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Amanda Wilson, Hokies Abroad marketing intern, writes:

Hey, my name is Amanda Wilson and I am excited to be the new marketing intern for AUIP and Hokies Abroadat Virginia Tech.

Amanda with her farmstay host family, Hans and Marita, in North Queensland in 2011

My educational background and passion is in wildlife sciences which is what first motivated me to study abroad. I wanted to see the unique wildlife that the world had to offer. So in 2009, I traveled on the North Queensland program, and loved it so much that in 2010 I enrolled in the Antarctica program.  Beginning in Australia, this new passion for studying abroad was solidified next to a humpback whale in Antarctica.  I knew I wanted to remain involved and active with Hokies Abroad, so over the past few years I have volunteered to help recruit students. In June of this past year, I served as the teaching assistant for the North Queensland program, and will be returning to Antarctica this December as the TA as well. I am so fortunate that my life is consumed by my two passions, wildlife conservation and education abroad.

I am continually drawn to these study abroad programs, because each place and person visited is like a snapshot of something that is integral in shaping that country. By the end of the program you have this collection of snapshots that when put together reveals this broad understanding of the country.

Amanda on her first day on continental Antarctica in 2010

What I love most is that all of these programs are largely focused on the challenges these countries face sustaining their cultures in an unsustainable world. Traveling as a student you receive a deeper understanding and greater appreciation for these places than you ever would as a tourist.  Studying abroad can be such an influential experience which is why I want to encourage other students to take advantage of these programs.

I look forward to meeting and recruiting some of my fellow Hokies on campus and can’t wait to share more study abroad adventures with the students at our sister universities online.