Hey, Bears! I’m Halie Hawkins and I’m the new marketing intern for Baylor in Australia! I’m studying Communications and Film at Baylor, but I have always had a passion for the environment. Since college began, I’ve yearned to study abroad and after a lot of research, I settled on studying in Australia through AUIP.
Studying abroad had always been a dream to me as I have never traveled outside of the United States. I craved to see the world and immerse myself in a foreign culture, and fortunately I had that opportunity. Just thinking about flying thousands of miles away from where I lived seemed so thrilling and I was at a point where I needed a great adventure in my life. I also wanted to study abroad because it forced me out of my comfort zone and it helped me become more independent and confident.
This summer, I went to Australia through AUIP with a group of students from Baylor University and Texas A&M to study environmental issues. During our trip, we traveled up the eastern coast of Australia in Northern Queensland. We began in Townsville and eventually made our way up to Cairns over the course of three and a half weeks.
My favorite parts about the trip were getting to explore the beautiful beaches, interacting with animals and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef! Despite what you hear about Australia, we didn’t come in contact with any dangerous animals and I didn’t even see a single snake –in the wild at least. I’m also a huge beach bum so being on the coast was heaven to me. And getting to experience one of the seven wonders of the world for two days? Stunning.
When I came back to the US, I understood that this trip had a bigger impact on me than I had realized. While this doesn’t necessarily apply to my major, it changed the way I view global warming and increased my awareness on how my actions impact the environment – even all the way across the world. I now try to be more sustainable by limiting my energy and power usage in order to decrease my individual carbon footprint on this planet. I’m also a huge advocate for reusable grocery bags and straws now!
Overall, it was one of the most special trips that I had ever been on and it left me dying to go back!
