Kiwi Countryside Inspires Senior’s Graduate Career Choices

Sydney Perkins ’15 is determined to hike all the trails filmed in the Lord of the Rings movies. Since she has spent the last five months in New Zealand, she’s got a good shot at completing her goal.

A senior majoring in marine science (biology) with a minor in chemistry, Perkins is spending the spring semester in the other hemisphere. From February until June, she is studying conservation ecology and microbiology (among other classes) at Massey University-Palmerston North through UT’s program partner, Education Abroad Network.

“I was going to study in Australia, but New Zealand offered a smaller class size, more like UT,” said Perkins, of Minneapolis, MN. “When I graduate I’m thinking about pursuing veterinary science, and New Zealand is known for its veterinary science programs as well.”

Perkins is studying abroad with the help of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. Out of the 9,000 applications for the 2014 academic year, Perkins was one of the 2,500 outstanding students selected for this competitive and selective award. The program offers grants to students who have been traditionally underrepresented in education abroad who choose a non-traditional destination. All recipients carry out a Follow-on Service Project that promotes international education and the Gilman Scholarship Program at the students' home institution or in their home community.

Perkins hasn’t decided yet on her service project, but she is leaning toward working with UT’s Black Student Union “to get students of color more interested and excited about participating in study abroad during the course of their college careers,” she said.

Perkins isn’t new to international travel. She spent a year studying abroad in Italy in high school, an experience she said emboldened her with independence.

“So coming to college was a breeze,” she said. “Making friends was easy.”

And now she’s collecting friends around the world. Not only does she have new Kiwi friends, she has met many international students housed in her apartment complex.

“Being in New Zealand has far exceeded my expectations,” she said. “The professors are more laid back with their teaching styles. There are are multiple professors for each class with each focusing on his or her own section, which correlates to the research they're doing.”

In addition to her classes, Perkins has engaged in music and cultural festivals, taken in the tremendous scenery with a Lord of the Rings scenic tour and held newborn lambs at a sheep farm.

“I would recommend studying abroad or international study for students, because it gives you a different perspective of the world. For example I appreciate the fact that New Zealand is more environmentally conscious than America, which gives me more options for grad school choices since I'm minoring in environmental science,” she said. “Also it helps you get out of your comfort zone!”

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