Welcome to our Where are they now? alumni stories series, where we’re interviewing alumni, whose experiences have shaped their lives and careers over time.
In this post, we’re interviewing Tim Stewart, a Trimester Exchange student from 2013 who went to Arizona State University in the USA. He is now the Director of Admissions for the peak performance and leadership training organisation Flow Genome Project and a Wilderness Instructor for Outward Bound Canada, living in Squamish, Canada.
What originally motivated you to apply for a global experience?
I was a Hillary scholar and was invited by ASU’s track coach to compete on their team. I jumped at the opportunity to compete in the Pac-12 of the NCAA, but upon arriving, I found out a compliance officer audited my file and deemed me ineligible to compete. At the time I was disappointed, but it ended up giving me the opportunity to take a sabbatical from running, which ultimately set the path for who I am today.
Did your experience shift how you see yourself or the world? If so, how?
My semester at ASU was my first time living overseas. Even though New Zealand is heavily exposed to U.S. culture, the living, studying, and social environment was still incredibly novel and new. The first difference was in the classroom. I noticed that in New Zealand, students are often hesitant to speak up in class. At ASU, students shared ideas without hesitation, and class discussions were deeply stimulating.
I went into my semester abroad planning to ride my running career out as long as I could, then start climbing the corporate ladder.
The experience helped instil a go-getter attitude, which has led to more incredible experiences than I could have ever imagined – including forging a career path that’s deeply aligned with my passion – leadership and the outdoors.
My semester abroad helped me truly see the extent of possibilities for what I could do after graduation. I joined the Arizona Outdoors Club, Enactus Social Entrepreneurship, Young Democrats as well as Young Republicans. I got to expose myself to as many interesting people, experiences, and ideas as I could and it was through this experience that I first realized there’s much more to life than athletic and corporate success.
Did the experience influence later decisions such as travel, further study, or relocation?
In addition to the change in career direction, It was my semester abroad where I caught the bug for travel and adventure. What’s funny is that it wasn’t until I left New Zealand that I truly fell in love with the outdoors – in high school and university, I was too focussed on athletics to explore. It was my semester abroad that lit the fire – my love of the outdoors, which started the journey towards the outdoor leadership work I do with Flow Genome Project and Outward Bound.
I met people at ASU who lived across the Americas, and this motivated me to travel soon after graduation. I ended up taking 2 years to travel, volunteer and work in Latin America, and at the end of it, I wasn’t quite ready to lay roots in NZ again, so I got a working holiday visa in Canada. Seven years later, I’m still here and love it. British Columbia has the familiarity of a Commonwealth country, as well as an abundance of career opportunities present in North America. My semester abroad was central to opening my eyes to the possibility that exists out in the world.
What advice would you give to students considering a global experience?
I remember there being a bit of work to go through the process of a semester abroad, and I had a number of friends giving up on that process halfway through or becoming uncertain if it would be worthwhile. I would say if you get the itch to go travel, it will 100% be worthwhile, so commit!
How would you describe the value of your experience beyond academic learning?
It’s now been 11 years since I graduated from Waikato, and I’ve found that more important than academic learning is the people you surround yourself with, the awareness of opportunities that light you up, and the courage to go after what’s important to you. There are few opportunities that are better for growth than a semester abroad.
If I hadn’t gone on my global experience, I wouldn’t have…
realised just how much opportunity or adventure there is to be had out in the world!
Waikato Global Experiences Blog 