Jane Schaefer
Virginia Tech
AUIP alumnus: New Zealand, 2014

I studied sustainability in the South Island of New Zealand during the winter of my senior year (which was summer in New Zealand). I was already passionate about conservation, resource management, and environmental sustainability. I was impressed with how receptive both New Zealand’s government and local populations were of conservation efforts. I was also impressed that there were official efforts towards respecting sacred Maori areas, plants, birds, and geography. That seems to be another area in which my home country is lacking, so it made a big impression on me.

Virginia Tech students at Milford Sound 2014

My study abroad trip to New Zealand was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions of my undergraduate career. It changed my life. I also met amazing people I would otherwise probably not have met. Most of us ended up taking similar courses the following Spring Semester and we continue to keep in touch even though we’ve all graduated and are dispersed across the country. That alone was invaluable.

After living and working in Winter Park, Colorado, for the four years following my graduation from Virginia Tech, my partner and I decided to venture out of our comfort zone to embark on a working holiday in New Zealand. We sought and gained 12-month Work Holiday Visas (which are free and easy to obtain if you’re a US citizen between the ages of 18-30) and one-way tickets to Queenstown. We worked at a water sport rental company on Lake Wakatipu with magnificent views of the Remarkables mountains. We explored the entirety of the Southland region during our days off and did a month-long road trip across the whole country. I don’t think we would have made the move to New Zealand had I not taken the opportunity to study abroad during college. We are both better people for having had our adventures in New Zealand. We have made some incredible and very unlikely connections through this experience, and I know that we both came home with completely changed perspectives because of what we learned from New Zealand and its people.

I strongly recommend that every single student study abroad. It isn’t cheap and you may not have the financial support that your peers have, but there are plenty of options if you’re willing to get creative. I borrowed my parents’ contact list and reached out with a mass email to every single person they knew asking for any contribution they could give towards this incredible opportunity. $100 here, $50 there… it all added up and I was able to get my study abroad fully funded without using any additional funding or scholarships.

It. Is. Possible.