Student Stories
One of the best ways to figure out whether and where you'd like to go abroad is look to the experiences of students who've already been there and done that. Here are some brief profiles of students who've gone abroad, and if you'd like to learn more, contact us and we can put you in touch with UT students who've gone all over the world.
Bryan Andrew Marker
“My study abroad experience was absolutely worth any effort. My life has changed as a result of seeing so many new cultures and sights. I have become a life-long traveler.”
“Lizard Island was so amazing. The coral reefs surrounding it were colorful and filled with an abundance of different organisms. I learned so much about marine life and the art of writing scientific papers, and I got to meet a lot of people that I will be friends with for a long time.”
“In Mexico, I loved working at the Mexican hospital during the day and enjoying the culture and entertainment by night. In Costa Rica, it was amazing having the most beautiful beaches and pristine forests as our classroom.”
“I learned so much about the health care challenges facing developing countries in a practical, face-to-face way, which has led to a better understanding of what types of programs will and won't work in Kenya. Classes only supplemented my real teachers - the homestay family, neighbors, friends, co-workers, and doctors who showed me what it is to be truly Kenyan.”
• Houston Native
• Graduated in 2007 with a degree in computer sciences
• Spent a semester of his junior year at the National University of Singapore
• Received elective credit for courses in artificial intelligence and and evolutionary computing.
• Upon his return, Marker became an officer of the International Opportunities in Natural Sciences (IONS) club
• Is now working full-time as a software engineer at National Instruments, an Austin-based company that’s been named one of the country’s 100 best employers by Fortune magazine.
Elise Nicole Rasmussen
• Arlington native
• Sophomore biology major
• Did a four-and-a-half-week Maymester course taught by UT-Austin faculty, at Lizard Island in Australia.
• Got credit for BIO 337, “ Ecological Research on the Great Barrier Reef”
Bradley Dale Wallentine
• Plano, Texas native.
• Senior biology major
• Spent the summer of 2005 doing UT’s Health Care in Mexico program.
• Spent the fall of 2006 in the Tropical Conservation and Ecology program in Monteverde, Costa Rica
• Got credit for spanish classes in Mexico, and in Costa Rica got geography credit, spanish credit, and credit for BIO 373 (Ecology) and BIO 377 (Undergraduate Research)
• Is now a Freshman Research Initiative student associate.
Jessica Jane Briggs
• Katy, TX native
• Senior Microbiology & Plan II major
• Spent the semester in the Development, Health, and Society program in Kenya.
• Got sociology and anthropology credit.
• Received a $2000 travel grant from Plan II and an IEFS Scholarship from UT-Austin, and continued to receive a $5,000 scholarship that she’d been awarded for her studies.
• Plans to go to medical school in 2008.
