16 April 2018

Scholarships Make Dreams Possible | Study With New Zealand

Colin Murchison
US Study Aboard student

The biggest piece of advice for future international students is to challenge yourself socially.

Studying abroad is an opportunity to find out a lot about who you are, as well as meet some incredible people. Auckland accumulates people from all over America, Europe, Southern Africa, China, Korea, and the rest of the world. I felt like I got an insight into many cultures, not just New Zealand’s while studying here.

I had attempted and failed to study at the University of Auckland previously due to financial restrictions. When applying this time I told myself I would do whatever it took to find funding, so I scoured the resources my home university’s international office had and applied for all the scholarships I could find. I ended up receiving three different scholarships.

I was fortunate enough to travel quite a bit while studying in Auckland. I joined both the tramping and rock-climbing clubs at the university. These clubs provided me the ability to meet and befriend people with similar interests and hobbies. I did a couple of New Zealand’s ‘Great Walks’, and also travelled around both the North and South Islands.

During my spare time, I worked on becoming a better photographer, as well as spending countless hours working on my website. This was my last semester of college, and now that I have finished my goal is to promote sustainable lifestyles through photography and videography.

I hope that my website can inspire people to make socially, culturally, environmentally, and financially responsible decisions as well as provide entertainment through my artwork

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About the contributors
Colin Murchison
US Study Aboard student

Colin, from the University of Arkansas in North Carolina, received a full-tuition scholarship to study abroad in New Zealand for a semester. Colin's goal before he came to New Zealand was to "explore and commit to as many community development and environmental sustainability volunteer projects as possible."