Best Study Abroad Experience

As an Environmental Studies major, my abroad program relates directly to my activities in the classroom and gave me an opportunity to apply what I learned at my home institution to the real world. A key focus in the Environmental Studies major is integrating humanities and science. Throughout the entire SIT abroad program, I lived in local communities, worked with local community members and got to experience first-hand how individuals interact with their environment and how they view environmental issues I was studying. Through these interactions, I was able to ask questions and get their opinions about how environmental issues such as climate change, sustainability and tourism, impact their communities, then hear and see what they believe are the best solutions to address these challenging problems. I learned that through these experiences, local individuals are creating innovative ways to address different problems, using the locally available resources, and attempting to be sensitive to the cultural norms impacting the lives of people in their communities. Experiencing this first-hand gave me the opportunity to see these challenges through the eyes of local individuals, which really helped me understand and appreciate the importance of the interdisciplinary nature of my major.