January 10th I began my journey to study abroad. My parents used to live in Athens so I had a little insight on what to expect. My grandparents are also from Holland so I was able to fly there first and adjust to the time change! As soon as I got there I realized I had 12 roommates. Wonderful people from all over the states. The school was in a smaller city called Agia Paraskevi. Greeks do things a little differently. Meal times can last up to 3 hours, and there is a period of time during the day called Siesta time where you go home from work to nap or relax. The food was amazing, I had a lot of gyros and octopus. I was luckily taking Modern Greek so I got to learn a bit of their language. During my time their I visited some of the Greek islands by ferry, such as Naxos, Hydra, Crete, Rhodes. And wishing the mainland I got to see Nafplio, and Delphi. I also got to visit other European countries including Italy (Naples/Rome), Hungary (Budapest), Austria (Vienna), Spain (Barcelona), Cyprus, and Holland (Amsterdam). Although I missed Missoula, this experience was life changing as I got to see so many cultures and meet so many people while hearing their stories. I think in my life, being exposed to so many different things is what makes me, me. By Spring break, my parents got to visit me and I got to show them my school and new friends. At the end of the semester my girlfriend, 2 best friends, and brother all came to visit me as well. I am extremely grateful for my time abroad and I highly recommend it to everyone. Sure there are big fears you need to overcome. Being alone in a new country can be daunting. I know it was for me. But I began to trust myself and my capabilities to see this experience as a growing one. I also met some lifelong friends along the way. Here are some pictures!

For my Beyond the Classroom Experience I spent a semester studying at the University of Chester in England. Going into this experience I was excited and nervous about experiencing culture shock. I figured that since there was no language barrier it wouldn’t feel very different from the United States, but I was wrong. Not only do English people use a lot of different phrases, but their systems and ways of living were unfamiliar. I took classes with English residents as well as joined extracuriculars affiliated with the school. The classes I took were basic gen-eds about the history and culture of England which helped me become more aware of our differences and similarities. It was difficult to meet friends in classes, so I joined the gardening club and football (soccer) team. These groups made me feel welcomed and and helped me build a life in Chester. 

My semester ended in late march, giving me two free months to travel. I spent this time visiting friends across Europe and doing some solo traveling as well. This part of my experience is where I learned the most. I felt myself quickly adjusting to new cultures, languages, transportation, and food. I mostly stayed in hostels where I was able to meet lots of other solo travelers who became close friends very quickly. I’m so excited to carry all of these new skills with me going forward!

During the Spring of 2023, I headed abroad for a semester in Cork, Ireland. I studied at University College Cork (UCC) and took many courses related to my Sociology and Political Science majors. The course that related to my beyond-the-classroom experience was Victim and Victimology, which as the title suggests, dove into the study of victims. I chose this course for my experience as I wanted to better understand the complexities of human trafficking and this class gave me a new perspective I and many others skip over: the victim of crimes. Just a few things we learned were the victim–offender overlap, the role of the victim in the criminal justice system, and the impact of victimization on individuals. We looked into many real cases that happened in and around Ireland which provided me with a more in-depth history of where I was living. The course highlighted the importance of examining both the offender and victim in human trafficking, and other crimes alike.

While my beyond-the-classroom experience was filled with learning, meeting new people, and so much more, I also truly enjoyed my overall experience abroad. I met some of the loveliest people from all over the United States and the world. These people are friends that I know will be a part of my life for a very long time. They were a part of the scariest, most exciting, and most wonderful time of my life. I was able to truly learn how to be independent and navigate a world I really knew nothing about. This was the first time I had gone to an entirely new country traveling all by myself. I not only made it to Ireland on my own, but figured out public transportation, an entirely new way of schooling, and all new aspects of day-to-day life. I left behind the only world I had known. Not to mention all my family and friends. I personally grew more than I could have ever imagined in the three months I lived in Ireland. I was able to see some beautiful towns, cities, people, and places that I will forever be grateful for.

I grew up in Missoula, MT, and have lived here all my life. I am fortunate to be from this town and will likely settle down here someday. However, studying abroad was one of the best choices I have ever made for myself. It pushed me to get out of my comfort zone and test how capable I am of doing things on my own. I am proud of what I did and how I handled myself. My time abroad provided a completely unfamiliar learning experience I could not have got any other way.

