Picture This Adventure
From Italy to Istanbul, a Look at the Summer Experiences of Globetrotting Terps
Juliana Corn ’24 cares for a gray kangaroo joey while volunteering at the Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Lesmurdie, Western Australia for four weeks this summer. At right, she carefully holds a short-beaked echidna recovering from burn wounds sustained during a bush fire.
Photos courtesy of Juliana Corn
Discovering a baby possum tucked inside its mother’s pouch was an unforgettable experience for Juliana Corn ’24—but the circumstances were sobering.
“If you’re getting the opportunity to see a joey in its pouch, it’s usually not a good situation,” said the biological sciences major, who as part of her volunteer internship was tasked with checking the common brushtail possum baby’s welfare after its injured mother was brought to the Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Western Australia.
This summer, nearly 300 Terps like Corn vacated College Park for far-flung places around the globe, taking advantage of dozens of study abroad opportunities offered by UMD and partner programs. Beyond a new stamp in their passports, students gained service and learning experiences not available in a university classroom: They constructed dams in Kenya, excavated 19th century pottery in Ireland, sipped in the tea houses of Japan and studied gastrointestinal viruses in Montreal.
"Students are returning to UMD this fall with new perspectives, cross-cultural skills and a deeper understanding of their studies after studying abroad this summer,” said Ramsey G. Jabaji, interim director of Education Abroad. “It can be a life-changing experience.”
Here are some of the adventures Terps took this summer:
Photo courtesy of College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Through the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ first study abroad course in Kenya, students joined Daystar University students to learn about farm management. Instructors and University of Maryland Extension experts Dale Johnson (from UMD’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics) and Jon Moyle (from the University of Maryland Extension) guided students to assist in the construction of a “sand dam,” providing a safe source of water for the local community.
Photo courtesy of Romi Hodor
Animal science major Romi Hodor ‘25 (right), with a cohort friend, worked with wildlife veterinarians in South Africa capturing, relocating and providing treatment to various species of African wildlife.
Photo courtesy of Ella Lepkowski
Ella Lepkowski ’26, a government and politics and criminology and criminal justice double major, takes in views of Arles, France from one of towers of the city's own Colosseum-like amphitheater. Ella participated in a monthlong immersive language experience in Arles, which focused on international reporting, photojournalism, and travel and food writing.
Photo courtesy of the Department of Anthropology
Emma Weikert '24 (anthropology) and Brooke Ayers '25 (anthropology and geography) point to a nearly whole 19th century cream pan—a large bowl for making cream or separating milk from cream—they uncovered from an old trash heap during a June trip to Lackaghane, County Cork, Ireland for Associate Professor Stephen Brighton's field school, “The Archaeology of Early Modern Ireland.”
Photo courtesy of Daniel Medina
Kevin Medina ’23, who majored in mechanical engineering, works with a local resident to cut and strip wire for an off-grid solar installation at a health clinic in Dindefelo, Senegal, as part of UMD’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders. Terps boosted its power generation from 500 to 3750 watts and added higher-power lights and fans.
Photo courtesy of Delaney West
Students take pictures at Yobo-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan, during a tour focused on disaster planning, prevention and management for historic structures. From left, Gabriela Fagoaga '24 (architecture); Deisy Velasquez '21, M.C.P. '25 (architecture and community planning), Jesse Bardsley M.C.P. '24, Michael Baugher, M.A. '24 (Japanese), Andrew Ross '25 (computer science), Serena Choy '25 (architecture) and Favour Oluyemi, '25 (architecture).
Photo courtesy of Shane O'Brien
Information systems major Shane O'Brien ‘24 captures the view from the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland. O’Brien spent his summer conducting business analytics work for the Dublin Business School, part of the Robert H. Smith School of Business’s Global Summer Internship Program.
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