By Lily Rutherford
Keeley Fitzgerald is a freshman studying environmental and soil science. She took part in the First Year Study Abroad Program to Costa Rica, with the From Summit to Surf: Exploring Costa Rica’s Varied Landscapes 2026 Winter Mini-Term course.
Prior to summer orientation, Fitzgerald had never considered studying abroad. When presented with the opportunity, the idea of furthering her academics abroad sold her on the program.
“I’d never traveled outside of the country, and for it to be with people in a similar major as mine, for such an affordable price in comparison to what it could be, and such a beautiful country, it was an easy decision to make.”
This program was unlike any other offered to first-year students starting their college careers at UT. Designed to provide first-year Herbert students with international context for challenges facing the natural resources and agriculture fields, it gave participants a short-term experiential educational experience.
Before even departing for their travels, students were given an itinerary including a cacao tour, exploration of the Tirimbina Biological Reserve, hiking around an active volcano at Arenal National Park, a visit to the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park, and so much more.
Through these activities, Fitzgerald expressed her favorite parts of her time in her host country.
“My favorite thing about Costa Rica was absolutely the nature, landscapes, and wildlife. The amount of different colorful and unique species there never failed to awe me, and there were more every day. The landscapes were incredibly beautiful, with the volcanoes standing out to me more than anything in their grandness and beauty. The food was definitely an incredible mention too – I didn’t have a single meal that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy.”
On a more overarching scale, there were many unforeseen learning opportunities that come along with studying abroad in a new country.
“I didn’t realize how extensively we would be learning or just how different it would look in Costa Rica! It was really neat getting to see how all of their irrigation and farming works, and how each habitat, creature, and culture revolves around it.”
Considering these different aspects of the program, and the experience of being in a new country, Fitzgerald and her peers received positive impacts to their studies and academic journeys – possibly even to their professional aspirations as well.
In her own words, “I’m a big hands-on learner, so it was really fun to be able to get out, explore, and actually experience what we were learning about. Being outside the classroom inspired me to make the program as meaningful as possible. It’s a course that I will remember for the rest of my life, and it helped me build a foundation of understanding agriculture and natural resources. I also made lots of really neat connections while there, and grew closer with people I hadn’t had the opportunity to befriend before.”
One of the most important parts of experiences like this one is reflection. Travel can be transformative on its own, but it gets taken a step further when students at the beginning of their academic careers are able to learn new concepts in a new place.
When reflecting back on her time as a part of this program, Fitzgerald added, “While I loved Costa Rica and would 100% go back on my own time, I want to explore as many new places as I can through the programs UTIA offers! There are so many great opportunities here, and I would love to have more educational experiences like this one.”
Finally, to wrap up her experience, she shared one word to describe her experience studying abroad: Transformative.
Take part in a transformative experience of your own and study abroad. Learn more about how you can grow global through study abroad here!