What is/are your major(s)?

Theatre and English

What is/are your minor(s)?

Sustainability, Leadership, and Spanish

What is the name of your study abroad program?

ISA: American College of Greece: Arts, Business, Liberal Arts & Sciences

In what city & country is your study abroad program located?

Athens, Greece

What is something you would like the blog readers to know about you that they wouldn’t know by just looking at you?

Many people wouldn’t know by looking at me that I absolutely love to read! On average, I read about 70 books a year and run an Instagram account to document all of my reads! (@riris.reads) I’m a member of my library at home in Pennsylvania and here in Denver which allows me to have access to e-books, physical books, and audiobooks, all of which I love!!

What is one thing that you are most anticipating about your study abroad experience?

I am very excited to see if there are any changes to my physical health when I go abroad. As someone who has a chronic illness, I have heard time and time again that traveling outside of the US can frequently help improve a multitude of health conditions and general well-being. I am hopeful that once I settle into my new routine there, I can learn what foods and practices make my body respond best so that I can bring these habits back to my life in college in the United States and anywhere else I end up traveling to in the future to be my healthiest, most energetic self!

Why did you decide to study abroad? or What inspired you to study abroad?

I wanted to study abroad because my degree programs are so flexible here at DU and I knew that it might be difficult for me to go abroad in the future because I will be completely financially independent and need to work on finding my footing in the job world! Right now, I am lucky enough to attend this school that has such a great international education program where I have found support from professors and mentors all over campus to make it a relatively smooth process. I wanted to take advantage of all of these opportunities while I had knowledgeable mentors to fall back on if I needed help while I was at DU or abroad, and this was a huge factor in why I decided to study abroad!