Stories Abroad | School of Languages, Cultures, and Race

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Student Stories Abroad

Aubrey Tomlinson, Animal Science Major & Spanish Minor

Aubrey completed an Education Abroad Internship in May/June 2023 in Guatemala.

How did you decide to choose your majors and minors?
I originally started my freshman year as a Zoology major, but after my first semester I switched to Animal Science because I heard of how well the Animal Science program at WSU was run and all of the courses seemed very hands on, which is exactly what I wanted from my classes during my college experience. With having the experience of my Animal Science classes being so hands on, I loved when I was able to provide hands on medical care to the pets and strays we helped in Guatemala. It was so meaningful to be able to apply my knowledge from my Animal Science courses to the real world in addition to doing so in a foreign country, which was such a unique and fulfilling experience. In addition to my major, I am working towards a Spanish minor. I originally knew I wanted to do a Spanish minor when I worked at a private practice veterinary hospital in high school. One of the veterinarians (a WSU alum!) often used basic Spanish to communicate with clients who could not speak English. I knew I was going to be able to help more clients in the future if I knew two languages, even if my knowledge of Spanish was basic or intermediate level. I have loved my time in the Spanish program here at WSU and all of the professors are amazing. Their excellent teaching led me to succeed during my internship in Guatemala because many people that came to our pop-up clinics only spoke Spanish, so we had to do the intake in Spanish, explain the physical exam in Spanish, and also how we were going to deworm and give flea and tick preventatives to the client’s pet.

How did you find out about the internship in Guatemala?
I joined three clubs my freshman year at WSU, with one being the WSU VAW (Volunteers Around the World) Veterinary Outreach Club. I was the Fundraising Chair during my first year of the club, and helped fundraise our club members’ trip to Guatemala. I had heard about the WSU VAW Club through social media or the HPSC emails, and I decided to attend a meeting in the fall of freshman year. I loved the club and their mission from the beginning, and I knew I had to take advantage of the internship opportunity in Guatemala! The organization is at schools nationally and they travel to lots of different countries whether the club is veterinary, human medicine, or dental-focused.

What interested you in the internship at Guatemala?
I had never been to Central America before, and I was interested to see what veterinary medicine was like in a foreign country compared to the United States. I also found a lot of things in common between myself and the other club members and was excited to travel to Guatemala together as a team to achieve the common goal of providing basic veterinary care to the local animals. I knew that being able to learn about veterinary care in another country could help me further improve my Spanish and communication with owners, as well as alternative methods to treatment when the usual isn’t available.

What was your internship like?
The first few days weren’t too busy; we had a couple days of orientation after we traveled from Guatemala City to Lake Atitlán and also had a few days to explore the area at the beginning and the end of the trip. I did a hike up Indian Nose at sunrise, went to a natural hot spring, and paddleboarded/swam multiple times in the lake! We also had a day at the town market in San Juan la Laguna and did both a weaving a chocolate making class. The middle part of our two-week internship was spent doing 5 pop-up clinics and 1 day of job shadowing. We woke up around 6-7am and were at our clinic site by 8 or 9am every day, then left between 3-4pm. We did 1-2 days each in a total of four cities: 2 days in San Pedro la Laguna, 1 day in San Marcos, 1 day in Santa Clara la Laguna, 1 day in San Pablo, and another day in San Pedro la Laguna for shadowing 1 spay and 1 neuter surgery at the local vet hospital. 3 of the 5 clinic days were spent helping small animals, and the other two days were spent helping horses. We also stayed with a host family for the week and a half we were in San Pedro la Laguna, and it was amazing getting to know the family! They made the most amazing food, taught us how to make homemade flour tortillas, and we were lucky enough to participate in a special religious ceremony they held with family and friends on their rooftop one night. One of our final days was “education day”, which was when we got together with young children from the local school and taught them basics about animal care. It was exciting to see how much we were teaching the kids about what to feed and how to feed their pet, why they should exercise them, and why they should wear a collar for identification. This day truly made my heart full!

How have these experiences shaped you?
After completing my internship in Guatemala, I realized how grateful I am to have modern and accessible veterinary technologies and treatments in the United States. In Guatemala, only so much can be done, and I realized how different sterilization techniques, animal handling, and medications could be, which broadened my perspective of veterinary medicine. I also learned new veterinary skills and Spanish interpretation skills from hosting our pop-up clinics and was able to develop stronger traits of honesty and understanding when communicating a pet’s health condition to their owner. By immersing myself in Guatemalan culture for two weeks, I learned a lot about my host family and how they live day-to-day, the importance of family in their lives, and I even observed some challenges locals face and how they work around them. One thing I observed was that entire families would walk down to the lake together and do their laundry, since they didn’t have washing machines or sufficient amounts of water to do it in their home. My eyes were also opened to the reality of stray animals’ living conditions, as sad as it seemed sometimes. Overall, I believe my thought processes have matured universally, and I am now more empathetic, understanding, and grateful for veterinary medicine and the importance of veterinarians here in the United States.

