As a teenager who had never lived outside her home city of Bacau
in eastern Romania, Raluca Dragusanu ’06 dreamed of traveling
and meeting people from other cultures. Studying in the United States
seemed like the perfect opportunity to gain a solid education and
a broad perspective on the world. “My experience at St. Lawrence
has offered me more than I had ever hoped for,” she says. “Contact
with American culture and so many other cultures through friendships
with other international students has taught me a great deal and
made me more aware of my own roots.”
Raluca is majoring in economics and mathematics and
has had so many campus activities it’s daunting to count: Investment
Club, student
government, Model UN fund-raising chair, student worker in Information
Technology, economics and German teaching assistant, modern languages department
intern, an assistant for the ODY Library Systems office, assistant in
the international and intercultural office.
After studying in Denmark through St. Lawrence’s program and working
in Austria, Raluca is becoming an expert in intercultural adjustment. “Getting
accustomed to a new culture is not easy, but the ‘storm’ an individual
faces opens the road to incredible enrichment and inner growth,” she says. “Now
it takes me less and less time and energy to get adjusted to new cultures.”
She hopes to work for an international organization such as the United
Nations, or for the European Union in economic development and policy. “I
dream of a job that would allow me to travel and experience new cultures,” she
says. “Through whatever I pursue I hope to make a difference
for the people back in Romania or in other developing countries. I
want to give back to the world at least as much as I have received.”
