• AC Home
  • News
  • Events
  • Quick Links
Austin College Logo

Sherman, Texas

Apply

Visit

MENU
  • 2022 Issue
    • From the President
    • … Worth a Thousand Words
    • Planet Hunters
    • Austin College Can Feel Like Home – For Everyone
    • The Joy of Giving While We’re Living
    • They’re Somethin’ in the Water
    • How Many Laps Make a Champion?
    • An UP and Coming Sport
    • Arts Prevail in Pandemic Times
    • How to Not Get Lost in the Woods
    • Healing in the Arts
    • From Ida Green to the LA Scene
    • ‘Roo Notes 2022
    • In Other Words
  • Issues
    • 2021 Issue
      • From the President
      • Seeing 20/20
      • On the Front Lines
      • A Broad Worldview Helps Doctors Face a Global Challenge
      • Finding A New Normal
      • Making A Way
      • This Family is All In
      • A Dream Realized
      • No One Plans for a Pandemic
      • Pastoring in 2020
      • CREATE at 5
      • Transformed: Student Success
      • An Expert in the House
      • A Voice for Good Health
      • ‘Roo Notes 2021
      • In Other Words
    • 2020 Issue
      • From the President
      • Global Life: ‘Roos Around the World
      • Good to Go
      • Just Keep Running
      • Pledged to the Public Good
      • Leaves Book and Tea Shop
      • Public Health Program Provides Popular Major and Minor
      • Power to the ‘Roos
      • ‘Roo Notes 2020
      • In Other Words
    • 2019 Issue
      • From the President
      • TWELVE
      • The Making of a Legend
      • One Legend’s Story
      • Sacred Expressions
      • Powering the Future
      • Fierce and Friendly
      • The Stories of the Stones
      • Truth in Art
      • ′Roo Notes 2019
      • In Other Words
    • Winter 2018
      • Snapshot
      • From the President
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • The President’s Home at Wood House
      • Roots
      • Home Team
      • 100 Years of Co-Education
      • President Steven P. O’Day
      • Giving to Prepare Future Servant Leaders
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
    • July 2017
      • Snapshot
      • Roots
      • From the Interim President
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Home Team
      • The Adventure of a Lifetime
      • Au Revoir
      • The Momentum of Discovery
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
    • January 2017
      • From the President
      • For Love of the Game … and the Players
      • This Is Us – Diverse and United
      • Snapshot
      • Roots
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Home Team
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
    • Winter 2016
      • From the President
      • Snapshot
      • Roots
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Home Team
      • Living the Liberal Arts
      • At Home in the Rainforest
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
    • Summer 2015
      • From the President
      • Snapshot
      • Roots
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Community Impact
      • Of Gratitude and Wonder
      • Home Team
      • Reimagining the Liberal Arts in A Digital Age
      • Medical Experience in Mexico
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
    • Spring 2014
      • From the President
      • Snapshot
      • Roots
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Preventing Pandemic
      • Home Team
      • A Wild Semester
      • The Bottom Line is Greener
      • The Business of Learning
      • Blazing Trails
      • An IDEA Realized
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
    • Winter 2014
      • From the President
      • Snapshot
      • Roots
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Making A Difference in the Natural World
      • The Mentor Advantage
      • ‘Roos Who Write
      • Storytellers’ Gift
      • Strategic Plan
      • Home Team
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
    • Summer 2013
      • From the President
      • Snap Shot
      • Roots: On the Road Again
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Heard Around Campus
      • The Austin College Experience
      • Looking Back and Planning Ahead
      • Faculty Retirees Reflect
      • The Business of Food
      • Class of 2013 Takes on the World
      • A Legacy of Law
        • What is Pre-Law?
      • Dr. Kenneth Street
      • Making History
      • Home Team
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
    • Fall 2012/Winter 2013
      • From the President
      • Mission Around the Globe
      • My Summer of Learning
      • Views of the Outback
      • Our Identity
      • IDEA Center Challenge
      • Investing in Austin College
      • Snap Shot: Opening Convocation
      • Roots: Majestic Music
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Home Team
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
    • Summer 2012
      • From the President
      • Detours to Adventure
      • At the Core of Excellence
      • Who Values Education? WE DO!
      • Sowing the Seeds
      • Banned, Buoyed, & Laureled:
      • A Lifetime In College
      • Snap Shot: Commencement
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Heard Around Campus
      • Home Team
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
      • Roos for Roos
    • Spring 2012
      • From the President
      • Postcards from Abroad
      • Costa Rica Sisters
      • Texas Super Lawyers
      • An American in…Bucharest
      • My Internship in Congress
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Home Team
      • ‘Roo Notes
    • Winter 2012
      • From the President
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • A Century of Science
        • Digging the Antarctic
        • Science in Everyday Life
        • Alumnus Integral To The Manhattan Project
        • Starry, Starry Nights
        • Telling Her Story
        • Celebrating the Unknown
        • A Look Back
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
    • Fall 2011
      • From the President
      • A New Year Begins
        • Meet the Class of 2015
        • Pieces of Home
        • Enrollee to Student
        • Freshman Legacies
        • The Summer Read
      • Gifts That Matter
        • Making Moments Matter
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Home Team
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • Honor Roll of Donors
    • Summer 2011
      • From the President
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Commencement Photos
      • The Many Faces of Success
      • Ghost Light
      • Time
      • In Full Bloom: Lives of Success
      • The Light Shines for Texas
      • Home Team
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
    • Spring 2011
      • From the President
      • From the Editor
      • JanTerm 2011
      • Commencement 2011
      • ACtivator Event #500
      • The Homesick Texan
      • Remembering Chase Gaddy
      • Along Grand Avenue
      • Home Team
      • ‘Roo Notes
      • In Other Words
  • Archives
  • Contact Us
Info For...
  • AC Home
  • News
  • Events
  • Quick Links
Home » Issues » Spring 2014 » A Wild Semester

