Sunny Side Up

Sunny Strader has never been one to follow the crowd. Since her freshman year at DePauw just two years ago, Sunny has taken great strides in pursuing a life of her own and experimenting within different realms of what our university has to offer. Just last year she made it her goal to study abroad in Italy. After not getting in to an introductory Italian class (thanks, e-services) she e-mailed professors and worked relentlessly to make her schedule cohesive to her future plans. So, after she spent thirteen weeks in Italy this semester, imagine my surprise and utmost joy when I saw her back on campus today! Of course, I had to make Sunny this week’s campus celebrity.

HC: What are three things people don’t already know about you?

Sunny: Well, I’m pretty much an open book. I don’t try to hide myself from people, so I’d say if you know me you have a pretty good idea of who I really am. But some people may not know that six of my top front teeth are fake. Because of that I can only eat apples with my bottom teeth. Also, my first name is Meredith, but obviously I go by Sunny. My siblings are named Storm (who is a sophomore at DePauw) and Celestial (goes by Cece).

HC: Sunny, Storm and Celestial. Cool family. Moving on, what was your favorite thing about studying abroad?

Sunny: I mean this in the best way possible, but the greatest thing about studying in Italy was having time away from DePauw. There were days when I missed school and my friends so much, but it made me realize that there is so much to the world, and life is bigger than DePauw, you know? Obviously I’ll be glad to return next semester but I think spending time away is invaluable to any education.

HC: I agree. But it couldn’t have been perfect all the time. Did you run into any difficulties? What was your least favorite thing about studying abroad?

Sunny: Well, since I lived in a small town, there wasn’t a set “schedule” that businesses had to conform to, so stores and restaurants pretty much decided on their own when, or if, they would open on some days. So, simple things like running an errand was a chance because the storeowner may or may not have decided to open! Once, I walked all the way into town, but it had been raining so everything was closed….on another note, I’ve only been back for a day and people are referring to me as “Storm’s sister!” I’ve been gone for a few months and people are already associating me as someone’s sibling…I am SUNNY.

HC: With this in mind, what advice do you have for people planning on studying abroad?

Sunny: I actually plan on writing a huge article for The DePauw next semester on studying abroad so look out for that. I have a lot to say. But, if there’s one piece of advice that I should emphasize its that if you’re going to a country that speaks a foreign language, you must brush up on it beforehand. If you don’t, you’ll not only disrespect the culture and people, but you won’t be able to get around! Just taking a semester at school is not enough, either. You have to practice reading, speaking and thinking in a conversational style.

HC: Now that you’re back from Italy, where will you go next?

Sunny: I have a list. I really want to go to Poland and Argentina. I proved that I can do it (go abroad for a lengthy amount of time), so now I want to go everywhere!