My time at Lincoln University will forever hold a special place in my heart. I was welcomed with open arms by the students and staff at Lincoln and met with so much support during my time there.

Upon arriving in New Zealand, I knew that Lincoln was where I wanted to be. The campus is a small and beautiful slice of the small town of Lincoln. The close proximity of all the clean buildings really contributed to the feeling of the tight knit community that the university has.

The academic knowledge that I gained as a student far outweighed my expectations. The learning and teaching culture at Lincoln is more hands-on focused. There is a large emphasis on hands-on experience in labs that I prefer in my own learning. I was able to take care of my own row of grapes as a viticulture student. I followed along with the growth of these grapes throughout my time and was able to harvest my own row. With the grapes I harvested I was able to use them in my wine making class to make my own wine. Being able to have such an in-depth experience where I was learning from real world scenarios made it so that I learned ten times more than I would have in a classroom setting. The lecturers at Lincoln really wanted every student to thrive and the small class sizes made it so that each student was given the attention they needed to learn. After taking the viticulture classes at Lincoln I feel more prepared to enter a career in this industry.

The culture in New Zealand was something I had not experienced before but thoroughly enjoyed. The “Kiwi’s” as the native New Zealand citizens are called, are a welcoming and laid-back crowd. They value work life balance and having a low stress life.

New Zealand is a very outdoor-orientated country with astonishing nature right in your back yard. As someone who is adventurous and wants to spend as much time outside as possible, I thrived in New Zealand. The country was small enough that I was able to drive within an hour of Lincoln and find mountains or beaches. Having access to beautiful nature that is well looked after through conservation and sustainability was such a blessing I will not take for granted.

New Zealand is a beautiful country filled with beautiful people. I have never felt more like I belonged somewhere more than I did when I was at Lincoln University. The education I received from the university was unlike any education I have gotten before. The knowledge I gained on viticulture and agriculture is more than I could have hoped for and I feel it has set me up for a successful career in the industry. I loved how I could spend the semester in a country with beautiful nature and a welcoming community.

Name: Olivia Carter
Status: Senior
Major: Horticulture
Hometown: Spring Lake, Michigan
Program: Lincoln University in New Zealand