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Solny Arnardottir Adalsteinsson

Student Profile

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Solny Arnardottir Adalsteinsson
saa5000@psu.edu

Victoria University of Wellington, Spring 2006
Biology Major, Ecology option

Studying abroad was something that I always knew I wanted to do during my college career. I started traveling at a young age, going to Iceland to visit my family there. From my trips overseas and around the United States, travel has become a major passion of mine; I've been very fortunate to be able to pursue new experiences here in New Zealand! Especially as our world becomes more interconnected, having an international perspective is invaluable. As great as life is in Happy Valley, being immersed in a new culture and having true independence are vital parts of an education that can only be found abroad.

I'm currently in my sophomore year, majoring in Biology with an Ecology option. My hope is to work in an area of ecology or conservation biology, and studying in New Zealand has helped solidify this dream. I picked New Zealand because I'd heard so much about the diversity of natural environments here. While Australia also has this diversity, New Zealand has the advantage of being much more compact and easier to travel. In just one road/camping trip around the North Island, I was able to see everything from beaches (white and black sand), lakes, hot springs, and redwood forests, to mountains, volcanoes, and geysers. New Zealand is also a very environmentally-aware country, so it's been interesting to learn about other approaches to conservation.

Victoria University is in the capital city of Wellington, which is an amazing place. The Kiwis (New Zealanders) are generally very laid back and friendly, and a large part of the city gets around barefoot in nice weather (I'm still working on conditioning my feet). Wellington is also a very international city, which has added a lot to my cultural experience. One of my flatmates is a Kiwi and the other is from England; I've met students from all over the world, including Taiwan, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Ecuador, South Africa, Indonesia, and India. While it may be more comfortable to hang around with other Americans, my advice is to branch out as much as possible -you will get so much more out of your experience!

Generally, students here take 3-4 classes, depending on the number of "points" and levels. I'm taking BIOL 371: Marine Ecology, STAT 193 (equiv. to PSU's STAT 200), and SOSC 112: Sociological Perspectives on NZ society. The marine ecology course is my favorite so far. It is pretty intense in terms of writing lab reports, but the topics are very interesting and the labs all involve fieldwork. We set up or check experiments on local shores almost every week. As for the other classes, most of the work is reading that is not assigned, but you are expected to be doing on your own. Be prepared for your grade for the term to be determined by one or two assignments/exams. In general, however, the workload is comparable to that at Penn State, and there is still plenty of time to enjoy Wellington and see the rest of New Zealand.

Fitting in all the requirements for a science degree can be challenging, but don't let it stop you from studying abroad. These programs are great because you can go without losing time toward your getting your degree. I would recommend Victoria University to any science student, especially if you have an interest in the environment/ecology. New Zealand is a beautiful country with wonderful people and so much to do and experience. No matter what country appeals to you, if at all possible, go abroad!!