Ciao, tutti! Hello! My name is Elyssa McMaster. I'm 23 years old and I'm from Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. Since childhood, some of my favorite activites on the lake have been kayaking, jetskiing, swimming, and tubing! I stayed in Virginia for college at Washington and Lee University. I double majored in computer science and art history with a minor in medieval and Renaissance studies.
I knew that I loved both computer science and art history, and I got to combine my two favorite subjects on my senior thesis project that I called "Florence + The Machine". The goal of my project was to analyze the ways that artificial intelligence can be used to better understand manuscript illuminations from the late 1300s. With this project in the works, I applied for and received a U.S. Student Fulbright grant to get hands-on experience with the objects I spent a year studying.
Right now, I live in Florence, Italy, and will visit locations across the city to continue my study of manuscript illuminations. I can't wait to hear about your school year during our time together and answer your questions about my time abroad! Let's go!