Hello! My name is Koson Verkler, and I am a forestry major entering my junior year at the University of Montana. In addition to my main course of study, I am also a student in the Franke Global Leadership Initiative, where my global theme is Resources and Sustainability. The Beyond the Classroom Experience that I took part in this May was held at the Moody Forest Preserve outside of the small town of Baxley, Georgia. During my 10-day trip, I was part of a group made up of several UM students and faculty that helped land managers from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) perform several large-scale prescribed burn operations. This experience was not only very valuable in terms of improving my education and professional skillset, but it also aligned perfectly with my global challenge of spreading awareness of the benefits of prescribed fire.

Throughout my time in Georgia, I learned about the major role that natural and prescribed fires play in southern forest ecosystems, not only for the benefit of natural resources but also for the habitats of wildlife. Species that have experienced a dramatic decrease in their population such as the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), and the red-cockaded woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis) all benefit greatly from a consistent fire return interval. When these keystone species suffer due to a lack of fire and resulting overstocking of the forest understory, the rest of the ecosystem begins to falter, but when these species thrive, their ecosystems do as well.

In addition to the educational benefits provided by this program, another goal is to get students and young firefighters more fire line leadership and operational experience. Due to our small crew size and the number of burns we performed, there were ample opportunities to focus on different aspects of prescribed fire, from acting as a squad boss and division, to lighting the fire with drip torches, and even working on an engine or ATV to ensure the fire stays within its designated perimeters. Besides the TNC land managers, we also worked with a crew of firefighters from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and students from the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College who were participating in a similar field experience program.

In all, our crew helped burn five separate units totaling roughly 575 acres of land across two TNC-managed parcels, the Moody Forest and Broxton Rocks preserves.

While all the burns were successful and a blast to be a part of, the two that stood out to me most were the 227-acre Unit 3 and the 29-acre Unit 10 North burns, both of which were held at the Moody Forest Preserve.

The Unit 3 burn is notable because it was the first time I had ever acted as a squad boss (someone who is in direct command of a group of firefighters on an incident). While I had four of my crew members working under me, we all worked together and executed our plans perfectly to complete our assigned tasks. Not only did I feel supported by both my squad and the burn boss, but I was proud that my first day “in charge” of a small group of personnel on a fire had gone smoothly.

The reasons that the Unit 10 North burn stands out to me are because of its complexity and excitement. Even though the unit was less than 30 acres, we were burning around the Moody Forest headquarters buildings (the buildings we were stationed in during the trip) which almost made it feel like we were fighting a real wildfire with structures threatened. In addition to this, several TNC Georgia board members and the Executive Director, Monica Thornton, were on site learning about the burn and prescribed fire in general. I was impressed to see the leader of Georgia’s branch of the TNC getting involved with the boots-on-the-ground side of land management and it made me happy that prescribed fire is being showcased to more decision-makers and executives in large organizations that have a very far-reaching influence. Burns like this one should be used to inform the public about the necessity of having fire in an ecosystem that relies on it and I was happy to be a part of one in a location that supports the practice as much as Georgia does.

By using many of the techniques that I learned in Georgia, I am looking forward to lending my skills on more successful prescribed burns here in Western Montana. As a UM student, I am extremely lucky to have access to the Lubrecht Experimental Forest outside of Greenough, where we try to burn 25 to 100 acres every semester. The one downside of burning at Lubrecht is that it’s often hidden from the public view. While having inexperienced people on every burn isn’t feasible or safe, I think that having one or two showcase burns every year could be helpful in changing minds and showing people what proper forest management looks like.

People focus on the dangers of fire and complain about the impacts of smoke, and while I understand these fears and grievances, the damage, danger, and inconvenience that large wildfires cause every year is much worse than the low-impact and well-managed prescribed burns that are used to save our incredible forest ecosystems. By focusing and investing in prescribed fire, we can change from a reactionary to a proactive management mindset, which will result in improvements for the environment, safer and healthier conditions in our forests, and less of a burden on the taxpayer and their wallet.

While I could go on and on about the benefits provided by prescribed burning, I would stray far off topic for this simple blog post. I hope you have enjoyed learning about my trip to Georgia, a little bit about how prescribed fire is implemented, and the steps we are taking to combat the destructive wildfires that have become a common sight across the Western United States during the summer months.

Thank you for reading and see you out on the line!

