Meron Berhanu
Year: Senior
Hometown: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia until 2002. Graduated from high school in Springfield, Va.
Major: International Global Studies with a minor in Spanish and Religious Studies
Career goal: To work as an ambassador for an international organization
‘I'm involved in so many things, I lose track sometimes’
“I liked SGA because it was a group of students who cared enough about VCU and their fellow students.”
“My favorite thing about VCU is that there is always something to do, over 200 organizations to be involved in. You are never bored.
“I became a student ambassador the second semester of my sophomore year. I liked it because I learned a lot about VCU. I got to interact with prospective students and parents, which helped me develop confidence when speaking to a large group of people.
“Being a student ambassador led to being involved with orientation, which led to being a Community Assistant, which is the same as an RA [resident assistant], which led back to orientation. It’s a great experience and I'm learning more about leadership skills. I love it, and the more I'm involved, the more I appreciate it here and what VCU has to offer.”
Making a difference
“I came to VCU because I had originally wanted to attend medical school. But I worked with the SGA [Student Government Association] and I liked it because it was a group of students who cared enough about VCU and their fellow students to make a difference and improve their college experience. SGA is government and I love seeing how things work.
“I recently applied to the Capital Semester. I was interested in it because I was involved in SGA. If I do decide to be involved in a governmental position, the experience would help out a lot.”
International influence
“There are over 70 languages in Ethiopia and I speak one. I spoke English before coming here. I went to an Indian school where we took classes in English. I had so many international friends who came from many different countries. I guess interacting with friends from different backgrounds at a young age impacted my decision to pursue international studies.
“I just officially changed majors my junior year to international studies. The classes I take are more interesting and this way I will be impacting more of the population. I’ll be spending the fall semester studying abroad in Seville, Spain. It will be pretty interesting to go and learn the culture.”
