My placement with the University of Georgia Marine extension and Georgia sea Grant
Erin Murphy, marine biology student, shares her experience of travelling to America for her placement year.
I really enjoyed my placement because I got to try out a lot of things that I hadn't done before and I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with my career so working with animals and getting those certificates has really helped me to lean towards that way.
I did my placement at the University of Georgia Marine extension and Georgia sea Grant. The main role of my job was teaching K through 12 kids in America marine education on their field trips. I also got to spend a lot of time doing animal husbandry, working in an aquarium, and a lot of outreach events in the local community.
What were some practical things you had to consider?
In preparation for my placement I had to get J1 visa from the US Embassy, which was a pretty simple process because UG sponsors you for it. I also had to sort out some health insurance so that I was covered in America.
Were there any challenges?
At the start it was kind of difficult because I was under 21, so socializing was kind of hard, but I overcome this by joining different things in the community and going to little events that everyone could go to.
Do you have any advice?
I would advise any future students to say yes to as many things as you can while you're there. I got to do so many cool experiences that I had never even thought to do before.