Koson Verkler, UM Franke GLI Student & Fire Club President

My name is Ashley Wilson, and I recently completed a year-long study abroad experience in Concepción, Chile at the Universidad de Concepción. I am currently studying Art, Spanish, and Elementary Education; and while in Concepción, I mainly focused on finalizing my Bachelor of Arts degree along with fine-tuning my Spanish speaking skills.

As someone who was born and raised in a town with a population of a mere 200 people, and then experienced life in Missoula, Montana, I believe that it is safe to say that the initial adjustment to life in a larger city was challenging. Soon after my arrival, I knew that I had taken my previous accessibility to the natural world for granted. Fortunately, it was not long before I began discovering the abundance of nature parks, quaint beach towns, and breathtaking scenery that was only about a 30-minute bus ride away from Concepción’s city center. My desire to learn and experience more of the natural world in central Chile pushed me out of my comfort zone; I had to make connections, be sociable, and ask questions, things that often intimate me, given my shy personality. Ultimately, however, this contributed majorly to my growth as an individual and my self-esteem.

Naturally, as a creative person, I began to feel inspired to create art that represented the beautiful nature and the reality that I was experiencing at the time. Although some of the art classes that I took in Concepción were challenging due to language barriers and inevitable misunderstandings, I felt as if I had finally stepped into my own as an artist while abroad. After all, I was constantly exposed to new elements, opportunities, and ways of thinking. I also had to learn how to improvise, manage my time more effectively, and trust in myself and my capabilities while in such an unfamiliar environment.

This experience ultimately humbled me and made me realize just how vast and abundant the world truly is. I did not realize I was living in such a sheltered bubble until I studied abroad. Although I still have much more to learn and give, I now have a clearer vision of how I want to lead, teach and show up for myself and those around me in the future.

Hello and welcome to reading and learning about the many incredible adventures that UM students have the opportunity to experience through the Franke GLI program. My name is Molly Keller, and I just finished my semester studying at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, where I participated in the National Student Exchange Program to continue my studies in Management Information Systems and Marketing through the Terry College of Business! My global theme is technology and society which I was able to expand my knowledge on through my information systems courses and apply through group projects in my marketing classes. 

Being in the South, it was a unique cultural change to be surrounded by the different cultures that were shared and respected in their own ways on campus and in the community. This experience helped me to see the differences in how people engage with different cultures in the South in comparison to the exposure to other cultures growing up in a small farming community in Washington state. Through my beyond-the-classroom experience, I was able to gain a better understanding of different perspectives within the information systems realm and how each of us is hoping to make impactful changes within many different communities and cultures through our work within technology for the betterment of society. I was exposed to a lot of new passions that students and faculty are working on to make these changes, such as Automation, Energy consumption, renewables, and many others. 

One of the most influential reasons for choosing to study at UGA was their athletics programs along with their high-ranking college of business, combining two of my favorite things about UM and getting to experience them at a much larger university. On my first day of class in January, UGA was playing in the College Football National Championship in Los Angelos. That evening was spent celebrating both new friendships and getting to be a Georgia Bulldog winning back-to-back national championships and will be one of my favorite memories. During my program, I was able to deepen my interest as an intern for the UGA Athletics Marketing Department in the Fan Engagement department helping to implement and increase fan engagement during sporting events both with students and general fans. One of my biggest passions that allowed me to learn better practices is that I can implement what I’ve learned during my internship with Grizzly Athletics. 

A new place surrounded by countless new opportunities allowed for a lot of growth in my leadership skills through my academic courses, clubs, and outside involvement in Athens. I was able to work on group projects for various US companies, as well as projects learning about different technology that is being implemented in making more sustainable energy. 

This experience was truly one I will never take for granted! From the friendships made, the opportunities created, and the academic learning I was able to incur, I will forever be so thankful to the GLI program for all the growth and support in making this experience possible!

Hello Everyone!

My name is Roger Moore. I am a senior at the University of Montana studying Parks Tourism Recreation Management, with a minor in Communication Studies. I performed my Beyond the Classroom Experience and Internship for Tahoe City Public Utility District in Tahoe City, California.

Me in front of 401 West Lake Main Recreation Office.

My Global Theme is Resources and Sustainability, and my Global Challenge was how to effectively educate kids and adults about the importance of the environment in Lake Tahoe? Both my Global Theme and Global Challenge included learning how to educate people on the importance of Tahoe’s beautiful environment and what I can do to better understand the community.

In May, I arrived in Tahoe City and was amazed by the beauty and culture I discovered. Lake Tahoe’s water is the bluest it has ever been in 100 years! I met my bosses and co-workers who were all genuine people teaching me so much about their lives and what Tahoe’s environment means to them. I was excited to be in an environment that was not just task-focused but focused on people enjoying their jobs/lives.

As an intern cohort we were given an open-ended goal of educating children, which began when I collaborated directly with my colleagues to develop a Recreation Afterschool Program, (RAP) and planning the summer’s Camp Skylandia, a day camp for children 6-11.

Tahoe Lake Elementary School, where the RAP program took place.

Crafts, homework, movies, and other activities occurred here. The following photos are of the schoolyard where outside games and free time for the kids happened.

In this Recreation Afterschool Program, I supervised the children and taught them how to make outdoor crafts. I led them through outdoor games in the schoolyard of Tahoe City’s elementary school. I mentored them when they faced difficulties from other students in the after-school program and learned how to interact with them effectively.

As the Recreation Afterschool Program was in its final weeks my co-workers and I planned for the rest of the summer for Camp Skylandia, a day camp. We planned games, crafts, and activities for the summer. I was happy to participate in this planning session because it included everyone’s input which made for some great plans for the summer.

Camp Skylandia log circle where campers gathered.

Camp Skylandia for campfire, activity choice, and field trips for each week.

Meeks Bay Field Trip with campers playing volleyball.

Beach time.

Eventually, the afterschool program came to an end in the second week of my experience as summer was just beginning. During this time, I got to help plan an end of the year party for the kids with awards that were presented to them with their parents and fellow afterschool students. The awards we created were for what we thought the kids best represented in the program. The party included a nacho bar and ice cream sandwiches for all the kids. Overall, this party was quite successful and made everyone happy.

Then the summer camp we planned for began. At Camp Skylandia I helped assist kids from first through fifth grade. I helped lead them through crafts, games, and campfire songs that were associated with each week’s theme. I was glad to learn so much about working with kids while at Camp Skylandia

In the evenings I learned even more about the Tahoe City community. During the softball league I learned how to keep score for adult softball leagues of various levels, ranging from Men’s League to D1 CO-ED, to D2 CO-ED and finally D3 CO-ED. This helped me reach out to locals and learn about why they enjoyed softball so much. I even met an alumni of the University of Montana, one of which was an umpire.

Scorekeeping Men’s League Softball.

Scorekeeping Men’s League Softball.

Scorekeeping D3 Co-Ed Softball.

Towards the end of my internship experience, I expanded my work horizon into learning about utility management. This work taught me skills of how to manage general maintenance that I may need to do in the future as an adult living fully on my own outside of the academic sphere.

In correlation with Camp Skylandia and Utilities management I also, I was able to help assist in sports camp. This involved playing and refereeing games for children. We played sports such as volleyball, soccer, football, wiffle ball, ultimate frisbee, floor hockey, and basketball.

Rideout Community Center where I assisted with sports camp.

As the end of my experience, I was lucky enough to talk and collaborate with several administrators across the Tahoe City Public Utility District. That allowed leadership skills and how to build a better community in Tahoe City.

For my personal reflection, living and working in Tahoe City, I came to better understand my leadership skills. I realized that personally I come at things from a more assertive leadership mentality to get things done. But I remain a deeply emotional person as well. However, through my experience and reflection I realized that taking a step back in life occasionally is just fine. Nothing must be instantaneous but can come instead in a timely manner.

Also, I realized after going through this experience that building a community and better life for everyone is a win-win solution. Taking a step back allows you to deeply involve more than yourself and taking care of what you think is right. It involves thinking about steps to solving a problem. These steps form trust, reliability, and good relationships across a community. Community fails when people cannot seek out diverse opinions in the community and do not feel heard.

That is why Tahoe City may be changing but it is not too late to make it a place for everyone! As there is something here for everyone that I think cannot be seen without this experience.

Some questions that have been raised from my experience are as follows:

How can I better support myself and others in life?

What does going your way look like in the face of helping others?

How can I listen first and then act in a way that is helpful to all?

What steps can I take to better understand more people that I encounter in life?

