My Davidson | A Student Blog Through the Lens: A Davidson Student's Journey from Copenhagen to Kraków
March 5, 2025
Look familiar? Nyhavn is in the main “touristy” part of Copenhagen.
Join psychology major Josh Matushak '26 as he shares his first international experience through captivating photography from his semester abroad in Copenhagen and travels across Europe with the Davidson Chorale, documenting cultural experiences from Danish smoking culture to Polish landscapes and musical performances.
About the Author
Josh Matushak ’26 (he/him) is a psychology major and public health minor from Charlotte, North Carolina. Outside of the classroom, he is a member of the Men’s Ultimate Frisbee Team (DUFF) and a photographer with the Music Department.
“I chose Davidson because when I was on my tour, I connected with a current student and he gave me a personal tour around campus and took me to club meetings, where I really appreciated the connected culture of Davidson.”
In Fall 2024, I left the United States for the first time when I studied a semester abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark.
It was a bit of a culture shock leaving what I knew and travelling to a brand-new place. I really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know a new culture and explore the city. I took a wide variety of classes, including European psychology, Nordic mythology, and an exploratory photography class.
In my photography class, we had different prompts to push us to explore a different style or technique, and at the end of the semester, I created a photo-project examining the smoking culture in Denmark. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to travel with the Davidson Chorale on their trip to Zakopane, Wroclaw, and Krakow in Poland over winter break as a photographer.
Explore my semester abroad through these photos I captured along the way.
This is a man I met on the side of the street in Copenhagen and included in my photo project.
Here is a mural in Christiania, an area within Copenhagen.
Here is Simon, a man from France, who I also included in my photo project.
Nørrebro is a culturally diverse area in Copenhagen.
Christianshavn is a neighborhood in Copenhagen.
I had the opportunity to travel to Vienna, Austria with my psychology class.
Fabled to be a sleeping knight, this is Mt. Giewont in Zakopane.
Davidson College’s choir performs at a church in Wroclaw.
Here is a shot of Alexa Tarantino, an acclaimed jazz saxophonist, at a Davidson Jazz concert.
I am fortunate that I was able to have these amazing experiences exploring more of the world with Davidson College. I enjoy being able to represent the world through photography and represent people and perspectives that others might not have been exposed to before.
