Help Me Follow My Dream

Hanna Rogers Start Date: Sep 1, 2017 - End Date: Dec 31, 2017
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Professional Development
  • Study/Degree Abroad
  • Tanzania

My Travel Story

by: Hanna Rogers Start Date: Sep 1, 2017 - End Date: Dec 31, 2017
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Professional Development
  • Study/Degree Abroad
"Always do things that scare you." This is a motto I've tried to live by more and more as I’ve grown up. I think the scariest thing one can do is to actually go and pursue the goals that you have always dreamt about. The act of thinking about doing something and actually taking the steps towards it are two extremely different things. It’s the difference between jumping off the swing set and going sky diving. For me, studying abroad in Tanzania would be taking a giant step towards what I have been dreaming about since I was seven years old.

School for Field Studies is an international organization that centers its study abroad sites in areas that are facing severe environmental issues. Founded in 1980, for over 30 years now they have made it their goal to help bring environmental awareness to their students and the local communities. They have always made it their goal to help the local communities that they work, live, and learn in. Each program consists of the first few weeks focusing on learning. However, the learning is then tied in with the community that one will be studying in. With the knowledge learned in the first few weeks, one then helps with an on-going research project, contributing to their own findings to the overall study.

The Tanzania program is centered around research on the ecological components of the African Savannah. From learning about the human-wildlife conflict to gaining knowledge on how to conduct actual "in-the-field" research experiments, I will be able to grow and become the scientist I've always dreamed about becoming. As the semester continues, I'll be able to participate in a research experiments such as studying the social dynamics of elephant groups or understanding the dynamics of human-animal conflicts in tourist parks.

In addition to gaining extensive knowledge in the field of ecological and biological research, I will also be gaining irreplaceable cultural experience. While the field work may be grueling and extensive, as groups we visit local towns like Rhotia, helping in community efforts such as reading at orphanages or helping in the fields during crop season. Various expeditions to neighboring tourist parks around the home site of Moyo Hill Camp are also a key aspect of the trip.

My passion for animals has lead me on a path of discovery beginning  when I was seven and begging my mom for the "Zoobooks" magazines to finding my home in the North Carolina State University Zoology department. Granted my idea of working with animals has also changed a few times over the years. My career aspirations have hopped from veterinarian to farmer to zoo-keeper. But during my time working and learning at NC State I have discovered a true passion for animal research, focusing in the ways that benefits them in their natural habitat and educating the general public on the environment. Once I realized what I wanted to do, it was like door after door of opportunities opening. All I had to do was to take the leap and walk through one. 

School for Field Studies program at Tanzania will not only help me grow as a scientist, but it will also provide me with the opportunity to gain knowledge with working with locals and the public. I have come to realize that the two are interconnected and need to be treated as such. Though the program is a perfect fit for me …the price is not. I have applied to scholarships, grants, and fellowships, but for the final bit my advisor suggested that I reach out to the public in a creative way. So here I am, asking for the help from people who understand what it is like to want to achieve their dreams. I appreciate anything that you can donate and moreover I appreciate the time you took to read my story (and possibly share it with others)!

Thank you!

--Hanna Rogers
  • Tanzania

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