STEP- Education Abroad Australia 201

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Name: Eleanor MacDonald

Type of Project: Education Abroad

For my STEP signature project, I traveled to Australia to study sustaining human societies and the environment. Over the 3.5 week course, I obtained a holistic point of view regarding culture in Australia and learned how it is intertwined with sustainability efforts being made across the country.

During my time abroad, I learned that I strongly enjoy getting to know people who come from different backgrounds than myself. I learned a lot about Aboriginal culture and the adversities that Aboriginal people face in today’s society. This really opened my eyes to how much progress still needs to be made in the area of human rights. It motivated me to listen to other people and their thoughts and beliefs about the world. This included people that I met who lived in Australia and people I met on the trip who were also there with OSU to study abroad. It was fascinating how similar some of my actions and thoughts were to people I met living half way across the world from me. The more I listened, the more of an understanding and appreciation I gained for other cultures. I feel as though this experience has evoked a desire for me to continue to travel the world and meet more people to continue to learn about them and how they interact in their environments.

One of the most impactful experiences that I encountered on the study abroad trip to Australia was the time we spent at the Great Barrier Reef. It was surreal to actually see the bleaching of the coral and just the general beauty that the reef encompasses. What really stuck with me was how passionate the people educating us were about conservation. The Great Barrier Reef Legacy was the group that had taken us out on to the reef to record data and observe the sea life that lived within the reef. Not only did they educate us on the impacts currently damaging the reef, but they also informed us on how we can help make a difference in stopping the damage that is occurring to the reef.

Most of the impacts that are harming the reef are anthropogenic. These impacts include agricultural runoff, water pollution from shipping, and overfishing. Climate change, of course, was the biggest and most damaging cause. It was amazing how much damage could be prevented if these were put to an end. These people work so hard to spread awareness to everyday people on how they can contribute to the conservation of the reef. Their passion rubbed off on me and inspired me to pay more attention to making behavior changes myself. These changes included reducing my carbon footprint by eating less meat, biking instead of driving, and talking to other to encourage them to also make a positive contribution to our environment.

I also became inspired by how many advertises the Aboriginal people have had to overcome after European settlers came to Australia. When the Europeans first came over they deemed the Aboriginal people unfit to inhabit the land and therefore, took the land from them. It was devastating for their people and they have been facing oppression ever since. Just recently, the Australian government has been able to help the Aboriginal people receive some of their land back; however, there is still a major issue with racism toward Aboriginal people that has been a huge challenge for them in their everyday lives.

These issues matter to me because I wish to be a voice for people who have had theirs taken away from them. I also wish to spread awareness for issues that are human caused within the environment that people may not even be aware they are contributing to. In my future career I hope to become an advocate of social justice and environmental justice by working for either a non-profit organization or governmental organization that can implement change within society. I also hope to volunteer for organizations that will promote racial equality and environmental conservation. Overall, this trip has made me want to make a positive impact on the world through encouraging behavior change within society.

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