Test Entry

I am one of the few study off-campus students that is not leaving the United States.  I will be studying marine biology and ecology at the Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, North Carolina.  However, my time at Beaufort will be anything but familiar or boring.  I will be living on an island on the Atlantic Ocean.  Additionally, I will completing a two week program in St. Johns, United States Virgin Islands (see picture above) during which I will study rare and tropical marine life.

Although I will not be immersed in a new culture in the way my peers will, I expect to have a life changing experience.  I am most looking forward to, and most nervous about, learning new things under world renowned marine biologists.  The approach will be very different than it is at Allegheny; it will be primarily hands-on, independently driven learning compared to the traditional classroom learning at Allegheny.  However, it will be similar to Allegheny overall.  I am also looking forward to the block scheduling at Duke in which we take one course at a time.  I believe this chance to fully indulge in one class at a time will allow deeper learning and less stress.  It will be particularly nice because I will not have four simultaneous cumulative finals to complete in May.

Similar to the international travelers, I will be living in a strange place and gaining a form of independence I did not have at Allegheny.  As my family lives in Pittsburgh, I have never been very far from home while at college, but this study away program will push me past my comfort zone in the same way it will other students.  I believe this will appropriately prepare me for graduate school.

Finally, I am most excited about seeing and studying tropical animals like sea turtles, sea horses, dolphins, etc.  As an aspiring ecologist, it has always been mildly disappointing to be restricted to the fauna and flora present in Western Pennsylvania.  I believe this experience will make me more passionate about my major and future career than every before.


When I return from Duke, I want to remember the research I have conducted and the personal strides I have made in gaining more independence and learning to adapt to new environments.

-Emily Graves