By Ashlyn Kennedy | Reporter
Baylor in New Zealand, a faculty-led summer study abroad program, has increased its course offerings this year to include both English and film classes. The deadline to apply is March 1, and students who are interested can attend the Study Abroad Fair from 3 to 4 p.m. Thursday in the Barfield Drawing Room.
Dr. Clay Butler, senior lecturer in linguistics and program director for Baylor in New Zealand, started the program in 2022. He said he chose to lead a study abroad in New Zealand because of its natural beauty and the plethora of opportunities to be outside.
“I like to go someplace students don’t normally go,” Butler said. “As a study abroad adviser, I would rather make the trip a new discovery instead of places you go with your family or all your friends.”
Butler said one of the most rewarding parts of being the program director is introducing students to new experiences.
“That’s a very powerful thing — to land in a new culture and be there long enough to contemplate it,” Butler said. “It’s one of the biggest blessings of my job, getting to do these kinds of trips and getting to walk with other students who are getting to experience it as well and making it available to them.”
According to the Baylor in New Zealand website, the program will take place from June 3 to July 8 and will bring students across the North Island and the South Island to cities like Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. Students will also get to participate in excursions such as touring the Hobbiton movie set, visiting the Waitomo Caves, relaxing in the Hanmer Springs thermal pools and going whale watching.
Two English classes, Travel Writing and World Literature, as well as two film classes, Introduction to Film and Media & Society, will be offered to students. The program is open to all majors.
Dr. James Kendrick, professor of film and digital media and co-director for Baylor in New Zealand, said he is looking forward to combining the English and film aspects of the program with New Zealand culture.
“Since they are both liberal arts areas, they’re both things that can be taught fairly easily abroad in a flexible classroom,” Kendrick said. “And when you are talking about literature, writing and film, you’re always, to some degree, talking about the culture in which it’s embedded.”
Kendrick said one of his favorite things about the program is that it strikes a nice balance between structure and freedom. He said students will get to immerse themselves in the experience as they settle into the country.
“It’s about getting out of your comfort zone,” Kendrick said. “It’s about getting out of your familiar world and seeing how people in other parts of the world live and seeing what the similarities are but also what the differences are.”
White Bear Lake, Minn., junior Noelle Sommars said she decided to sign up for the trip after seeing the opportunity to study what storytelling in New Zealand looks like.
“Knowing that there’s going to be an even blend of literature and film-based experiences while in the country was a massive selling point for me,” Sommars said. “I’m going to be learning and growing in my passions of both areas and just storytelling in general, because the country has so much of it to tell.”
Sommars said she is excited to gain perspective on the trip by getting to see the country and meet the locals.
“New Zealand has such an allure to it — where you interact so much with the nature and the geography while immersing yourself with the literature, the entertainment and the film of the area — that you get a very cohesive experience that is unlike anything that I’ve ever heard before,” Sommars said. “I’m so excited for those new experiences, because I think being able to do that alongside growing in your passions and learning from two incredible professors is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
