Gillian Marbury tested out several majors at the University of Iowa before learning her true passion lay in ancient civilizations and classical languages.

The 2023 graduate from Davenport, Iowa, started as a physics and astronomy major but found that was more of a personal passion than a desired academic pursuit. After trying other majors and navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, she hadn’t yet found her calling. “I just really wasn’t loving what I was learning,” she says.

Marbury decided to take Latin and a sequel class to a classical mythology course she took in her first year.

“I’d always really loved Greek mythology. I mean, who hasn’t read Percy Jackson?” Marbury says, laughing. “But I didn’t really know that it was an academic field. So, taking those classes was me sort of trying out what that would look like. But I ended up absolutely falling in love with it.”

Marbury will continue her studies at The Ohio State University, where she will pursue a PhD in Greek and Latin, specializing in religions of the ancient Mediterranean.

“I’ve been here for five years, and it’s been such a crazy ride,” Marbury says. “And while it’s been some of the most difficult times of my life, it’s also been some of the happiest. And while I’m going on to be a Buckeye in the fall, I know in my heart that I’m always going to be a Hawkeye.”

What are some of your earliest memories of your time on campus?

I did Honors Primetime, which involved coming to campus a week early. I was a part of the creative writing primetime, and we did a walking tour of Iowa City and the campus. That was honestly the best first experience because Iowa City and the campus are absolutely beautiful and really conducive to doing a creative writing seminar because it was really easy to be inspired by the landscape and the buildings and the people.

On top of that, I got to move in early and I lived in Daum (Hall). I absolutely loved Daum. I think it’s the best residence hall on campus for sure, although I’m a little biased. But that was a really nice experience too because I felt that I was able to make friends before classes, and that made it all a lot less scary, too.

What was the most surprising thing you’ve found about Iowa?

I was definitely surprised by how small it feels, because you go to the University of Iowa and you hear, “We have 33,000 students.” My graduating class in high school was 100 people. So, I was really scared to come to Iowa and to come to this huge campus, but I found very quickly that it felt so small. I was seeing the same people all the time, seeing my friends everywhere, seeing people that I had classes with. I never felt like I was just a face in a sea or just a number. I really felt connected to all of the people I was seeing, because somehow I kept seeing people that I knew. It never felt really scary or really overwhelming or too big.

What were some challenges you have faced during your time at Iowa, and how did you overcome them?

During my time here at Iowa, about a year and a half ago, my brother passed away unexpectedly. It was a really, really hard time for me. But something that really helped motivate me and keep me going with school and everything was how much I knew he was proud of me and my academics. I found out after he passed that he would brag to his friends about me being here at Iowa and the good grades that I was getting and that I was just doing so well in my classes. On top of that, the support of my professors and my friends here really helped motivate me to push through and keep working at my classes and eventually graduate. That’s helped me through challenges since then, too—reminding myself that I really wanted to do it for him. And I know that he would be really proud of me now that I’m graduating.

You’ve written your honors thesis on hero cults and participated in several research projects. Was that an experience you expected to have as an undergraduate?

I think back now of my preconceptions about college and I just laugh a little bit, because I just did not know what was in store for me. I really didn’t know I would be able to do something like research or that I would be able to do it so well. I’m presenting my research as a part of a lightning-round research presentation at the Iowa chapter of the Archeological Institute of America. It’s really exciting and really nerve-wracking, but it’s good practice and I’m really excited to share something that I worked on for such a long time with other people.

The faculty in this department here are so amazing and kind. They’ve been willing to work with me even though I was such a latecomer. I never would’ve thought that I would get into graduate school, and I really think that has to do with the faculty here and how supportive they were and how willing they were to work with me to achieve the things that I wanted to, especially in such a short time span.

How would you describe the Hawkeye community?

Passionate. We are very passionate here. It’s been so awesome to be a part of a community like that. I’ve never even been into sports, but coming here, one, I learned how football works; and two, I learned just how awesome it is to be in that community, all of us cheering for the same people. And it’s really this sense of being connected. We are all students here right now and we’re all cheering on this one thing and it’s almost awe-inspiring. It makes you feel like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself.