“I was always very interested in the outdoors,” international student Lauren Quinlivan said. The 20-year-old environmental science student is on an exchange year from University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland and currently attends the University of Maine on the George J. Mitchell Peace Scholarship. “I applied for the scholarship at my home university and I got accepted,” Quinlivan said. With the choice of either the Orono or Farmington campus, Quinlivan chose Orono.
“This is my first time in the States,” Quinlivan said. “It’s different than what I thought it would be like. College here is very, very different than back in Ireland.” Quinlivan says the workload at the University of Maine is much heavier than what she is used to in Ireland. At UCC, students generally only have one exam at the end of the semester, rather than multiple tests, quizzes and homeworks throughout the year. “I feel busier here than in Ireland because the work is so much more,” Quinlivan admitted. But despite the heavier workload, the Irish student enjoys her course work and says her favorite class is Human Dimension of Fisheries and Wildlife.
Quinlivan began her science career studying general science courses at University College Cork, but realized she was partial to geology and biology. From there, her affinity led her to choose the path of environmental science.
While at the University of Maine, Quinlivan has joined the Green Team and hopes to get involved in the Marine Science Club as well. But while her interests lie in the sphere of environmental science, Quinlivan also hopes to get a lot of traveling in while in the United States. “I just want to cross places off of my list,” she added. On that list includes a trip to Washington D.C., Boston, New York, Chicago and the West Coast. “I’d love to see California and Arizona.”
Quinlivan has had the chance to visit a few places in Maine. “Acadia is amazing,” Quinlivan said, but she still hopes to visit Baxter State Park and hike Mount Katahdin. She also hopes to get the chance to learn to ski, as Maine has much more snow than Ireland.
After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree, Quinlivian hopes to continue on in school to get her Ph.D. in environmental science. “Ideally, I’d like to go work in the United Nations with education programs of that sort,” she said.
Quinlivan hopes to potentially obtain her doctorate degree in England or come back to study in the United States in the future.
