Participating in MSU’s study abroad program provided me with valuable insights into teaching, education systems, diverse cultures, and the extraordinary country of New Zealand. I built relationships with students and staff from my student-teaching experience that I will always remember. I enjoyed the opportunity to teach diverse populations of students from places across the world I had never met before such as New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa.

I will always have a special place in my heart for my mentor teacher who wowed me with her teaching practice. She and I became good friends as she and I only had a three-year age difference. I will never forget how much fun it was working alongside her every day, and I will always cherish our friendship and her mentorship.

I had a great experience with my host family consisting of three cats, a dog, a 10-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy, and a host mom and dad. My host mom and I particularly bonded over our love of reading. During my stay, she gave me book recommendations that I enjoyed reading while I stayed with her. Staying with my host family provided me with the opportunity to learn more about New Zealand and Kiwi culture. I will forever be grateful for their hospitality and generosity.

I learned teaching techniques and strategies that I am excited to implement in my classroom. I particularly enjoyed meeting with New Zealand author, Jill Eggleton. Jill presented us with ways to promote students reading fluency effectively and efficiently in the classroom. I had the opportunity to practice what I learned from her in my student teaching placement. I’m looking forward to implementing what I learned in my future classroom with my students this upcoming August.

I am deeply grateful to have received a scholarship as studying abroad in New Zealand was truly the opportunity of a lifetime that I will always be appreciative of. I am honored to say that I traveled and studied abroad. Participating in MSU's Cross-Cultural Study Abroad program greatly contributed to my personal growth as an individual as well as my professional development as an educator.

Name: Lane Gutowsky
Status: Graduate
Major: Teaching and Curriculum
Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Program: Cross-Cultural Teaching Abroad in New Zealand