{"id":1336,"date":"2019-08-23T12:39:30","date_gmt":"2019-08-23T00:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/international\/?p=1336"},"modified":"2019-08-23T15:10:04","modified_gmt":"2019-08-23T03:10:04","slug":"study-abroad-at-otago-if-you-love-what-you-do-you-can-do-it-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/international\/study-abroad-at-otago-if-you-love-what-you-do-you-can-do-it-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Study Abroad at Otago – if you love what you do, you can do it here."},"content":{"rendered":"

Fox Meyer came to the University of Otago<\/a> from Washington DC, originally for one semester, but one semester proved not long enough, and he extended his stay for a year.\u00a0 We caught up with Fox, as he is a bit of an international student super-star, and asked him why he came to Otago?\u00a0 What he experienced when he was here – the good and the bad, and the combination of factors that make the University of Otago<\/a>, in Dunedin<\/a>, New Zealand<\/a>, located at the very bottom of the world, such a special place.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPlenty of schools have good geology<\/a> programmes, and plenty of schools are in wonderful locations, I chose Otago<\/a>, because it has both.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The style of learning was different to what Meyer was used to back home, more independent and ultimately down to personal motivation.\u00a0 If you\u2019re passionate, the academics will do everything they can to help you.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcademically, the kiwi attitude towards failure was very healthy.\u00a0 Professors won\u2019t hesitate to fail you if you aren\u2019t making the grade, but that\u2019s not the end of the world.\u00a0 They don\u2019t sugar-coat anything.\u00a0 You\u2019re there to learn, and you need to be wrong in order to learn.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad the staff felt the same way.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The majority of geology coursework<\/a> involved fieldwork, plenty of time in tents and streams, resulting in a final product as opposed to an exam, which was perfect for Meyer\u2019s learning style.<\/p>\n

\u201cOtago<\/a> has encouraged me to do any sort of project I could conceive of, and point me in the right direction when I\u2019ve needed help.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

This independence and interest for his subject led to assisting a professor looking at the thermal properties of the Otago harbour.\u00a0 The data obtained from this is useful in tracking climate change, as well as prospecting potential geothermal taps.\u00a0 On a whim, Meyer applied for the inaugural \u2018Think New Grant,\u2019 from Education New Zealand<\/a>, and won it!<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that part of the reason I won was because I had so much fun applying; enthusiasm for one\u2019s study can often be contagious, so big ups to Otago<\/a> for fostering that curiosity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When asked what a stand out feature of studying at Otago<\/a> was, Meyer refers to the social lifestyle at Otago as an international student:<\/p>\n

\u201cLiving in the international community is a wonderful bubble. There\u2019s something going on every night of the week, you\u2019ll meet folks from all over the world, and if you don\u2019t know how to cook, now\u2019s the time to learn!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And once again, the learning and teaching environment are top of mind:<\/p>\n

\u201cI was given a lot of creative freedom and deadline flexibility to produce an end product that I was happy with.\u00a0 That being said, expectations are very high.\u00a0 You had to ask for help, you had to explore, and you really had to get your feet wet.\u00a0 That\u2019s a good way of describing Otago<\/a>:\u00a0 it\u2019s very easy to get your feet wet, and if you\u2019d like, you can dive a whole lot deeper.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Best memory?<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a year of best memories.\u00a0 The most humbling was during field camp when I\u2019d just submitted my first map sheet, and I thought I was really hot stuff.\u00a0 I felt really big for my boots, was very confident with my lab experience back in the States.\u00a0 Boy, was I mistaken.\u00a0 Way off!\u00a0 My map sheet made no sense at all and the lecturers tore it to shreds.\u00a0 I asked for advice, listened to their advice, went back out, and got a 98% on my next map.\u00a0 Otago taught me not to think I know too much.\u00a0 There\u2019s always room for improvement.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Worst experience?<\/p>\n

\u201cLeaving Otago.\u00a0 It\u2019s that good.\u00a0 If you\u2019re someone who likes their independence, who can work hard and play hard, there\u2019s really nowhere else to go.\u00a0 Definitely not Auckland.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Future plans?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be back to New Zealand as soon as I can, I\u2019d like to explore jobs in the geothermal sector.\u00a0 I really believe New Zealand has both the natural potential and the social support to become a geothermal powerhouse.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Great to catch up with you Fox, congratulations on graduating with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) majoring in Geology, we wish you all the very best with your future endeavours.<\/p>\n

Our favourite takeaway quote from chatting:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you love what you do, you can do it here.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

To find out more about studying at the University of Otago<\/a>, click the big yellow button below and start your journey!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nicky Richardson is an International Marketing Coordinator at the University of Otago. With degrees in music and marketing, both from Otago, she is passionate about education, and the places it can take you.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fox Meyer came to the University of Otago from Washington DC, originally for one semester, but one semester proved not long enough, and he extended his stay for a year.\u00a0 We caught up with Fox, as he is a bit of an international student super-star, and asked him why he came to Otago?\u00a0 What he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36370,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[405,33514,70379,8967,70390,36496,70378,15344,40146,62,70388,70397,81,12254,16238,19279,383,66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accommodation","category-alumni","category-campus-life","category-dunedin","category-employment-2","category-employment","category-exploring","category-geology","category-humanities","category-new-zealand","category-outdoor-pursuits","category-physical-health","category-recreation","category-science","category-staff","category-students","category-travel","category-university-of-otago"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36370"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}