My name is Marigona, and I am doing my Master studies at the University of Arkansas in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). I am from Kosovo, a country located in Southeastern Europe, in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula. The country is surrounded by beautiful mountains and has the youngest population in Europe. When I first came to Fayetteville in August 2014, I heard people saying, “Fayetteville is a great place to call home.” Little did I understand this saying back then, but today, I can say without a doubt that Fayetteville has become my second home.
Getting to finish my master studies at the University of Arkansas is among one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I believe that just like a child learns from their parents’ behavior more than from their advice, student teachers learn from their professors’ actual methods more than from what they teach. Hence, just the observing of well-qualified and wonderful professors at the University of Arkansas has been an incredible learning experience for me towards becoming an excellent teacher.
There are always opportunities to get engaged with extra-curricular activities at the University of Arkansas. Before I chose the University of Arkansas, I was interested to hear first-hand experiences to understand the anxiety that most of the international students face. This made me passionate, and want to apply for the position of an International Student Ambassador. In addition, there are always events that are taking place on campus, and you can even initiate in organizing one. I personally proposed to organize a Movie Night where we could screen the short film Shok, an Oscar nominee, which is based on true events that have happened during the Kosovo War in the late ’90s. Pi Gamma Mu, a student organization, was happy to host the screening of the film.