A Wild Semester

Studying abroad is the absolute best decision you can make as an undergraduate.

african-border

Kris TaylorBy Kris Taylor ’15

There, I said it; it’s out there. Pursuing a career and making lifelong friends are noble pursuits, but nothing will permanently change your life (and you as a person) as much as studying abroad.

I spent Fall Term 2013 doing ecology and environmental studies work in Kenya and Tanzania with The School for Field Studies (SFS). I received College support from the Kenneth and Caroline Elbert Taylor Endowed International Scholarship and the Jim Knowlton Memorial Scholarship for Travel Abroad in addition to a scholarship from African Safari Consultants that helped with my trip. (Imagine my surprise when I spoke with African Safari Consultants partner Jeffrey Ward and found he is a 1983 Austin College alumnus.)

The study abroad experience was truly unforgettable; we did something new every single day. It ranged from hiking in the steppes of Kilimanjaro to riding in Land Cruisers to performing animal censuses for Kenya Wildlife Service in Amboseli National Park. The interactions with the local community were so personal and made me realize that we should be happy about everything we have in life when they can do with so little.

One of my favorite experiences was camping out in the Serengeti on expedition. We camped in canvas tents in an area where elephants and zebras were common visitors during the day, and lions and hyenas were common during the night.

Kenya Wildlife Service Kenya Wildlife Service Kenya Wildlife Service Kenya Wildlife Service

It had the highest density of big cats of all of the places we had been; we saw lions hunting, cheetahs feeding and resting on termite mounds, and leopards pulling Thomson’s gazelles into trees for a late afternoon snack. We spent the days hearing lectures from park officials, and going on game drives to practice observational data collection techniques. We also had a day off to spend at the buffet and swimming of a tourist lodge.

The landscape seemed as if it had been cut out of modeling clay. In Kenya, our camp was in the valley of a rift, and we had a perfect view of Mt. Kilimanjaro. You could see the mountain from camp while showering in the outdoor showers or working on your homework. In Tanzania, we were on the wall of the Gregory rift; you could see for miles into the rift from a hill next to our camp.

Through the SFS-directed research program, I was able to conduct a research project on African elephants. I studied stress correlates using temporal gland streaming as an indicator. In “English” that means I looked at the sides of elephants’ heads (think of the temple region of the head) to see if fluid was coming out of a gland. The secretion has been linked to stress, so using some advanced statistical modeling, we were able to rank what conditions were stressing the elephants the most. To keep it short, we found that age, group size, and gender makeup of the groups play a large role in determining stress levels. My supervising professor, Dr. John Kioko (SFS), will submit the paper for peer review later this year. The research experience was a lot of fun, and getting to be outside with elephants was unforgettable.

While the course load was rigorous and the research was intensive, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I mean, who can really say that their Masai friend taught them how to throw a spear and roast a goat on a campfire? The experience is one that you will get on no other study abroad program. I would recommend it a million times over.

african-border

Kris received The School for Field Studies (SFS) Distinguished Student Researcher Award for his elephant studies. The award recognizes excellence and diligence in research and teamwork and leadership during the semester program as well as demonstrated sophistication in research design, field work and reporting, and contribution to the center’s research plan. The SFS advisor for the project said that Taylor’s work contributed to the long-term elephant studies and understanding of elephant physiology in the wild.

Edwin B. and Louise C. Jordan Scholarship
Arthur V. and Mary A. Boand Scholarship
Dr. Paul E. Geers Award for Excellence in Pre-Medical Achievement

GET IN TOUCH

903.813.2000
Austin College
900 N. Grand Ave.
Sherman, TX 75090

Contact Us

GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

GET LINKED

  • Quick Links
  • Human Resources
  • Campus Offices
  • Directory
  • Email

GET CONNECTED

Subscribe to Austin College E-Communication

Connect to AC

Copyright © 2022 - All rights reserved | Privacy Policy | Consumer Information | Site by thrive-logo