Tina Škorjanc

I am a PhD student of chemistry at New York University, where I specialize in materials and nanoscience, but my true passion is travelling. As a kid, I was amazed by world destinations presented in the series Globe Trekker, and when I first sat on a plane to London at the age of 12, my urge to explore only grew. I saved all my Zois scholarship every year to visit a different European country every summer. 

 

After completing the International Baccalaureate program at II. gimnazija Maribor, I entered college at New York University in Abu Dhabi to study chemistry and biology. During the four years of undergraduate study, I studied abroad for a semester in New York and Buenos Aires and spent three weeks in Shanghai and Sydney on top of several fall and spring break trips, which took me hiking in Nepal, drinking tea in Sri Lanka, exploring ancient monuments of Jordan, sailing the fjords of Oman and learning about the marine heritage of Zanzibar, to name a few. Throughout my college years I studied alongside classmates from over 100 countries, who provided me good insight into countries I had not visited and helped me improve my foreign language skills.   

 

While my PhD program is loaded with experimental work, reading of scientific literature, writing and group discussion, I often try to find a free weekend or a couple of back-to-back national holidays to board and take off into the unknown.