Hallo! My name is Dominique von Rohr and I'm originally from Zurich, Switzerland. I’m 27 years old and this semester is my last at John Cabot University. In December I will be graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, with two minors in History and Italian Studies.
I wanted to return to Italy after having spent four months in Rome learning Italian at a language school. Since my Italian language skills were not yet at university level, I looked for other options to continue my studies. I found John Cabot and immediately applied. Having heard from friends how unorganized Italian universities are, I am glad I made this choice.
My initial plan was to study History, with a minor in Political Science. I have always been interested in history, because I believe that by knowing what has happened in the past, the future can be understood better. However, the political science classes at JCU, as well as the experience of following Italian politics, made me decide to switch my major to Political Science and make History my minor. Italian culture became increasingly interesting to me as well, and I didn’t want to choose between History and Italian Studies, so I decided to pursue both as minors.
I am a very practical person, and not so much into "theory", so a few years ago I would never have thought I would end up studying at a university. I expected to have difficulties, but the lectures at JCU were very engaging. I liked that I was encouraged to participate and that I could always turn to my professors when I had doubts or questions.
One of the professors that I admire the most is Professor Clough, because she is a very interesting person, she always supported my projects, she inspired me to write my thesis on corruption in Italy and do the field work, and she has helped me to understand and question contemporary issues in society. Thanks to her, I realized how interested I am in social anthropology. If I would pursue my studies at some point in the future, it would be in this field.
Last summer I obtained an internship through JCU Career Services and have been working for the Inter Press Service (IPS) since August. IPS is an international, non-governmental news agency that predominantly focuses on development issues and publishes news from the south of the world, from the perspective of those who live there. I have already worked as a journalist before, publishing German-language articles in Switzerland, and I was very happy to have the opportunity to write articles in English and publish them on the IPS website. So far, the internship has given me an insight into the workings of an NGO, and the possibility to write about issues that really interest me.
Following graduation, I would like to stay in Italy for a bit longer and find a job as a journalist or editor, either for an English or German newspaper or magazine. My ultimate goal is to become a foreign correspondent.
