Help me with my conservation studies abroad in America!

Jennifer Kirsch Start Date: Dec 5, 2016 - End Date: Jun 4, 2017
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Study/Degree Abroad
  • Humboldt County, Kalifornien, United States of America
  • California, United States of America

My Travel Story

by: Jennifer Kirsch Start Date: Dec 5, 2016 - End Date: Jun 4, 2017
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Study/Degree Abroad


Help me fund my year abroad in America!

Who Am I?
I am a “Liberal Arts and Sciences” student from Freiburg, Germany with the major "Earth and Environmental Sciences" and very concerned about environmental issues and the future of our planet. Therefore, I am specializing in nature and species conservation. I see the oceans as a major point of interest as the marine ecosystem plays a vital role not only for the ocean but also on land ecosystems. Unfortunately, they are still widely unexplored and I would love to find out more and see how we can effectively protect them in order to save our and other species.

Why do I want to study abroad?
It turned out that Germany is not the perfect place as it does not offer that many ocean, wildlife conservation or sustainability courses. Therefore, I applied for an exchange program with America, California. Up in the north, between the Pacific and the Red Woods, that´s where the Humboldt State University is located, in a small town, called Arcata. It is a very alternative and sustainability concerned city which allows me to get to know like-minded people and share ideas or plans and turn them into vivid projects.
The university´s ideology is the protection of nature and creation of a more just society. Many of their courses as well as the on-campus housing internalize this ideology. For instance, there is a greenhouse, many options for sustainability courses and field projects. As the first university, they banned the sale of plastic water bottles as well as plastic bags in the last years. They offer many courses in marine and nature conservation, sustainability and climate change which I would love to take and then bring my gained knowledge back to Germany in order to tell people about it and offer them alternatives to our damaging lifestyle.

Saving the world!
Last year, I have been to India where I was very much surprised by how much plastic people use there and how many of them do not even think about their consume. I started talking to people and got a lot of positive feedback. This year, some friends from over there were visiting me and they completely changed their attitude concerning plastic use. They even brought their own forks and knives in order to not take plastic ones for take away food on their trip. It was a great feeling having opened some people´s eyes and thereby creating a positive impact onto our environment.
I would love to learn more about these issues on an academic level and California seems to be the perfect option for me.


For me, it is not just about going to America or California (then I would have chosen sunny San Diego instead of foggy, rather cold Humboldt county), but the academic chance I get there and the experience, I can make which will be very precious concerning my future life and plans.
I could use that knowledge to specialize more in the area of rescuing or world and educate kids or just generally work in that field in order to make our planet a place worth living for again and secure a safe future for the generations yet to come.

 

Please help me fulfill that dream by donating some money for my studies in America.
  • Humboldt County, Kalifornien, United States of America
  • California, United States of America

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