Where are you off to next?
I have one more semester of undergrad (Spring 2025), and then I am starting WSU College of Veterinary Medicine curriculum in Fall 2025 with a focus on small animal medicine and possibly exotics. After vet school, I hope to start in general practice doing surgery and dentistry while working alongside other associate veterinarians and eventually learning other specialties to be the most well-rounded veterinarian I can be! I am so grateful to have had this mini study abroad internship prior to applying to the WSU Honors College 7-Year DVM program, and I believe it will set me up well for my future as a veterinarian. If you have any questions at all about this accelerated program, please don’t hesitate to reach out as I am happy to help anyone achieve the same dreams I have!

CHINESE PROGRAM

Adri Rick, English-Linguistics & Chinese Major, TEFL Certificate

Adri completed an Education Abroad semester in Fall 2023 in Taipei, Taiwan in which she furthered her experience in Mandarin language and culture. Adri has graduated from WSU in Spring 2025.

Please see Adri’s details of her education abroad experience in Taiwan.

Brenna Houk, Psychology, Criminal Justice & Spanish Professions Majors. Current: Masters in Psychology

Brenna completed an Education Abroad through AIFS Spain, Granada: Universidad de Granada Centro de Lenguas Modernas (CLM)

How did you decide to choose your majors and minors?
I have three majors here at WSU: Psychology, Criminal Justice, and Spanish Professions. When I started at WSU as a freshman I was interested in the cross section of Psychology and Criminal Justice which is how I picked those two majors. Originally, Spanish was just a minor for me since I already had two majors. I took Spanish in high school and really enjoyed it, so I decided to continue taking classes in college. When I studied abroad, I took most of my classes in Spanish, and with so many Spanish credits I ended up with a Spanish Professions major!

What interested you in the Education Abroad Experience?
Coming into college I knew I wanted to study abroad, and I was lucky enough to have a four year plan that allowed me the flexibility to do it. I’ve always had an interest in Spanish and I wanted to learn and practice the language in a country that spoke it. In addition to the language aspect, I was really interested in experiencing new cultures and traveling, and studying abroad is a great way to do that.

What was your Education Abroad like? What did you enjoy most?
I studied abroad through a third party (AIFS), and when I went to Spain I didn’t know anyone. I stayed in a homestay which means I lived with a Spanish couple, but I had an American roommate. I studied at the University of Granada, Center for Modern Languages with other international students learning Spanish. For the first three weeks I was there I did an intensive Spanish course. I went to school five days a week for four hours and our focus was solely on Spanish language and grammar. The next fifteen weeks were like a typical semester, I had five classes split between Monday/Wednesday, and Tuesday/Thursday, and no class on fridays. It was required that every student take a Spanish Grammar and Spanish Writing and Speaking class, but the other three classes were up for the student to decide. Not having school on Fridays allowed students more time to travel on the weekends. It was easy to make friends through the university, and through the AIFS program.

What I enjoyed most was that I was able to travel so much and for such a low cost. Traveling in the states can be costly and time consuming, but traveling around Europe was easy, didn’t take much time to get from one place to another, and was a reasonable price for students..

How has the Education Abroad experience shaped you? Education Abroad has been one of the most Education Abroad has been one of the most exciting experiences I’ve had. I traveled nearly every weekend with people I had just met, but became close with instantly. Thanks to my Education Abroad, I have friends from all over the world that I will know forever, and have a better sense of who I am and what I want to do following college. With all my traveling I’ve learned how important it is to me to continue to travel the world and immerse myself in different cultures. In improving my Spanish level I know how important it is for me to continue my education, whether it be formally in a classroom, or informally through movies, music, or novels.

What could you share of your experience with students about Education Abroad – especially language majors and minors? Any fun events or personal stories to share? After Through my Education Abroad, I went from a beginner level of Spanish to an intermediate high level in only five months. I was given the freedom to travel Europe and Northern Africa with friends I will now have for a lifetime. I gained a sense of independence you don’t find until you move to a new country with no one to rely on except yourself, and that was a wonderful experience. Living in Spain, I got to see the culture that I had only ever read about in a classroom. I enjoyed many flamenco shows, walked to the Alhambra Palace weekly to watch the sunset or hike, learned how to cook traditional dishes like Paella, and even watched Semana Santa processions.

For students with a language minor or major I recommend studying abroad in a country that speaks your chosen language. It is the most fun way to get credits for your major/minor, and the most immersive way to learn your target language. I learned a lot from my language classes at WSU, but being in a location where you are always surrounded by the culture and language is the best way to really improve.

veterinary technologies and treatments in the United States. In Guatemala, only so much can be done, and I realized how different sterilization techniques, animal handling, and medications could be, which broadened my perspective of veterinary medicine. I also learned new veterinary skills and Spanish interpretation skills from hosting our pop-up clinics and was able to develop stronger traits of honesty and understanding when communicating a pet’s health condition to their owner. By immersing myself in Guatemalan culture for two weeks, I learned a lot about my host family and how they live day-to-day, the importance of family in their lives, and I even observed some challenges locals face and how they work around them. One thing I observed was that entire families would walk down to the lake together and do their laundry, since they didn’t have washing machines or sufficient amounts of water to do it in their home. My eyes were also opened to the reality of stray animals’ living conditions, as sad as it seemed sometimes. Overall, I believe my thought processes have matured universally, and I am now more empathetic, understanding, and grateful for veterinary medicine and the importance of veterinarians here in the United States.

Where are you off to next?
I am graduating in December 2025 and plan to start graduate school in August 2026 for a Master’s in Psychology.

More Stories soon….

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