Why Miami Feature Story: Jacky Linden – From Luxembourg to Ohio
March 12, 2025 | Natalie Pond
Being from Luxembourg, Jacky Linden never thought that she would be able to go to college in the U.S., but graduated in May 2024, and had an amazing time at Miami. As a Diplomacy and Global Politics and History double major, Jacky has learned what it means to be a Miami student.
As a Luxembourg student, what drew you to Miami?
“Miami is part of my dream of studying in the United States, I think, in Europe, a lot of people kind of have a dream of going to the U.S. at least once in their life.
I love the concept of liberal arts, I love the concept that you get to pick and choose your classes. In Europe, if you study econ, all you do is take econ classes, and maybe one or two math classes. But aside from that, you’re not going to get to learn very much. And that was just not for me. And it’s big lecture halls, and I love being close with my professors. So I started to research colleges.
And also, of course, I earned great scholarships. And, even though maybe Miami University isn’t in like, New York or LA – wherever people might think of when they think of the United States. – it’s kind of in the middle of cornfields. As somebody from Luxembourg, I can appreciate that, because I’m from the middle of the cornfields. I wanted a big school with a nice campus with a decent-sized student body.”
What surprised you the most about Miami in general?
“They call it like the flyover state. So it was like, ‘Wow, I’m going to the flyover states.’ But I mean, the people here are just incredibly kind, like, … from the second I have stepped foot here, even when I came in, Miami had to suddenly decide a very short term that they were not going to open the dorms for the first month of school because of COVID. And I stayed with a random person that I only knew from a video game. For one month in Cincinnati, when I came here. Like my parents weren’t here I was moving in by myself, people were so kind, to help me get things that I couldn’t get by myself because I didn’t have a car or to set up my room and everybody had Thanksgiving. Professors have invited me into their Thanksgiving classmates and so on. I just feel very guarded, even though I technically am all alone here, but I’m not alone at all.”
What student organizations are you involved with on campus?
“I am a member of multiple organizations. I’m on the executive board for model Arab League. It’s like Model United Nations, but for Arab countries. And we compete, both regionally and nationally, every year. And then I’m the director of education for Students for Justice in Palestine, which is a relatively new organization. We’re going into our second year now with even more hopes to raise some awareness about issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
What does being a Luxembourg student who is first-gen student mean to you?
“Really, in the beginning, it didn’t mean much to me. I never thought I was gonna go to college because my dad, is a postman and my mom was a stay-at-home mom growing up. So I was not even aware of these, like careers that you get from college. I was like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna be a florist or a hairdresser.’ And then, in school, I started thinking, Oh, maybe I’m gonna be a high school teacher. I started talking to my high school teacher about becoming a teacher, and he was like, ‘No, you need a bigger stage.’ So I picked the biggest one.
I really understand the leap that I have had to make to get to the point where I am.
I feel great about it. I feel accomplished and proud of it. And I hope I can help many more people become first-generation students.”
What advice would you give to others considering Miami?
“There is a place for everybody.
Talk to people in your classes. I’ve made some of my best friends just like talking in classes Whatever you want out of your college experience – if you go looking for it, you will find it. And cynicism has never gotten anybody anywhere. So keep an open mind.”
