Moira Gulden's Spotlight

Moira's Education Abroad Experience

"I chose to study with DIS because they offered courses in Scandinavia, which was somewhere I have both never been and always wanted to travel to. They also offered a variety of research courses, which as a biochemistry student, I was very interested in.

My most memorable moments studying abroad were the cultural interactions I had. There was one night I was coming back to Copenhagen on the train and I met three Danish men who sparked up a very interesting conversation with me about the US and how different it was to Denmark. This memory makes me smile every time I think about it. I will always remember their advice in the form of a Danish saying: "The only fun you have in life is the fun you make yourself." This idea encompasses my study abroad experience because I found myself having the most fun when I went out and made the best of every situation and explored.

Before my study abroad, I had never considered neuroscience as a field of interest to me; however, after taking a course and working with Danish researchers in the field, I have found a new passion for the brain and stem cells. Denmark is one of the leaders in stem cell research, so seeing what I could potentially be able to do after graduation was amazing, and definitely changed my perspective.

The biggest lesson I learned abroad was that every day does not have to have a task list to complete, and a productive day can be casually reading in a park and going for a walk. Scandinavians are excellent at work-life balance because they don't approach life as a task list, which is something that I have tried to practice in my own life. Feeling like there needs to be a plan or a list of things to do and see can often hinder your ability to enjoy where you are. So my advice is to wander, get lost, make a mistake, and laugh about it because those are the memories that you will hold near to you forever.

My advice is to semi-plan, but not plan, your time abroad. What I mean by this is make a list of places you want to see or do before you get to a city, but don't force yourself to see and do everything. Some of my favorite days were when I would wander, maybe with the intention of going to a specific place, but then spending the rest of the day wherever I ended up. I also would advise you to be adventurous. Before my time abroad riding the bus or train to commute was not something I was comfortable doing; however, after taking the multi-hour train and bus rides to visit different landmarks and countries, I am very comfortable with travel and transit."