Littlefork native Chelsey Panchot recently returned to northern Minnesota from a five-month study abroad trip down under with a new perspective and a plan for action.
The Minnesota State University — Moorhead senior, who spent February through June studying mass communications in Australia, said that an excursion to Papua New Guinea was particularly influential.
She spent three days and two nights living with a local family in a house with one light, no indoor bathroom or furniture, and one pot in which to make all of their meals. But, she said that the generous spirit and warm nature of the local people made it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“It was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life,” she said. “I don’t think we realize how many things we take for granted.”
Panchot said that in Papua New Guinea she met a group of disabled citizens whose stories were touching. She said that high costs for medicine and medical equipment mixed with poverty meant many residents had to do without necessary care.
She immediately thought of a Moorhead organization that she had done a project with — Healthcare Equipment Recycling Organization — and asked them for a donation. Panchot said that they donated medical equipment, and now she needs to find a way to ship the supplies to the villagers in Papua New Guinea.
Panchot is studying public relations and said that an internship at a non-profit organization on campus at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Sippy Downs, Australia, was another highlight of her trip.
She said that while there she was able to help plan a thank-you banquet for donors who had raised $5 million for the organization with which she interned. She said that projects she worked on in Australia taught her valuable event management and public relations skills.
“It was really helpful to me to see how other people approach mass communications,” she said, adding that while the Australian curriculum was fairly similar to her American education, the lecture-and-tutorial teaching style was unique.
Panchot said she was one of five students from Minnesota State University — Moorhead that studied abroad in Australia this spring semester. However, while there, she said she met students from all over the world, in addition to Australian natives.
“The people made my trip really good,” she said.
