Kennedy reflects on how their experience abroad shaped their mindset. They write as follows:

I think it fitting to introduce myself when discussing how this study abroad changed my worldview and career goals. My name is Kennedy Fast and I am a graduating senior earning a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. Throughout my undergraduate experience, I have been able to research and study abroad three separate times and visit four continents. And yet, no experience was quite as eye opening as going to Antarctica, as the perspective I gained there is only fitting of the place known as the “End of the World”. But what exactly changed and the cause of the change is quite unique, and thus I find it important to discuss.

The shift in mindset began as soon as we set sail. Crossing the Drake Passage was truly incredible because it brought a sense of peace and a period of reflection. This wasn’t my first study abroad, but it was my most remote. I didn’t have contact with the outside world for over a week and the closest life for miles was most often the whales that swam below us and the petrels and albatrosses that flew around us. It’s a silence that comes only with isolation, and I took full advantage of it. I reflected on what it took to get there as a student, from the long hours to the constant push to excel in my academics, because I knew that deep down, I wanted to go far. And I had done it, visiting the so-called end of the world. But as the ship crossed the passage, a question arose in my mind.

“What do I do with this experience?”

It was only when I had landed on the archipelago and continent itself that I learned what I should do with this experience. And it was something I had done for so long already… Learn and reflect.  I studied the wildlife and how they had taken one of the most brutal places to live and created so much life. I observed the people around me, their experience, how they interacted with a place that’s so far removed from the developed world. And I reflected that in such a place, where the ice was older than human civilization and every cliffside is a place where no man had walked, how we, humans had impacted it so deeply. Even at one of the most remote places out there, the effects of man could still be felt, despite the millions of years and thousands of miles that should prevent that. In Antarctica, we as individuals are so insignificant, and yet, our impact is enough to make glaciers shatter and crumble.

So, what can be done? When a single person seems so small and insignificant, what can we as individuals change about this ever-changing world to preserve our beautiful planet? And I learned the answer from the penguins around me. From Gentoo penguins to the great Emperor (which I was very lucky to see), I got my answer. That it’s not how mighty your impact is, but how you choose to impact the world around you. The penguins were small, but I will always remember their walk, their demeanour, even their little tail wags. They’re small, especially in the scope of the mighty continent, but they made a big impression on me and everyone else on this expedition. With this lesson, I had my answer! By shaping the perspective of those around me through my words, through my connection, and where I have travelled, I can make a difference. I have the ability to improve conservation and expand understanding about such fragile ecosystems by interacting with the people directly impacted by wildlife and nature and provide a new perspective for them as well.

We as humans are small, fragile, and insignificant when you look at a single person. But our impact as a species is substantial and ever-growing. Going into this study abroad I didn’t know how a single undergraduate student, like myself, was going to address such a complicated issue. But by reflecting on myself, on this environment, and learning from the animals that persevere, despite the harsh environment, I was able to find my answer. By connecting at the level only individuals can do, by learning from the perspectives of another and sharing solutions built upon my own perspective and learnt experiences. I am one person, but I can persevere and share my experience in the world, helping to change the memories and mindsets of others. Like the simple Penguin, I am small, but someone will remember me, and that’s the best I can do.