Meet Samah Ali, an international student studying journalism at Marquette University for the Fall 2011 semester. I met Samah after having two classes with her this semester and thought other people should learn about some of the wonderful people that come to Marquette  just for a semester. Samah is exploring the future of digital journalism and taking advantages of the many opportunities Marquette offers while studying here.

Hometown: Bahrain, Egypt

Major: Multimedia Journalism

Minor: Art

Interests: Trying out new restaurants, volunteer teaching, traveling and exploring different cities.

Place of Residence:  Campus Town (with other international students)

What’s your favorite thing about Marquette so far?
I love the campus. It’s a small city. I also like that it’s in Wisconsin. Everyone back home that I’ve talked to has been surprised that I chose Wisconsin but I think this place has a lot to offer.

How long will you be staying at Marquette?
Unfortunately, just for a semester.

What is the hardest part about being an international student?

I don’t think it’s hard to adapt to new places if you’re with someone familiar. But I guess the hardest part as an international student would be to meet new people in a new place when you’re all alone. Sometimes I regret choosing this university over the one next to New York where all my friends are clustered around but I take this as a challenge. I’ve stayed too long relying on old friends so part of choosing this university is to work on things on my own.