She comes from Latvia, but she grew up surrounded by Polish culture. She knows what it's like to study abroad and wants to make it easier for people coming to WUST – that's why she is actively participates in the WUST Erasmus Student Network. She is finishing her master's degree at our Faculty and speaks seven languages. Arina Golubeva is our guest in the #JestemzPWr #JestemzWIT series.

Arina comes from Daugavpils (also known as Daugavpils), the second largest city in Latvia. She has Polish roots, and as her parents wanted her to maintain contact with Polish culture, they enrolled her and her siblings in a Polish school and also took them to the House of Polish Culture.

– This is where I learned Polish. That was also where my passion for learning languages started. I speak Polish, Latvian, Russian and English fluently. I also learned German, Spanish and French. In addition to learning languages, I play the cello – says our student.

Our speaker often visited Poland with her family, and when they were in Wrocław, she decided that this was the city she wanted to study in. She came from Latvia especially for the Open Days and started her studies under the NAWA scholarship. – I didn't experience any culture shock in Wrocław, although I admit that I was surprised by the scale of the celebration of Fat Thursday. By the queues to the pastry shop and the number of doughnuts eaten – she adds.

Arina learns foreign languages in her free time During the semester, when she has less time, she appreciates language classes held at the University. In addition, she spends almost every day in the Erasmus Student Network with students from abroad and always has the opportunity to learn new words from them.

– I have always been involved in social campaigns. I was looking for an organization where I could do something for people. Four years ago I joined the Erasmus Student Network, where I was responsible for organizing trips around Poland, integration meetings, and then campaigns to make Polish culture popular – says our guest.

Arina found the courage and soon became the chairwoman of the Erasmus Student Network. She represented ESN at, among others, Introduction Days and Student Activity Days. She has learned a lot. The organization's activities made students feel less lonely in a foreign country.

– To help other students adapt, I participated in many editions of the Buddy program. As a result, I have many friends from different countries, and we share a love for pierogi. I also had the chance to be on the other side when I participated in ESN meetings during my internship in France – says our student.

The student graduated from WUST in biomedical engineering and is now defending her master's degree in Artificial Intelligence. She also works in a company that develops software for non-invasive diagnostics of heart diseases.

– I earned my first degree in biomedical engineering and went on a postgraduate internship as part of the Erasmus program. The internship was related to both biomedical engineering and artificial intelligence. This is when I thought that such an interdisciplinary combination was quite interesting and after returning I recruited for the Artificial Intelligence field of study – she explains.