International Law 2014
What made this program so unique was being truly diverse...
My name is Marina and I am an International Law and Human Rights graduate student at New York University in the United States. This summer I was blessed with the opportunity to participate in a three-week International Law course at Geneva Summer School (GSS). It was one of the most rewarding experiences and truly a life-changing program.
What made this experience so incredible? It was a combination of Geneva’s breath-taking beauty, kindness and hospitality of Swiss people, new friendships and of course, the program itself, which incorporated lots of interesting and challenging classes as well as site visits to the United Nations and World Trade Organization.
In three short weeks, the course enabled us to gain an in-depth understanding of International law. The curriculum and professors at GSS are all of high standard. I have never met people who enjoyed teaching others like the professors in my program. Everyday, I was stimulated academically. Despite the fact that I had a solid knowledge of International law prior to GSS, yet, every class I learned a great deal, because some of the topics covered during our course were contradictive, lightly touched upon or not addressed in the United States.
In particular, the second week of classes were devoted to counter-terrorism. As an American citizen, I found it sometimes challenging to hear my classmates’ opinions on the United States “War on Terror” policy. At the same time this helped shape a better understanding and different points of view on terrorism, human rights and international law.
Additionally, what made this program so unique was being truly diverse. We had people from all over the world, with different backgrounds and yet, despite our differences, we were able to become friends. From the first and until the last day of our classes we were always together and always on the run either hiking Mont-Saleve, having drinks by Jet d’Eau, swimming in Lake Geneva, traveling to neighboring cities, laying down at the park or of
course, enjoying fondue in Old Town.
During my three weeks in Geneva I learned not only about International law but life as a whole. Thanks to my international classmates I was able to gain so many different, but so important views on law, politics, culture, religion and life. Also, thanks to my professors and to their advice I was able to decide my next steps in life, such as pursuing my legal education further in Europe, which I never considered as an option prior to Geneva Summer
School. Needless to say, Geneva will be my first choice!
At the end, after receiving my Certificate of completion, it was the hardest “goodbye” I had ever said. I returned home to the United States and brought a lot with me, such as true friendships, knowledge, experience, memories and lots of Swiss chocolate, but a little part of my heart was missing….I left it in Geneva.
Thank you very much Geneva Summer School for everything!
Marina Tsyhanets, NYU
