Saints Around the World: Copenhagen, Denmark

Marina Ghaly '27 wasn't interested in studying abroad. She wanted to stay right here, on campus, with her best friends. But when her best friends decided to spend this fall in Denmark...

It was just a carpet. Technically, it was only a piece of a carpet and no longer suitable as floor covering. It wasn't hard to think of it as trash, but Marina was forced to think of it as something else. Welcome to improv.

"I hate presentations. Doing anything like that in front of people is outside of my comfort zone. So this was way outside my comfort zone."

This semester, Marina is studying at DIS Copenhagen, a Denmark university catering to college students from North America. Marina, a biology student who is enrolled in Siena's Albany Medical College program, filled her schedule with core courses and electives. The most interesting course has been positive psychology.

For one assignment, the class was required to take an improv class, which was an all-new and entirely frightening experience for Marina. The students were given the carpet fragment and told to do... something, anything.

"So I pretended I was flying on a magic carpet. Every 30 seconds we had to switch topics. It was actually a lot of fun. It shows that your classmates aren't going to judge you. You can explore your thoughts in a really freeing way."

It's just one of the many lessons and unforgettable memories Marina nearly didn't make. At Siena, the Queens native enjoys the convenience of being a less than three-hour drive from home. She figured four months away from her family was a non-starter, plus, she didn't want to spend a semester separated from her friends. But it was her friends who put that loyalty to the test.

Last spring, the friend group traveled to Europe on spring break and made their way to Denmark. They all fell in love with Copenhagen, and Marina's friends decided to go back this fall as students. Marina had a decision to make. Stay here or... go for it.

"That would be my advice to anyone else who is in my position and thinks there are reasons not to do it. I realize it can be hard to leave what's familiar behind, but you learn so much about yourself when you study abroad."

For example, Marina has taught herself how to cook. It's a life skill she would have kicked into the future as long as she was dining daily on Siena's meal plan. Spaghetti and grilled chicken may not be gourmet, but it's progress she's proud of. That's true for cooking and magic carpet rides.

"I want to go into pediatrics and work with children. Kids have such amazing imaginations. Maybe the improv class will help me relate to them?"

As for the fear of homesickness? Marina's mom and cousins visited two weeks ago and they took a family cruise to Greece, Italy, and Croatia. Every great adventure begins with the decision to "go for it."