Name: Senada Gusic-Topalovic
Majors: Global Studies, Political Science
Minors: Human Rights & Humanitarian Affairs, German
Hometown: Sarajevo, Bosnia
Year at UNL: Senior
Favorite dish/food and why:
I don’t think I can narrow it down to just one. I love trying as many new foods as I can. I think food is the heart of every culture and every ingredient is as unique as the places I’ve visited.
Why Global Studies?
I started my college career with only Political Science as my major. I quickly realized that the world is incredibly intertwined and that Global Studies would help me understand many of the political issues a little better. I’ve enjoyed all the classes that the major has offered because they’ve taught me new perspectives of the world that I hadn’t thought of before. I think if more people took the opportunity to learn understand each other, many of the current issues we face today could be settled easier. I think the best advice I can have for new Global Studies majors is to have fun and to understand that learning and questioning the world never stops with this major. The Global Studies major, for me, is all about exploration of the world, and there is nothing more fun than that.
Tell us about your study abroad/internship experience.
During spring 2016 I had the wonderful opportunity to study abroad in Berlin, Germany. There I met incredible people from all over the world that made the experience even that much more unforgettable. There, I took intensive German learning courses as well as a German History class. Of course I enjoyed the days where we practiced our speaking through current event presentations and overall globalization. I got connected with a refugee orphanage and spent my free weekdays with the kids which gave me a humbling opportunity to see what some only read about in the news. During the weekends I was lucky enough to travel around Europe with friends I’ve made, coming to a total of 10 countries. In the course of only a few months, I’ve been exposed to so much of the world, both the good and the bad.
What are you post-graduation plans? That’s the million dollar question! Though I’m still not completely sure about the career path I’ll take, I know one thing for sure: I’ll never stop exploring.