Lydia A.
Lydia, who grew up in the small 黑料社apptown of Haines, had a very un-Alaskan experience during spring break 2023.
鈥淭hey took us to Morocco, and we got to camp in the Sahara and ride camels,鈥 said the UAF sophomore, who spent the semester in Madrid, Spain.
Lydia, a mechanical engineering major, knew she wanted to study abroad when she came to UAF. So in January, she flew across the world to attend the University of Carlos III Madrid.
Lydia had a host family arranged by a private educational travel company, which also organized activities such as her Morocco visit. The family home sat in Madrid鈥檚 culturally diverse center.
鈥淵ou walk two blocks and it鈥檚 like you鈥檙e in a new town,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd you always have GPS when you鈥檙e finally ready to go home.鈥
She spoke both English and Spanish with her host family. But university classes were in English, with many American students. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I would have been able to survive Physics II in Spanish,鈥 she said.
Lydia, a participant in UAF鈥檚 climate scholars program, hopes to use her degree to develop renewable energy in rural Alaska.
As a first-year student with support from UAF鈥檚 Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity, she compared a national lab鈥檚 model of solar radiation in Haines with data from local sensors. 鈥淚t was surprisingly accurate,鈥 she said of the model.
Lydia said she looked forward to returning to UAF鈥檚 鈥渉ands-on鈥 engineering program in the new Usibelli Building. 鈥淟ast semester, I just walked into the machine shop and I was like 鈥業 want to learn how these work,鈥欌 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 been a great opportunity.鈥