediately after that, I had to adapt to life in a new university, on another continent, all on my own. I quickly realized I was miles and miles away from anything and anyone I knew. When I get back to the States, I will have to do it all over again in a new and bigger college. It’s exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time, but it’s like a journey. There’s always something new and exciting about to happen.

Tell us about your experience as a student at John Cabot University.
In only three months, I’ve learned so much. It’s just so inspirational that the professors have been able to do this in such a short amount of time – and they’ve done it so well, with a smile on their face and with a pep in their step. 

Do you have any advice to give to prospective study abroad students coming to JCU?
I would say, do it. I won’t lie, it’s going to be tough. You will struggle the first few weeks without your friends and family, but you will have many people in the same exact position as you. Apart from that, it’s such a wonderful experience to be able to study abroad, especially if you’re coming from the United States. Rome is full of history; you can learn so much here.

And JCU is the place to be. There is such a welcoming and understanding community here. I feel confident I am safe everywhere I go on campus: we have Resident Assistants we can trust, and security guards outside of every dorm who are nice and always say hello. In general, it’s a very safe space for students. There are going to be down times – it’s life, after all – but you will be able to get out of them thanks to this amazing community.

There’s so much life in Rome, and I got to live it fully. I was really lucky that I was given the opportunity to come here, and I am thankful for it every day, because I was able to experience so much, meet new people that I will love and cherish for the rest of my life.