Students taking part in the Milan Program stand outside the venue for the Opening Ceremony at the Milan Winter Olympics on Feb. 6. The group went just two days after they landed in Italy. Photo courtesy of Hanna Susak
This semester, 18 students from Pepperdine’s Communication Division traveled to Milan, Italy, where they are watching the 2026 Winter Olympic Games and learning how the events are advertised and planned.
Communication Professor Sarah Stone Watt and Adjunct Advertising Professor Ben Price will oversee the students for the six-week program.
“We created a unique study abroad program that emphasizes advertising and integrated marketing communication to get students behind the scenes at the Olympics, where they learn about intercultural communication, advertising, marketing and ethics all by seeing it happen in real time,” Watt said.
Hanna Susak, senior Integrated Marketing and Communications (IMC) major, said having a majority of either IMC or Advertising majors makes the learning experience even more valuable. The group arrived in Milan on Feb. 4 and attended the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
“It was the most moving thing I have ever experienced — just like to see all the different countries walk out and display their pride, as well as being an event that is so unifying in so many different ways,” Susak said. “There’s just so much going on in the world and for everyone to come together and be in Milan for this event was truly touching, and it is unlike any kind of ceremony I have seen on TV before.”
Dramatic lighting effects illuminate the stadium during the Opening Ceremony in Milan on Feb. 6, marking the start of the 2026 Olympics. Susak said students were able to attend together and experience the moment. Photo courtesy of Hanna Susak
Susak said Pepperdine is unique in the abroad opportunities it offers students — ones that can change lives and enhance future career opportunities.
“Everyone in this program is so grateful and so conscious that this is so out of the ordinary,” Susak said. “We have had so many people come up to us and be like, ‘Wow, you’re so lucky,’ and what is great is that we all know how lucky we are and it makes us want to work so much harder.”
Hung Le, senior vice chancellor of Human Resources at Pepperdine, said the once-in-a-lifetime experience is one of the best Pepperdine has to offer. Le was involved in the “send-off” event in Malibu that took place hours before the program’s departure, where professors gathered to celebrate the participating students.
“It was really neat to get the partners from across campus together and bless our students before they go abroad,” Le said. “This program is drawing on resources from throughout the University and so we are so excited just to see how many people are really involved in this.”
The Curriculum
The Milan Program’s application was due in January 2025. The application required a short video detailing why students would benefit from the six-week program, as well as their GPA and transcript. Since last January, students said they have been working hard preparing, learning about the history of the Olympic Games and how they are usually publicized.
Pepperdine seniors Madisyn Fish (left) and Hanna Susak (right) pick up their Team USA Olympic jackets. The two are roommates at Pepperdine’s housing in Milan. Photo courtesy of Hanna Susak
Additionally, students said the program offers major-specific courses such as Advertising 490, Communication 400, and some GEs. The student group is split, with some students being juniors and some seniors graduating this spring. Seniors said they had to be particularly adamant about getting specific courses to fulfill graduation requirements last year and last semester so they could be intentional about what courses they took in Milan.
“A lot of the classes that we are taking took a pause while we are here,” Susak said. “The professors who came with us and the directors of the program are continuing their classes with us. It’s a lot heavier in Malibu, and then a little bit lighter in Milan in some ways, and then heavy again once we’re back.”
Students said the trip is not only fostering academic learning, but is also helping them learn about cultures from around the world, creating a tight bond among the group.
“I really did not know majority of the people that well in this program,” senior IMC major Madisyn Fish said. “This program has 100% bonded us. Everyone in the program is really driven and motivated, I think we all have very similar work ethics, which makes it nice.”
Fish said one of her most memorable experiences with the program was going to a tour of the Duomo and walking around the Galleria in Milan with the other students. The tour was immersive and seeing advertisements for the Olympics in person helped them understand how the games were actually promoted.
“Doing that as a program and experiencing kind of those really big landmarks of Milan all together was really cool because yes, we are seeing the city itself, but also every corner we would take, we saw advertising about the Olympics,” Fish said.
Community Impact
Fish and Susak said the knowledge and professional experience of their professors, as well as meetings with marketing and advertising executives who have worked on previous Olympics, make them more invigorated. Some guest speakers even worked with the Pepperdine International Programs for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
From left to right: Senior Kira Mish, Olympian Merrill Moses, senior Zayd Salahieh, Olympian Terry Schroeder and senior Danica Monfort pose with Olympic medals Feb. 3. The students were able to see these at their “send off” before leaving for Italy. Photo courtesy of Pepperdine
Price, who is also a Pepperdine Athletics Board Member, said the Olympics offers an experience where people from across the globe can join together and find their commonalities.
“It is the largest global event and to be a part of it, to witness it, there is no better place for students who are learning this business and learning advertising and marketing,” Price said. “You get to do it in a place that brings the whole world together, given the divisiveness, not only that we have in our country but also globally. It is a really unique opportunity.”
Price also said Kelsey Ramsey, an alumna of the Pepperdine Paris Program, is currently working to manage influencer partnerships and Team USA apparel at Barefoot Dreams, the clothing store she creates brand content for.
Susak said forming these connections is another part of what makes the program appealing.
“We have been fortunate enough to have a lot of guest speakers that Professor Price, who previously worked at NBC Universal, has in his contacts,” Susak said. “We had some past Olympians, some past Olympian coaches, and some people from the Paris program talk as well.”
Price said meeting major sponsors from the Olympic Games has encouraged stronger student engagement within the program.
“Some of them are Delta Airlines, Airbnb, Coca-Cola and hearing, ‘How does it work as a large marketing tool for them?'” Price said. “Most people experience the Olympics on a TV screen or mobile device. We are experiencing completely immersively.”
Price also said the students met with the International Broadcasting Center (IBC) to look at how they produce the games and provide specific programming for the United States.
Ken Hanscom, a Pepperdine alumnus who is on the Board of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation, is attending the games and plans to help educate students on marketing relationships toward the end of the program.
“He is going to come to our reception toward the end of the program in Milan with other members of the foundation so we can continue to learn about partnerships and how athletes get supported,” Watt said.
The program, Watt said, is also working to bridge the gaps between communication majors and athletics on campus.
Milan Program students pose at the Olympic Ice Rink on Feb. 11. Watt and Price say students learn about athletics marketing through event participation and advertiser connection. Photo courtesy of Pepperdine
“The other great thing is that this group gets a sense they are building on the legacy that athleticists have already created with the Olympics, so we go down to Firestone Fieldhouse to hear from Pepperdine Olympians and go to games,” Watt said. “I think bridging the academic stuff that happens up the hill with the athletic stuff that just tends to be physically distant has built some community in our group.”
Le said this opportunity not only serves involved students, but is also a way to draw people together from across the Pepperdine community.
“We can integrate different aspects of the University together to enhance the learning process,” Le said. “Getting to physically see our partners and to understand all that is going on for this thing to happen, it really adds to what they have experienced and what they are about to experience.”
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Contact Kaiya Treash by email: kaiya.treash@pepperdine.edu