Emily Yarrington in Edinburgh

Emily Yarrington graduated with the Berkeley Springs High School Class of 2011 and is studying at the University of Edinburgh for a degree in International Relations and Law. She has been in Edinburgh, Scotland, which is part of the United Kingdom, for over nine months.

Since Yarrington arrived, a lot has been happening in the country. Scotland is considering breaking off from the United Kingdom. Currently, its parts are Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. She said the union of Scotland and England was made in 1707 so it’s a pretty momentous decision if there’s enough public support.

At the same time, they are celebrating the Queen’s past 60 years reigning and they are also hosting the Olympic Games in London.

Yarrington said she has met a lot of amazing people through her studies, including the First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, the ex-Minister of Defense, a member of the House of Lords (British Parliament’s second chamber) the German Consulate General and some members of Westminster Parliament and the European Parliament.

One of her professors has argued cases for countries before the International Court of Justice, most recently a case for Uruguay against Argentina.

On a side note, Harry Potter author JK Rowling came to unveil the new quad at Yarrington’s Law School, along with Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth’s daughter.

At the university, Yarrington has studied the legal systems and political histories of the United Kingdom, Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.

She said her friends, professors, and tutors are from everywhere and that there are representatives from every continent.

Her future plans are to work for the United States Federal Government and to tackle learning either Arabic or Russian.