Amanda Sanchez, North Carolina State University’s Sustainability in New Zealand student blogger, writes:

My name is Amanda, and I should start by confessing that I used to think that I was very unique. I believed that this indescribable desire in me was a passion unlike anyone else’s, that I was the only one yearning to leave the comfort of my home-town. Excitingly, I was wrong!

Like many young students, I seek and crave adventure and luckily I am not alone in this feeling. Pursuing my hunger for travel and adventure has introduced me to so many wonderful people who share a passion for discovering more about the world we live in. These people have motivated me beyond my wildest expectations, and now I am preparing to study abroad in New Zealand; half way around the globe!

The enormity of this trip is still setting in with only a couple of days left until our flight. People have asked me what I am most excited for, and my response is usually just dazed ramblings, because how can I possibly describe my entire range of emotion? I have barely a glimpse of the amazing experience ahead of me. So I summarize by saying that I am most excited for the opportunity. That is, the opportunity to dive into studying sustainability and the environment, to make new friends and develop relationships with my professors, to interact with different cultures and share experiences with people of another country. I look forward to all of this and most of all, the opportunity to learn and grow as an individual.