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As a high school senior, one of the questions I always asked potential universities I might attend was “what are the opportunities to study abroad?” Studying abroad was something I knew that I wanted to do, but was not sure if it would fit into my four year plan. What set Auburn apart from other universities is they seemed to not only support studying abroad, but also encourage it! My study abroad experience in Australia was something I thought I was going to chicken out on by the end of my sophomore year because none of my friends were willing to come with me, but I decided to stop by the office anyway and get some information. After I left, I knew it was something I just had to do. My destination: Australia. As someone who does not like to get comfortable or stay static too long, this decision turned out to be one of the best I have ever made (even though I had to watch Auburn football games at all hours of the night on my computer). Ms. Layne probably answered about 100 of my questions over the course of a few months, including when I was actually in Australia. I found myself in her office for an hour once or twice just casually talking because she seemed so interested in my unique personal experience. I ended up choosing a school about 30 minutes outside of Sydney by train through AIFS, which also allowed my to take a ten day class in Fiji before heading to Australia! With a major in finance, I knew that I would have the opportunity to apply for an internship through the university and actually get academic credit for my work! I ended up working as an event assistant at UBS Investment Bank (the company I want to work for when I graduate!). Working in a different country with a unique work culture opened my eyes immensely, not to mention added a new dimension to my resume.

I arrived in Fiji mid-summer to meet up with the other 30 international students studying through AIFS. Some people knew each other and were traveling together and others, like me, were traveling alone with the expectation of meeting new people. While we took classes in Fiji we also did a home stay with a local family. This put me a little outside of my comfort zone for the first few days, but when it was time to say goodbye I wanted to stay (especially to continue eating my “mom’s” delicious food). While in Fiji I went to mud pools in a local village, hiked the sand dunes where The Ten Commandments was filmed, jumped off a waterfall in the middle of the jungle, went diving with wild bull and tiger sharks, visited a Hindu temple, went zip lining through the rainforest, and drank a whole lot of coconut milk. When I finally made it to Australia, I had a week to get acclimated before classes started.

I found that Australians are really laid back and spend as much time as they can outdoors. Between my classes, internship, traveling, and hanging out with friends, home was not on my mind too much. Half way through my time in Australia my parents came to visit me for “spring break.” We traveled to Melbourne, Kangaroo Island, and the Barossa Valley on a wine tour. For week two of my spring break (may I repeat.. week 2!) I traveled to the south island of New Zealand with two of my Australian friends. We were able to go to a working sheep farm, skydive, bungee jump, explore Queenstown, and go on some spectacular hikes. I traveled three countries in three months! My study abroad experience made me realize that all the plans I thought I had for my future are too small and guarded. I feel like I discovered parts of myself that I never new existed because I was too scared to discover them with all the comforts of home. I found myself researching other study abroad opportunities for next year while I was still in Australia!

Studying abroad opened up a part of me that I never knew existed. The people you meet, the places you visit, and the opportunities presented to you by a different culture are unlike anything you will find back home. I must admit, it was difficult for me to finally commit to the unknown of this opportunity, but now that I have I can honestly say it was the best decision I ever made. I am pretty sure you would have to go on an intensive search to find somebody who studied abroad through Auburn and said they regretted their decision. I can’t thank everyone enough who made this unforgettable experience possible for me.