Arizona State University Exchange Report - Tim Stewart
My exchange to Arizona was nothing like I thought it would be. Rather than five months of
hard work for high gain, it became a time to put real life on hold for a bit and really enjoy the
present. During the time I met great people, did amazing things and fell in love with a country
I will surely return to. No matter how much you prepare yourself for it, you can never predict
how an exchange such as this would turn out.
Expectation’s versus Reality
When planning an exchange to the US, the intention
was always to experience NCAA athletics, and life
on a division 1 track team. In the end I chose ASU
as my first choice because of the relationship I’d
built with their coach, the quality of the track
program there and reputation of the W. P. Carey
business school. Unfortunately, a few months before
I was scheduled to arrive in Tempe I got an email
stating that I had been deemed ineligible not just to
compete for ASU, but also to train with the team.
While at the time “disappointed” was an
understatement to how I was feeling, it turned out to
be a blessing in disguise. The ineligibility meant that Havasupai Falls, Grand Canyon
I could switch it up a little. As a result, I decided to
spend the semester with completely different priorities; learning new things and gaining new
experiences.
First Impressions
Pac12 Finals: ASU vs. Stanford with a T-Shirt I caught
out
My flights to Los Angeles was scheduled for 11
days before the exchange students orientation,
so I opted to spend them travelling around
California. If I was to do this trip over, I would
have instead opted to visit Seattle and
Portland north of California, because as an
exchange student at ASU you are going to
get many chances to travel to California.
Spending 10 days as a solo backpacker was
different to the trips I took with other
international friends. While you miss out on the
companionship, you get to see exactly what you
want to see, and are forced to make friends with
all the other personalities in different hostels. As
a first-time traveller, it was enlightening to be
connecting with people from all over the globe
on a regular basis.
After spending 10 days backpacking, and missing my 7am flight to Phoenix due to having
“too much fun” with my backpacking friends the night before, I finally arrived in Tempe at
11pm and was engulfed in its heat. On the first day I got lost
trying to take a shortcut on the five minute walk home and
almost passed out when I ran out of water. Despite this
obstacle, the international orientation meant that we were
able to link up with exchange students from all over the
world and we immediately hit it off. We spent the first week
in Tempe getting to know each other, enjoying the paradise
that was our accommodation and taking advantage of the
fact that it cost $18 for a 30 pack of Bud Lite. Our
accommodation, called Vista Del Sol is best described as a
six month stay at a resort. 16 different buildings held 2000
university students, which surrounded the living amenities of
a gym, movie theatre, study rooms and pool, barbeque and
hot-tub area that was shaded by palm trees. Despite the
amazing experiences on the trip, spending time by the pool,
either with a book in hand or with friends had to be a
US Airways Area after a Phoenix
highlight on this exchange.
Suns win over Steve Adams OKC
Learnings
Thunder
The nature of a reciprocal exchange means that as long as you pass all your papers, your
exchange marks have no effect on your GPA. It’s ironic then, that despite how little effort I
put in while there, I was still able to learn a tremendous amount. NCAA ineligibility and nonexistent study pressures meant that my two greatest priorities were suddenly nowhere to be
found and I was faced with the question of what to do with all this free time I had. I decided
to take advantage of the benefits related to a college with 70,000 students, and join as many
different clubs as I could. I would highly recommend students join as many clubs as
possible, as it gives a better insight into American culture and is a great way to meet
new people. My greatest learnings while on exchange came in two fields:
entrepreneurialism and politics. While I had a small involvement in entrepreneurialism while
in NZ, taking a class at ASU as well as contributing to different clubs really helped sparked a
passion that is still alight
today. While the class helped
breakdown the product
creation process, my time
with Enactus ASU and
Changemaker Central helped
put this all into practice. It
allowed me to not just gained
practical experience with
start-ups, but also make
connections with talented
and motivated individuals
that I am still in contact with
today. What really stood out
Whistler Ski Resort with fellow Kiwi, Krishan Lal
to me was the value that
ASU saw in students with
entrepreneurial qualities, and the resources that they provided to help support students who
wanted to launch their endeavours.
The second area that I was fortunate enough to learn a great deal about was the field of
American politics. The small amount of US politics that filtered its way back to NZ had
always fascinated me, so I took the opportunity to join both the young democrats and the
young republicans. Overall it was a tremendous insight and despite a memorable
conversation with a republican over whether free healthcare was a right or privilege, I was
able to understand the values that backed each side. It also helped me understand what
“The American Dream” actually is. By the end of the exchange it became apparent that the
US truly is a place to make it big, though not everyone starts in the same position, and there
is absolutely no safety net if you fail.
Experiences
Aside from everything I
learnt, the exchange was a
tremendous to try new things
and get emersed in the
culture of US college life.
One of my favourite
experiences, and the most
surprising, was how
interesting a New Zealander
is to the average American.
You could literally make
conversation with anyone
and were almost always the
Pichacho Point, Arizona
most interesting person in the
room. The ignorance of some
was also entertaining, with notable mentions go to the librarian that couldn’t understand my
accent to the point she asked if English was my second language, and the girl that tried to
impress me by guessing the countries that New Zealand border within eastern Europe.
When you get past how sheltered the country as a whole is however, it was hard for me not
to fall in love with it. American’s seem to embrace any occasion to get festive, whether it’s a
public holiday or a College football game. ASU’s home games were on campus as Sun Devil
Stadium (larger capacity than Eden Park) and the atmosphere is absolutely electric. They
managed to reach the Pac-12 finals in 2013, so we camped out along with 2000 other
students for tickets and got excellent seats in a packed stadium. As well as this, ASU’s
Halloween party is an event that is renowned around the US, and was something I can only
compare to the movie Project X. For Thanksgiving, we got the chance to travel to
Albuquerque, New Mexico and had a feast with a family that perfectly resembled the
stereotypical extroverted US family of upper class, white, with two kids and a dog.
Being in a completely new situation in a completely new country gave me the opportunity to
experience a lot of different things. Another club I joined that turned out valuable was the
Arizona Outdoors Club. Every weekend they held hikes in different parts of the state, as well
as the occasional trip to surrounding states. This provided the opportunity see experience
some amazing scenery that you would never find in New Zealand. I’ll never forget the
atmosphere around the campfire on weekend camping trips, a particular highlight being the
3 day, 30 mile hike through the Grand Canyon to get to Havasupai Falls.
Travel
Exploring different parts of North America was another amazing part of the trip. The first real
get away was for fall break, where we travelled through San Diego, Newport O.C., Los
Angeles, Venice and Malibu. What made this trip great was being joined by 20 other
exchange students from NZ, Australia, UK and all over Europe. Next trip was to Vancouver
with two close friends, we’re we had three days exploring an amazing city before having a
wild night at Whistler ski resort, which was packed with Kiwi’s and Aussies who were
working on the ski slope. Finally the exchange was topped off with a few crazy nights in
Vegas and Road trip to San Francisco and Sacramento which left me in a position where I
couldn’t even afford to pay for my extra suitcase back to New Zealand.
Overall, the exchange was a perfect match for the phrase “trip of a lifetime”. The different
setting, different people and different experiences have left me with a completely different
mind state and has flipped my plan for the next five years on its head. For anyone actually
reading this, if you want to experience American College, experience ASU.