Belize, Sustainability, and Auburn Abroad

In the early spring of 2018, I received an email from Auburn’s Study Abroad Office promoting two pre-freshman international programs, one to Canada, and the other to Belize. These gave rising Auburn students a chance to earn two credit hours while learning, studying, and exploring numerous aspects of one of these two countries for a week. I immediately jumped at this opportunity to travel with fellow Auburn students and faculty because it I saw it as an entertaining way to start my college career and have a head start on making friends and connections. Journeying to new places to experience different cultures has also always been one of my passions, so I was extremely excited to have this option. Having never been to either of these countries, choosing one was hard. Canada offered beautiful national parks and fascinating historical museums; however, the activities listed on the Belize itinerary better fit my interests. For example, the Belize trip included cave hiking, a riverboat tour, and visiting ancient ruins. Also, the warm climate of the Caribbean—Belize is located on the eastern coast of Central America, directly south of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula—appealed to me more than Canada’s temperate climate.

A few months after filling out my application, which consisted of general questions and a brief statement about myself, I was notified I had been selected for the program and was given more detailed information regarding the trip.  The course we were earning credit for while in Belize was INTL 1970 Special Topics in International Sustainability, taught by Dr. Wayde Morse, assisted by the study abroad coordinator, Emmitt Smith, who both urged us to not only take in the different experiences of the country, but to develop a deeper train of thought in terms of the culture and relating it back to our lives in the United States.