Arielle O'Donnell '26 wants to travel the world. And ideally, she'd like to make the world a little better along the way.
For O'Donnell, the hardest decision she would have to make in her study abroad adventure was the very first decision. Siena offers study abroad options in 55 countries, how do you pick just one?
"Yeah, just deciding where to go was the toughest part. I chose Lisbon kind of randomly. I knew one person from a different college who had a good experience in Portugal so I decided to go for it."
No regrets. Using the Portuguese capital as her hub, O'Donnell has explored different corners of the country in more than two months overseas, and she's enjoyed every stop and every adventure.
"I know that when a lot of people study abroad, they move around a lot to different countries and European cities. I think it's important to learn your country and immerse yourself in its culture. The people and everything about Portugal, I just really love it."
It's also very different than O'Donnell's first trip abroad. A couple years ago, as a sophomore at SUNY New Paltz, O'Donnell traveled to Tanzania in Africa for one week through International Volunteer HQ. She worked in a daycare with children under five, and the conditions were heart-breaking. O'Donnell started a GoFundMe that helped purchase a bed for the teacher (not a new bed, a first bed). O'Donnell raised more than $3,000.
"When I arrived at the school in Africa, a lot of other things seemed not to matter anymore. The typical stuff we worry about gets pushed to the back of your mind. In that moment, I couldn't walk away from it. I decided to follow a different path. You come back home and you're changed."
Change also led O'Donnell to consider a different school. Initially, the Saugerties native attended New Paltz and commuted because it was "the easier option," but following her trip to Africa, she knew her new path would take her somewhere else.
"Siena's Franciscan tradition was absolutely part of my decision. I toured Siena in high school and kind of forgot about it. But then when I got back from Tanzania, I knew I wanted more of a community. I'm also heavily involved with campus ministry at Siena. I love that Siena upholds its Franciscan values."
O'Donnell intends to pursue her master's in social work. Siena's MSW program is definitely an option, but she's also using her time in Portugal to see whether or not she'd like to pursue a degree abroad.
"This was a good way to decide if this is realistic for me. I'm in a safe, comfortable setting. A lot of people are in the same situation. It helps you get your bearings."
Either way, once she's armed with her MSW, she'll put the degree to practice somewhere in the world. She's not sure where the path will lead, but she knows for certain that it's the right path.
