Arielle Lankford, a senior biology major, spent spring semester in the Sydney, Australia suburb of North Ryde, as part of the International Education Study Abroad Program. Lankford described her study abroad experience as life changing.
“It really opens your eyes to other cultures and gives you the opportunity to meet all sorts of new people,” Lankford said.
Even with two oceans and a continent between them, Lankford felt the support of UTC faculty and advisors.
“Both Mr. Hugh Prevost and Linda Collins have been so much help in this experience. I had no trouble registering for classes. I know several people here [from other schools] who haven’t even heard from their advisors since they have been here,” Lankford said.
While studying in Australia, Lankford sought the advice of UTC professors for an assignment.
“I had a question for Professor Collins and Dr. Gaudin for my Australasian Vertebrates class. The assignment was a grant proposal. The project itself was a suggestion for the funding of a project in order to study the lactation in red-necked wallabies. They, like other marsupials are able to produce 2 different types of milk for their young of different ages. It would be a lot of work but would be fascinating to find out how this is possible,” said Lankford.
Study abroad programs introduce students to new perspectives and can enhance their studies.
“They come to see science as a process of posing and trying to answer interesting questions, of exploring the world around us, rather than as a static list of facts and terms to be memorized. Such experiences capture the excitement and inspiration that science provides in a way that is very difficult to convey in class,” said Dr. Timothy J. Gaudin, professor and associate department head, department of biological and environmental sciences.
