When looking for what university to attend, Mary Lauren Mitchell, a senior in media studies, thought outside the box. Mary decided to leave her home in Tauranga, New Zealand and travel to the United States of America for her degree.
“I wanted to do something different and four years abroad was an opportunity I couldn't pass up,” Mary said.
Studying abroad is a family affair for the Mitchells.
Her older sister, Katie Mitchell, desired a typical American college experience, and chose to attend Troy University based off the website. According to Mary, Katie was drawn to Troy's reasonable tuition and normal American characteristics, such as football and Greek life.
Her brother, Jonathan Mitchell, decided to stay close to Katie and attend Auburn because of its good academic reputation.
“Originally I had my heart set on going to Uni in California or Florida and not Alabama,” Mary said. “But the other schools were so exorbitantly priced. So, I ended up at Auburn and have never regretted my decision.”
Mary got involved on campus through Reformed University Fellowship, or RUF, where she met many of the people who she is closest to today. According to Mary, she was also able to make friends though her jobs at Hamilton’s on Magnolia and The College of Liberal Arts.
“I didn't know a single soul when I arrived in Auburn,” Mary said. “It was intimidating but also pushed me out of my comfort zone.”
This drastic change of scenery wasn’t quite what Mary envisioned when she made the official move to the States.
“I definitely experienced culture shock when I moved to America,” Mary said.
Even coming from New Zealand, which is an english speaking western society, Mary found that the cultures were completely different. However, she isn’t the only one at Auburn experiencing living in America for the first time.
Auburn University had 1,637 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in 2015, according to the Office of Institutional Research.
“The largest number of foreign students came from China…with 749 students enrolled at the undergraduate or graduate level, followed by India, with 261,” said Drew Clark, director of the Office of Institutional Research. Mary is one of only three students at Auburn that came from New Zealand.
Though she originally thought about attending the international student meetings offered, she said she decided against it.
“I do not personally know any other international students here at Auburn,” Mary said. “I wanted to be immersed in American culture and surround myself with locals.”
Mary misses her family back home, who she only gets to see once a year during winter break.
“I would love to visit more often,” Mary said. “But because of the cost of flights and 30 plus hours of traveling doesn't exactly make it a quick weekend trip home.”
After her American college experience ends this spring, she is planning on moving back to New Zealand or Australia to work in the production industry, specifically in video editing. However, Mary said she will never regret her time spent here at Auburn.
“I was exposed to new phrases, slang, food and sports,” Mary said. “At first they were so foreign to me, but now I have grown to love them. No one does fried chicken better than the South!”
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