Merve Şahmaran

A Global Community of Friends

My experience in the EU so far has been all I could dream of and more. I have met people from all around the world, and have a culturally diverse friend group that I have become really close with. We have created a tradition where we make dinner and dessert from one person’s culture each time. So far, we have had Italian, Malay, French and Cypriot food and I am looking forward to the other dinners. Another quality I have been enjoying about life in the EU is the freedom to express myself without fear of judgment. I have met an amazing community of people that have shown me unconditional love and encouragement to be my authentic self. I believe that all the hard work that took for me to make it here was worth it and I am excited to see what the future brings.

Financial Support and Networking

“The EU Scholarship has been a great tool for me while adjusting to my first year in Ireland.” As a medicine student, it was helpful to not have to focus on financial issues while trying to get used to living in a new country and studying a challenging course. This allowed me to fully focus on my studies and participate in both academic and non-academic events. During these academic events, I met people from various areas of medicine and through communicating with them, I was able to shape my educational plans for the future.

“The main positive influence is that the EU Scholarship enabled me to go to Trinity College Dublin, ranked the best university in Ireland and 81st globally, for my medical studies. This was the first step in my journey to connecting with the world.” As I study in English and my degree is recognised universally, I can carry out my specialty anywhere in the world. “Another benefit I received from the EU Scholarship is the knowledge I gained about Ireland from the information session before I arrived here.” That knowledge created the foundation for my expectations and ensured that I was prepared for everything that was coming my way.

Tackling Obstacles on the Way and Redefining Success and Self- Worth

I believe I have adjusted quite well to the academic environment at Trinity College Dublin. Initially, I felt lost as most people who go to college straight from high school do. However, through talking to other people in my course I realised that everyone felt the same way so we were in the same boat. This was extremely helpful and eased my worries about academic success. Since then, I have been getting more and more used to the methods of studying and the forms of assessment. Medicine is a course with many academically gifted people which results in competition but I have always focused on doing my best and not getting sucked into the competition so I believe that does not impact me greatly.

I think the main challenge I faced this past academic year was learning that I won’t be as successful as I used to be in high school. I was aware that this would happen but actually experiencing it was slightly difficult in the beginning. I believe I am good at not comparing myself to others but I struggled with comparing myself to the high school version of me. I dealt with this by reminding myself that all the people who passed this course would end up as doctors, regardless of whether you pass with a 50% or with honours. I still aim to do my best and have been doing relatively well but I have learnt not to let my academic success affect my self-worth which is a necessary quality for my future studies.

Wide Range of Opportunities

As I mentioned previously, the “EU Scholarship has allowed me to study medicine in Ireland which is going to open up a whole world of opportunities for my specialty years.” I am planning on continuing my specialty in the EU as well, however I have the chance to go to the US or Australia if I wished to. These wide range of possibilities makes me feel relieved as I know that I will be able to find the best fit for the area I want to specialise in, which seems to be psychiatry right now. Trinity College Dublin also offers intercalated master’s programs for medical students which I am considering as I would like to go into the field of research in the future.

I had done research on Ireland both before and after I applied to universities in order to have a better understanding of what to expect. I chose Ireland mainly due to the fact that English is widely spoken but I was also drawn by its friendly people and rich culture. In addition to my own research, I had also talked to a few people from Cyprus that were living in Ireland and they were of great help to ease any worries I had. Last but not least, “I came to the EU Scholarship information session which was also beneficial to understanding life in Ireland.”

“The main benefit of studying in the EU is the wide range of opportunities to develop yourself both as a person and academically.” Meeting people from many different backgrounds and listening to their stories is a great way to learn more about the world. When you find a community of people that share similar interests and views with you and support you to explore your potential, you become much more confident in trying new opportunities and not caring about what others will think. From an academic point of view, there are so many events and activities you can take part in outside of school that aid your professional development and help you plan your future. The only drawback I can think of would be the initial period of isolation before meeting people you get along well with and adjust to your new life, when it can feel like you are lost. However, that period is temporary and reaching out to friends from back home can help make the process easier.

Embracing the Irısh Culture

Although English is the main language spoken in Ireland, I have started learning Irish as well in order to aid my understanding of future patients from rural areas who may only speak Irish. Irish is such a beautiful language with a rich history behind it, which makes its difficulty to learn worth it. My partner speaks fluent Irish so they have been helping me with my questions and encouraging me to keep learning even though it is a complicated language. I am aware that even most people from Ireland don’t speak Irish fluently so my goal is to learn enough of it to be able to say some phrases to aid me when I come into contact with patients.

Feeling Like a True EU Citizen

I definitely feel more like a member of the EU since I came to university. Before I came to Ireland, the EU was like a foreign dream world that you would visit every once in a while if you were lucky. I also had the opportunity to take part in the Euroscola programme last May where we visited the European Parliament and learnt more about the legal aspect of the EU. I was extremely grateful for that opportunity but it also made me realise how alienated Turkish-speaking Cypriots were from the EU. Therefore, “the EU Scholarship is a huge step for many Turkish-speaking Cypriots, including me, to actually be integrated into the EU and I believe I have done a good job using it to my advantage.

Advice to Future Scholars

The most important advice I would give to future scholars would be to not be afraid to put themselves out there and try new things. I was intimidated by all the options for societies when I first went in to college that I ended up not going to any of their events. I was interested in the photography society but I thought everyone there would be professionals and I would not be good enough. However, when I finally went to one of their events I met so many nice people that shared the same interest as me and we got along really well. I was able to focus on photography, improve my skills and even participated in an exhibition. Another advice I would give would be to reach out to people if you are struggling. The initial adjustment period can be tough but you do not have to go through it alone. You can talk to your friends from home about your experiences or you can reach out to the school counselling services as they have many tools and support systems to help you adjust to your new life.

I would definitely recommend the EU Scholarship Programme to other students because it has had a massive positive impact on my experience in the EU. “Getting the EU Scholarship enabled me to focus on my studies while also experiencing the EU to its full potential.” I was able to participate in various activities and spend more time on my existing hobbies, travel to new places and meet new people, and above all become a better version of myself. “Studying in the EU is an experience like no other and I would encourage all students to give a chance to the EU Scholarship Programme to help them get one step closer to the EU.”