Recent Study Abroad participants gathered February 8 for a Welcome Back Reception, hosted by the International Programs Office. Students shared what they learned and experienced during trips to Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.
Senior Justin Buresh, a biology major from Stoughton, attended the University of Hawaii at Hilo last semester as part of the National Student Exchange (NSE) program. “I was amazed by all the different types of lava and sand, pink and white, that I got to work with and the differences between the Hilo and Kona sides of Hawaii,” he said. “I swam with dolphins and all sorts of sharks. Always just minutes away … I went to the beach every day.”
Fifteen students who visited Costa Rica shared a PowerPoint presentation titled “The Tropical Ecology of Costa Rica.” Senior environmental science major Katherine McCarthy of Marshfield led the discussion around the theme of the trip: reforestation, biodiversity, and conservation. Each student then shared their favorite aspects of the trip and what they learned from it.
The students who traveled to Nicaragua explained how they helped to build a Community Center and assisted with teaching English and Math to local children. Among the projects students completed about their experience, one student shared a video about the trip and sophomore music major Micah Pellegrini of Stoughton used the Nicaraguan reggae-tone style of music to compose and perform his own piece on the piano, which he performed to conclude the event.
Students last semester traveled to Spain, Ireland, and Italy to study, while others participated in the NSE program in Hawaii and New Hampshire.