Hello! My name is Ashlin Slanger, I am going to be a senior at the University of Montana this year. I study molecular biology and biochemistry, and my GLI theme is global and public health. This summer, I took an internship studying marine conservation in Greece. I stayed on several islands during my time there in an archipelagos called Dodecanese. The main locations were in Samos, where I lived the first half of the summer,  and Lipsi, where I moved for the final half of summer. My goal for this experience was to learn more about how the state of the oceans affect the health and wellness of coastal populations. I knew the wellbeing of our oceans was poor, but being from a landlocked state I never truly had to face the issue of pollutants in the sea.

My time in Greece has forever changed the way I will live my life. I have learned so much about plastics in the ocean. The organization I worked for, Archipelagos Institute for Marine Conservation, collects data on the dissections of dead sea life washed ashore. For the past three years, 100% of the sea turtles had plastic in their stomachs. On top of this, microplastics are found in most fish, making their way into human bodies as well. In the Mediterranean Sea, 730 tonnes of plastic enters the waters each day. That is the equivalent of 100 elephants in plastic. In Samos, our team would do beach cleanups every day with the hope to minimize some of the plastics entering the ocean and to collect data on the types of plastic circulating the sea. Single use plastics are the driver of such immense pollution, and must be regulated. Even if a small effort is made to minimize plastic use it could greatly benefit ocean life, and in turn, our own lives. 

On top of the plastic collection I worked on several other projects this summer. I studied species of the Mediterranean Sea and learned how to properly identify them in the water. We would write down the species we saw with underwater paper and count how many of each to quantify them. We keep data on the abundance of species and also on invasive/alien species. I also helped with efforts to replant seagrass meadows, which have been shrinking due to climate change. This is an extremely arduous process because each seed or fragment must be planted by hand into hand-sewn biodegradable burlap bags. We collect seeds and uprooted fragments during our surveys as well as particular sediment from the ocean floor to use for planting. In total, I have helped plant over 1,000 individual seagrass seeds and fragments!

I have learned a lot about how the environment affects human populations, especially living in Greece during the longest heat wave ever recorded in the country’s history. Fires erupted in surrounding islands, burning many homes and threatening the lives of thousands. I was afraid my time here would be cut short, especially when a small fire popped up on Samos. Fortunately, they were able to put it out quickly and we didn’t have another after that! The shops on every island set up donation bins for families who lost homes in the fires, and interns would give what we could. Even after the fires and the very real threat of ocean plastic to humans and animals alike, so many people fail to practice greener alternatives which may mitigate these issues. I have taken so much from this amazing experience, and I feel fully transformed as a person having completed this internship.

This summer I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in a Wild Rockies Field Institute course titled Conservation Across Boundaries. I am a Sustainability, Science, and Practices major and this course seemed to fit in perfectly with what I am already extremely passionate about and connected to by my global theme of Resources and Sustainability. The course was split into four sections. The first was an 8 day backpacking trip in the Bob Marshall. I have a Wilderness Studies minor and was able to contribute to a lot of the conversations had in this space as we discussed the terminology behind “Wilderness” and what implications that verbiage has.

After this section of the course we spent time in the front country and learned about life on a reservation and different environmental movements occurring in these spaces. We met with tribal elders and discussed the importance of Indigenous place names and what the Blackfeet Confederacy is doing to include more of those in the public sphere. We also had the opportunity to work on a trails crew for a few days, with the Great Divide Trail Association. Here we learned more about how trails are created and the importance of proper construction and maintenance.

In the third section of our course the focus was on a specific case study that occurred in British Columbia. We backpacked the Jumbo Loop Pass and learned all about the proposed glacial ski resort in that area. The Ktunaxa nation ancestrally occupied these lands and the specific piece of land the ski resort would have been put on was the Q’atmuk land, or the sacred grizzly land. A ski resort here would have had a major environmental and cultural effect that sparked a small grassroots movement called “Keep Jumbo Wild”. We met with people who were a part of the organization and discovered how effective this small conglomerate of passionate people were at keep the ski resort off the land.

Lastly, we spent the final leg of our six week trip kayaking down the Flathead River. We learned a lot about the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the work they did to reacquire the National Bison Range so the land is once again managed by the tribes and not the federal government. This is an example of the positive effects of the Land Back movement and we were able to visit the range and learn first hand how the returning of the bison to the land is vital to our environment.

This experience was one I will never forget. The knowledge I have attained from learning experientially and the people I met along the way are something I will always hold dear to me and will continue to reference in the rest of my education and career to follow.