Australia: Shelby Loebertman
Program: James Cook University, Spring
Shelby’s Major: Biology
What is your most memorable experience from this program?
For one of my marine biology classes, I got to go on a field trip to Magnetic Island right off the coast of Townsville. On the trip, we did a reef walk on the reef flat along a transect and observed all of the organisms that we saw there. It was really cool to get up close and personal with all of the interesting critters and learn more about them, as well as learning important techniques in fieldwork. Many classes at JCU have really interesting field trips associated with them to enhance your learning outside of the classroom. It was such a fun experience that I definitely couldn’t get in Wisconsin!
I learned a lot of great skills in studying marine biology, as well as science in general, such as fieldwork techniques, lab skills, and academic writing skills, which will definitely benefit me in my future career in science.
What challenges or barriers did you face as you prepared to go abroad?
This was the first time I’d ever traveled such a distance all by myself, so the journey there was very stressful. I was going into completely unfamiliar territory, and I wouldn’t know anybody when I got there, which gave me quite a bit of anxiety leading up to my departure. I didn’t quite know what to expect. I think there’s no way that I could get rid of the anxiety, but what helped me was remembering what a great experience this would be and how much I could learn from the experience, both through academics and the things I learn in class, as well as the personal growth that would happen by stepping outside of my comfort zone.
How will your experience benefit you in the future?
I learned so much from studying abroad! JCU is a great university for marine science, which is what I took the most classes on, and I learned a lot of great skills in studying marine biology, as well as science in general, such as fieldwork techniques, lab skills, and academic writing skills, which will definitely benefit me in my future career in science. I also learned a lot of personal skills as well, such as being more comfortable stepping outside of my comfort zone, being more flexible and open to change, and being more resilient to hardship. These things as well will benefit my future career, as well as making me a more confident and independent person.
CRICOS Provider: 00117J