When talking to Marius as part of our Born for This campaign, we discovered that his wife Oana was also a student with Arden University on the same course.
Wanting to hear more about their experiences studying together we decided to catch up with them both to see what it's really like working, living, and learning with each other.
So Oana, what are you studying with us?
Oana: I'm studying Business. I’m in my first year. So far, I’ve found it very interesting. You're learning all these things which, already, have really helped me in my job.
Outside studying where is it you work?
I recently became an assistant manager in a pub.
Where are you from?
I'm from Romania originally
How long have you been in the UK for?
It’s been almost six years now
What was it like moving across?
Marius: It was easy, you came across for me!
Oana: It wasn’t that easy! Leaving behind my family and everything. But slowly I’ve been finding my way.
How long have you been with Marius for?
Six years
And how did you guys meet?
Oana: It was actually a funny story. We met at a party event for somewhere we'd both been working. But we actually got together about a year after that…
Marius: Let me make it shorter – she ignored me for a whole year! And after one year, I'd just been on holiday in the UK, we met in a club back home. Since that night, we've been together.
Why did you ignore him?
Oana: I was young and there were other things on my mind
So, you guys study together, both doing the same course, how did that come about?
Oana: So, we want to open our own business in the future so we’d been thinking about that. Then Marius’s best friend actually started to study with Arden in January. He told us how easy and how nice it was. And then how easy it was to study with Arden because the blended learning is really good, meaning you can work full time, and combine going to campus for two days with studying from home. That was really good for me.
I didn't have the chance to finish my degree in Romania. But I was like, why can’t I do it here and help me in my future with the business.
Amazing. And do you guys study together at home?
Oana: Yeah, Marius has helped me, he's a bit smarter than me. Especially with the maths because the module which we're doing now is like IT and numerology. Maths was his favourite in school so now he's helped me.
In the future what ideally would you like your business to be?
Oana: Hospitality
Uh oh, you want hospitality? Marius said anything but hospitality!
Oana: Yes, but something different within hospitality. We want to do something like a food truck so we can go to different parts of the country in England or in Romania. To do something a bit different with it – like streetfood.
Marius: Travelling and working together.
To find out how a degree from Arden University could help you achieve what you were born for, visit our course pages today
