The Office of International Education (OIE) seeks to provide opportunities for students to experience other cultures, develop critical cross-cultural competencies, and understand the global implications of their academic disciplines.

This spring break OIE organized an Alternative Spring Break to the gulf coast of Florida. Co-sponsored by Georgia Tech’s Serve-Learn-Sustain, the experience brought 40 Tech students, scholars and interns (U.S. and international) to DeFuniak Springs, Florida, for two days of environmental service and intercultural activities. Students and staff created artificial oyster reefs and placed them along the shoreline of the Choctawhatchee Bay. The reefs will serve three important purposes: promoting the growth of biodiversity, providing a barrier against strong waves, and preventing beach erosion. The Northwest Florida Daily News wrote a story about Alternative Spring Break and that can be found here: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/20170320/aw-shucks

At the same time, across the world, Yellow Jackets have been busy studying and doing service projects as part of the Pacific Spring Study Abroad Program. Students spent time in Australia working with Reef Ecologic collecting Sargassum seaweed from Nelly Bay as part of reef recovery. Computer science major Kelsey Murdock shared this photo of her working on the reef.

In addition to working on the reef in Australia, Pacific students also volunteered with a local school in Fiji. Biochemistry major, Sophia Guldberg describes the experience:

Each year while in Fiji, the Pacific Program does a service day in the Denuba Village where we paint the school for the kids. … As part of painting the school, we got to see the classrooms where the children learn and the supplies they have. The students there sang us songs to welcome us…I still can't believe that I was lucky enough to have this opportunity and will be forever grateful to my parents for making such a trip possible for me.

To learn more about Sophia’s experience, please read her blog. This is one student’s experience, but there are many opportunities open to Tech students. If you’d like to learn more about the Office of International Education and the various ways students can get more involved in international education, please visit: oie.gatech.edu.