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By MSU student Angie Jackson  

For most Spartans, last year’s holiday break revolved around a month of catching up with friends, scarfing down as much non-cafeteria food as possible and sleeping away the stresses of exam week. Unlike the majority of us, Courtney Shuert’s winter break was less about hibernating and more about exploring. From December 22 until January 11, she spent her holiday vacation sledding down glaciers, plunging into ice-cold water and hanging out with penguins.

Courtney, along with 14 other students, studied abroad in Antarctica under a general natural sciences program. For the first half of the trip, the group stayed in a hostile in Ushuaia, a city in southern Argentina. From there, they ventured along the Antarctic Peninsula by ship, enduring unruly waters and chilly weather. At sea, Courtney embarked on numerous expeditions, visited a Ukrainian research base and hiked on glaciers.

As a zoology junior, Courtney has a passion for wildlife. The experience allowed her to step beyond the glass window barriers of the zoo and get up close and personal with whales, seals and penguins. She’s thankful she chose Antarctica as her destination because it gave her an honest glimpse into the lives of animals.

“Being there (Antarctica) was just mind-blowing,” she said. “When you see animals in the zoo, they just kind of sit there. But observing them in their natural habitat gives you a whole different perspective on how they really live.”

To go on the expeditions, the group left the main ship and hopped onto inflatable Zodiac boats to maneuver around the peninsula. An average day included hiking with a guide over patches of snow and ice while roughing it in 20-30 degree weather.

“I definitely came prepared with long johns, fleece pants and lots of layers. Plus we wore waterproof boots and bright yellow parkas that were super warm,” Courtney said. The bone-chilling weather didn’t stop them from exploring either. From polar plunging into freezing water while only wearing bathing suits, to hiking up glaciers, the students always found a daring activity to tickle their adventurous sides. Courtney said the small group formed into a family instantly and spent their nights bonding by the bar and recapping the day’s occurrences. 

When she wasn’t covering the continent one glacier at a time, Courtney buckled down to attend science lectures and prepared for exams. The professors, a married couple from MSU, covered topics ranging from biology and oceanography, to climatology and geography. Within three weeks, Courtney earned a total of six credits in overseas studies in zoology and international studies in fisheries and wildlife. Although the courses were fast paced, she says the hands-on experience made it all worthwhile.

“There were times when it got a little intense, but the field experience was amazing. It’s one thing to learn from a book, and then it’s a totally different thing to go out there and see for yourself,” she said.

As her second study abroad trip, and with a third one planned to India next summer, Courtney was not hesitant to pack up and say goodbye to the comforts of home for a few weeks. However, she encourages anyone who is even slightly considering studying abroad to take the leap of faith and go for it. Exploring beyond the classroom taught Courtney lessons in group dynamics, allowed her to engage in valuable fieldwork and encouraged her to step beyond the box. She says studying abroad in the world’s coldest continent made for an adventurous learning experience that cannot even compare to a lecture hall.

“If you have the means to travel, get out there and do it,” Courtney said. “To think that I went to Antarctica and saw things that few people get to see is thrilling. Studying abroad is such a unique experience that will help you with every area of life.”

• To embark on a study abroad trip to Antarctica like Courtney’s, visit:http://www.studyabroad.msu.edu/programs/antarcticscience.html
• For more information on the hundreds of other study abroad programs offered through Michigan State, check out:http://www.studyabroad.msu.edu/programs/index.html