The McCusker Centre for Citizenship has welcomed its first Matariki Network of Universities exchange student Evonne Baltrock-Nitzsche, who touched down at Perth Airport on August 28 … almost 48 hours after she was expected to arrive.
The Durham University Masters student, who recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology and Anthropology, said her first time travelling to Australia did not go exactly to plan.
“On Thursday morning at 6am while on the runway at Heathrow Airport, we watched them fitting a new fuel pump for a flight that was meant to have left at 12.30am,” she said with a laugh.
While several students from the McCusker Centre for Citizenship have undertaken a Global Exchange to Durham University (UK) and University of Otago (New Zealand) through the Matariki Network of Universities, this marks the first time the Centre is hosting an exchange student.
During her one-month stay, Ms Baltrock-Nitzsche will intern at UWA’s Campus Management and work on their Energy Use Project, and contribute to an Australian Research Council project titled Climate Change and the New Science of Loss led by chief investigator, UWA Professor Petra Tschakert.
“I am most looking forward to helping share and learn perspectives on how people do practical environmentalism on campus during my internship,” she said.
Ms Baltrock-Nitzsche will also attend the McCusker Centre for Citizenship Student Advisory Committee panel event Globetrotters & Changemakers on August 20.
During her time off from internship duties, Ms Baltrock-Nitzsche said she was hoping to see a kangaroo and visit Rottnest Island and meet a quokka.
Visit the Global Opportunities page for more information on the Global Exchange program.