Adam Lazor

School for Field Studies – Sustaining Tropical Ecosystems: Biodiversity, Conservation and Development – Atenas, Costa Rica (summer 2012)

NSE – University of Hawaii – Hilo, Hawaii (fall 2011)

Aloha! My name is Adam Lazor and I’m a senior here at Ramapo College, I am currently a student aide at the Roukema Center for International Education and a pole vaulter on the school Track and Field team. I am majoring in Music with minors in Environmental Studies and Anthropology.  Before studying abroad I participated in NSE (National Student Exchange) and spent my fall 2011 semester at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would live in Hawaii, let alone study there. I fell in love with Hawaii as soon as the plane landed.  I think Hawaii is the closest you can get to studying abroad without actually leaving the country, there are so many different cultures that live on a chain of Islands in the middle of the Pacific; it’s truly a fascinating state. Alongside of Hawaii, this summer I spent a month doing environmental research in Costa Rica. This trip really proved to me that studying abroad is the most powerful thing you can do as a student. No matter how you try to explain it to people, the only ones who understand what you experienced are those who went out and studied abroad as well. I think if you can take that small step out of your comfort zone, you allow yourself access to a world you will never see and it is a very intense life changing experience.

Update: Adam participated in the School for Field Studies program in Aetnas, Costa Rica during summer 2012.