While abroad, I got the opportunity to spend a total of 19 days out of the country in Argentina and around the Antarctic Peninsula. An experience I have dreamt about for years has come true with the support of the Office for Education Abroad.

While in Argentina we hiked through Tierra del Fuego National Park, up 12 kilometers to the Vinciguerra Glacier, and dove into the species diversity along the Beagle Channel on Gable Island. I got to take a glimpse into a totally different world on the same planet I live on.

While on the boat that was sailing around the peninsula of the Antarctic continent, we attended lectures about the land and species we were seeing for the first time by professionals that have so much knowledge to share about the wilderness they love. We saw humpback whales, killer whales, elephant seals, krill, chinstrap penguins, gentoo penguins, Adelie penguins, leopard seals, albatross, petrels, Weddell seals, avalanches, ancient cliffs, the tallest vascular plant in Antarctica at about 2 inches tall and of course so much ice.

This opportunity has shaped the way I think about the natural world. I have expanded my appreciation for the planet we live on and actually found a new future goal to become a guide who shares knowledge for the planet in places few actually travel to. The knowledge I gained from this program impacts on my new everyday life because I know what is out there; I have seen it with my own eyes. I am able to relate this new knowledge to things I am learning in classes and connect it with what I learned before I saw the Southern Ocean and the life that relies on it. I would love to share this knowledge with people of all ages.

Name: Kenna Kline
Status: Senior
Major: Forestry
Hometown: Van Horne, Iowa
Program: The Antarctic Ecosystem in a Changing World