Emma Rafferty, the new Hokies Abroad Marketing Intern from Virginia Tech, talks about the experience of studying abroad in New Zealand in winter 2018/19.  She writes:

Hi!  My name is Emma Rafferty and I’m a sophomore attending Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia studying Sustainable Biomaterials and Geography.  Basically, I love learning about how people interact with the environment and how we can do that in a sustainable fashion. Originally, I’m from Virginia Beach, Virginia, a summer vacation destination, one of the many reasons I’m interested in what I study.

As someone who loves to be outside, hiking, running, climbing on things, or really doing anything that involves the outdoors, New Zealand had been somewhere I had wanted to go for a while- with its “Pure New Zealand” campaign and the allure of the Southern Alps and the bright blue glacial lakes.  So, when I discovered that there was a study abroad program to a country that I wanted to visit, studying a topic that I’m interested in, I had to go.  After applying for the program and several scholarships, I was set to go on the study abroad of my dreams.

It seems like everyone always comes back from their study abroad experience altered by it in some way, and I can tell you that my experience was no different.  My favorite part of the program was hiking in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park through the misty mountains with blue glaciers on the top and green vegetation around us.  Through hiking, swimming with dolphins, kayaking, taking a few boat tours, and learning about the flora and fauna in the region I learned so much about what it means to be in the sustainable tourism industry and what this looks like both as a tourist and a business owner.  Seeing how New Zealand approaches tourism made me consider how I travel and how I could be a better steward of the environment and the places I visit.  I was also astounded by how welcoming and open everyone was to us and to each other.  Homeowners would leave their front doors and windows open because there were no bugs, but also because they trusted each other.

Studying abroad in New Zealand helped with my studies because I now have another model of sustainability to think about as I learn about it in my classes.  However, we learned so many different things that I can’t wait for more people who have different passions to learn from and experience this trip!