Tessa Arnold, the Hokies Abroad marketing intern, writes:
Hello everyone! My name is Tessa Arnold, and I am so excited to represent AUIP and Hokies Abroad at Virginia Techas the new marketing intern.
Tessa in North Queensland
In summer 2011, I traveled out of the country for the first time in my entire life to North Queensland, Australia to study abroad. What an amazing first trip out of the country! This program affected me in so many ways that ever since returning to Virginia Tech, I have shared my experiences with many. My ultimate goal is to guide others to the amazing programs through AUIP so that they can fully understand why I am so passionate about studying abroad.
Over the past year I have volunteered at several study abroad functions, whether it was the education abroad fair, talking one-on-one with students, or simply distributing postcards to notify people about these remarkable programs. When I found out that I could apply for this internship, I could not think of a better way to stay involved with Hokies Abroad while sharing my deep passion for education abroad.
As a Biological Sciences major at Virginia Tech, I cannot count how many of my classes involve going to a lecture filled with dull PowerPoint slides. Furthermore, I cannot express enough how amazing it was to have such a hands-on learning experience while abroad in Australia and learn in a format other than PowerPoints. Each place we traveled to in North Queensland gave me a deeper understanding of their entire country through the various people that we met.
Tessa with a kangaroo
In one month, I got to visit various cities, the Outback, the Daintree Rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef, and even more places. I never in my life thought I would be able to see such breath-taking places, make such amazing memories, and meet such inspiring people that I will never forget, all at the age of 19. Since this was my first time abroad, I can sincerely tell you that Australia was better than I had ever imagined.
Overall, there is nothing I want more than for others to experience what I did through the Hokies Abroad and AUIP programs. I cannot wait to spread my passion for education abroad and help recruit others to make their own memories either in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, or any combination of the three! I look forward to this year as I can continue to strive every day to share the importance of education abroad through AUIP.
