Senior Charlotte Marvin will begin her college experience in Greece.  Specifically, she will study in Thessaloniki, Greece at the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT) through the N.U.in Program at Northeastern University.  Charlotte’s deep admiration for Greek culture and desire to explore the world inspired her to spend her first semester abroad.

Thessaloniki is a city located in Northern Greece. Through N.U.in, first-year students can take classes internationally while fulfilling Northeastern’s core requirements.  After the fall semester, Charlotte will return to Boston, Massachusetts to study at Northeastern’s main campus.  The N.U.in Program is meant to ease the adjustment to college life and provide students with an enriching first semester.  The program also aims to create an environment that encourages the development of social awareness and respect for different cultures.

Student life abroad focuses on community-building and forging connections with peers.  Charlotte will study alongside other Northeastern students and participate in bonding experiences such as boat tours and cooking competitions, according to nuin.northeastern.edu.  While Charlotte is currently undecided in her major, she will take classes in Greek architecture, culture, and mythology to better understand Greece.

In preparation to study abroad, Charlotte is learning to speak Greek and studying Greek architecture.  She is excited to visit other European countries while abroad.  She plans to explore Athens, Greece, the Greek Islands, Italy, and the United Kingdom while in Europe.  As a sophomore, Charlotte participated in the Network Exchange program at Sacred Heart Greenwich and looks forward to visiting her exchange student in Barcelona, Spain.

Charlotte found the inspiration to go abroad through different avenues.  After watching movies like Mamma Mia (2008) and Monte Carlo (2011), Charlotte realized she wanted to study in Europe.  Her longstanding interest in Greek mythology contributed to her desire to attend school in Greece.  Studying Greek mythology in middle school further ignited Charlotte’s passion for Greek culture.

Since then, Charlotte has articulated her desire to travel to Greece, which made choosing to participate in the N.U.in Program an easy decision.  Charlotte commented on the decision’s effect on her future plans.

“I chose to study abroad my first semester because I have always had this feeling of wanderlust that I needed fulfilled,” Charlotte said.  “My biggest dream at the moment for the next five years of my life is to see as much of the world as I can and I think studying abroad is the perfect way to do that.”

Two Sacred Heart teachers also inspired Charlotte to study abroad.  Miss Annette Etheridge, Middle School and Upper School Music Director, and Sra. Montserrat García, Upper School World Language Teacher and Network Exchange Coordinator, both served as inspiration for Charlotte.  Both Miss Etheridge and Sra. García planned to lead trips abroad before COVID-19 restrictions canceled their plans.  Miss Etheridge had hoped to travel with the Madrigals to Ireland and Sra. García was working to facilitate Charlotte’s exchange trip to Spain.  Since then, Charlotte has strived to fulfill her wish to discover new cultures.  While traveling, Charlotte believes that her Sacred Heart education will help her adjust to new environments.

“I think the Sacred Heart values will help me in my experience abroad because they have made me an emphatic and outgoing person who is open to not only speaking, but listening and learning from others,” Charlotte said.  “The [Sacred Heart] exchange program was just as influential in my wanting to spend lots of time abroad and awards from the usual United States experience.”

Featured Image by Isabella Nardis ’24