My name is Liam Hauck, I am a marketing major and my global theme is Natural Resources and Sustainability.  For my beyond the classroom experience I chose to study abroad at La Trobe University in Melbourne Australia.  I was looking forward to learning more about the theme of Natural resources and Sustainability while I was in Australia.  Climate change has had a significant impact on Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is continuously being negatively impacted by climate change and I arrived in Melbourne just as the last of the severe bush fires were being put out.  So, it seemed like there was a lot to learn from Australia in terms of natural resources and sustainability and how the natural world can challenge a nation’s sustainable practices.  

            However, it was only about two weeks into my semester abroad that I had to return back home to Seattle to finish my studies online due to COVID shutdowns.  Fortunately, I had arrived in Melbourne about a month before my program started and I got to stay with my Uncle who lives in Melbourne.  During this time I was able to explore Melbourne, see Elton John perform, and even took a week-long trip down to Queenstown, New Zealand (where I got to skydive)

            The majority of the times where I found myself growing as a leader and simply as a person were when I had to continue my studies online back in Seattle.  I left Australia on March 26^th and finished my semester on June 15^th.  All of my classes had to be attended live via Zoom, in Australia time.  Which meant that most of my classes were at night, with the latest class starting at 9 pm and ending at 11 pm.  It was very hard to find the motivation and fortitude to attend these classes and do all the work at late hours.  Yet I persevered and worked as hard as I could through those 2 ½ months of late nights and I certainly developed skills that I will take with me into my professional career.  While this experience of course was not the one I wanted, it was the crazy one that I got. I am definitely thankful for the time that I had down under.