AUIP BLOG

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New Zealand

New Zealand, Supplier Spotlight

Supplier Spotlight: Social entrepreneurship with Everybody Eats

July 28, 2025

Group meals have taken on new meaning for AUIP groups visiting Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand. Everybody Eats is an innovative, social entrepreneurship restaurant, transforming rescued food into quality 3-course meals, for everyone to enjoy on a pay-what-you-can-afford basis. Wanting to give back to the communities they visited, several of this year’s AUIP study abroad groups met with Everybody Eats…

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Customized Program, Field Notes, Inspiration, Marketing Interns, New Zealand, Postcard, Snapshot, Stories, Student Perspective, Travel

Student Perspective: What I Wish I Knew Before Studying Abroad by Allie Thompson, Baylor University

July 17, 2025

Allie reflects on what she learnt and gives advice that might help future students in New Zealand, she writes: Hey there! I’m Allie Thompson and I went to New Zealand with Baylor University in Summer 2024. It was incredible and even though it has been over a year I am STILL thinking about all the ways it impacted me. However,…

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Customized Program, Field Notes, Inspiration, Marketing Interns, New Zealand, Postcard, Snapshot, Student Perspective, Suitcase, Travel

Student Perspective: Auckland Through My Digital Lens by Amina Williams, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

June 16, 2025

Amina reflects on her study abroad experience and how her digital camera helped her capture the unforgettable beauty of New Zealand. She writes: Before leaving for New Zealand, I decided to gift myself a digital camera. I had been wanting one for a while, and the timing just felt right. Once I arrived in Auckland, I realized how perfect that…

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Customized Program, Field Notes, Inspiration, Marketing Interns, New Zealand, Postcard, Snapshot, Stories, Student Perspective, Travel

Student Perspective: A Day in the Life – Studying Film and Literature in New Zealand by Allie Thompson, Baylor University

June 12, 2025

Allie takes us along for a day on her study abroad program in New Zealand, she writes: In the summer of 2024, I traded Texas heat for New Zealand’s crisp coastal air, joining a group of Baylor University students for the adventure of a lifetime. Here’s a snapshot of one day that sums up the magic of studying abroad in…

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Customized Program, Field Notes, Marketing Interns, New Zealand, Student Perspective, Travel

Student Perspective: Environmental challenges and diversity in communities – by Acacia Rhodes, The Ohio State University

January 9, 2025

Acacia shares their greatest academic achievements and personal developments while studying in Australia in the summer of 2024. They write: Having been raised by a single parent, I never thought I would be able to have an opportunity to study abroad. Through hard work and determination, I was able to secure scholarships to support my academic travel. Through the experience,…

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Customized Program, Field Notes, Marketing Interns, New Zealand, Student Perspective, Travel

Student Perspective: Exploring conservation and culture in Australia – by Ava Geltinger, Virginia Tech

January 1, 2025

Ava talks about the experience of studying abroad in Australia in the summer of 2024. She writes: Hi everyone! My name is Ava, and I am a current junior at Virginia Tech, majoring in wildlife conservation and minoring in GIS. I am passionate about all forms of conservation, and I am always eager to learn something new. My parents nurtured…

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Madeline with Texas A&M flag
Customized Program, Field Notes, Marketing Interns, New Zealand, Student Perspective, Travel

Student Perspective: Culture, nature, history and real-world education practices – by Madeline Sweany, Texas A&M University

December 16, 2024

Madeline tells the story of her study abroad experience in Aotearoa New Zealand. She writes: The first words I heard when stepping off of the 17 hour flight to Wellington, New Zealand were “Kia Ora”. This a greeting from the Māori culture, one that is native to this pacific island. While the literal translation of this phrase is to ‘have…

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Photo of Amanda Carter working on an AWC turtle project.
Alumni Updates, New Zealand, Travel, What Next

Alumni Update: Amanda Carter’s career shaped by her Virginia Tech study abroad experiences

December 18, 2019

Amanda Carter Virginia Tech AUIP alumnus: Sustaining Humans and the Environment, Australia, 2009 Sustaining the Fragile Continent, Antarctica, 2010 AUIP Marketing Intern, Hokies Abroad Teaching Assistant, Sustaining Humans and the Environment, Australia Teaching Assistant, Sustaining the Fragile Continent, Antarctica A decade after my first study abroad program, study abroad remains one of the most formative experiences of my life. I…

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Photo of Virginia Tech students at Hinewai Reserve 2014
Alumni Updates, New Zealand, Travel, What Next

Alumni Update: How Jane Schaefer’s 2014 NZ study abroad program inspired a return journey

December 13, 2019

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….

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Australia, Green Living, Marketing Interns, New Zealand, Student Perspective, Travel

Student Perspective: Change to Sustainability – by Lucas DuMez, Virginia Tech

April 16, 2019

Lucas DuMez, Hokies Abroad Marketing Intern from Virginia Tech, talks about how his study abroad experience influenced his way of living on his return to Blacksburg.  He writes: Hi!  My name is Lucas DuMez, from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This blog will go in depth about how my trip abroad to Australia and New Zealand inspired me to…

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