Hello Holly!

Introducing Holly Sutcliffe, a Marketing and Outreach Intern for the 2013 Fall Semester!

Holly at the Photo Contest 2013 Booth

Holly is a senior studying Animal Science with an emphasis in International Business and minors in German studies and International Studies. She serves as German Club president, and event producer for Campus Programming and Relations. Holly is also an active member of the Equestrian Club. If you're interested in an advising session with Holly, e-mail her at sutcliffeh@uwplatt.edu, or stop in at Royce 111.

Holly in Amsterdam

Q: Where did you study abroad and when?
A: I traveled abroad in the spring of 2010 with my high school German class for a brief two weeks, staying with host families near Frankfurt, Germany, and Carpi, Italy. That of course spurred me to study abroad not once, but twice. To get my feet wet, I first went on the Darmstadt, Germany, Renewable Energy short-course during the summer of 2011. I then decided I was ready for "the real thing" and spent and the fall 2012 semester in Dronten, the Netherlands. 

Q: Have you ever had an unexpected experience that turned into the highlight of your trip?

Riding a Frisian horse in Friesland

A: Getting placed on a dairy farm 45 minutes from my school for an internship I didn't know I was doing. We were told at 11 p.m. the night before to "pack our bags for a few days on the farm" and were then shipped off the next morning with no idea how to get home. At first, I was disgruntled and a bit nervous, but that internship turned out to be the best part of my entire trip. I was blessed to get placed into a loving family who practically adopted me as their own. They took me sightseeing, taught me language skills, helped me learn to relax and really showed me how to embrace Dutch culture. I even got to go to their St. Nick's Day celebration and was invited to go skiing in France with them. Unfortunately, my flight left for home the day they got back from France, so I missed that trip, but I still got to see them once more before leaving. They came to my school apartment and surprised me with a whole dinner! I still keep in contact with them to this day and joke about all our crazy times.

Q: Describe the most delicious food you have ever eaten while travelling abroad. 

A: Homemade apple pie. It was so much how delicious it was, but more so the effort that went into it and the meaning behind it. We had invited our closest international friends to an American dinner to celebrate Thanksgiving while we were abroad. By the time the pie came around, everyone was almost too full to look at it, but somehow we made it all disappear. 

Q: Describe the most meaningful travel experience you've had. 

A: Well, besides all the wonderful times at my internship, I would have to say learning being surrounded by other cultures. At my university, we were immersed in a huge block of international students from over 20 different places around the world. I studied with them, worked with them and lived with them. They were my new extended family and they had lots to share. They taught me all about their cultural backgrounds from schooling to family practices. It not only widened my view of the world, but also made me come to appreciate all that my own country had to offer.  

Q: What would you say to students that are considering studying abroad?

A: Stop considering it. Go! It will change your whole outlook on the world, your future, and most importantly, yourself. 

Q: If a penguin walked through the door right now wearing a sombrero, tell me 1) What would he say? and 2) Why is he here?

A: Well, firstly we wouldn't speak. He’d sing; probably some Jamaican medley about unrequited love. And secondly, he is going to keep singing his audience is either singing along or running off to the study abroad office to get their next adventure under way.
 

Cliffs of Dover