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Period works.<br />
Even Down Under.<br />
Carly Ervin Ludbrook ’03 conducted a Field Period in<br />
2002 at the Wollongong City Art Gallery in New South<br />
Wales, Australia. She now works in the study abroad office<br />
at the University of Wollongong.<br />
“I got this job mostly because of my semesters<br />
abroad,” she explained. “My Field Period experience<br />
taught me what it was like to work in Australia and it<br />
allowed me to feel confident in being an American in<br />
Australia.”<br />
A standout on Coach Nancy Wightman’s nationally<br />
ranked synchronized swimming team, she “became interested<br />
in Australia” after watching the synchronized swimming<br />
competition and other sports during television coverage<br />
of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.<br />
“Plus, I always wanted to learn how to surf,” she said.<br />
She spent the second half of 2001 studying at the<br />
University of Wollongong through a program offered by<br />
Keene (N.H.) State <strong>College</strong>.<br />
“I couldn’t have done it without the help of [Assistant<br />
Professor of English] Amanda Harris and [former<br />
Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs] Norm<br />
Muir,” said Ludbrook, who, among other things, learned<br />
how to use a pottery wheel at the Australian university.<br />
Her experience motivated her to write a study abroad<br />
manual for <strong>Keuka</strong> students and paved the way for her<br />
2002 Field Period.<br />
“I contacted the Wollongong City Art Gallery and<br />
asked if they took interns,” she recalled. “They were very<br />
receptive. I arranged it on my own but it wouldn’t have<br />
been possible unless I had been there before.”<br />
At the gallery, Ludbrook “performed customer service<br />
functions, such as welcoming guests; put up and took<br />
down exhibits; worked a few openings; and met some<br />
wonderful people involved in the art world. It was eyeopening<br />
and I really enjoyed it.”<br />
She traveled extensively during her two Australian<br />
tours, visiting the Northern Territory, Queensland, and<br />
Aus<br />
No Matter What Hemisphere, Field Period Works<br />
Field<br />
Victoria. She traveled to the east coast by car and camper<br />
van, and spent some time in the south, near Melbourne, the<br />
capital.<br />
During her first tenure in Australia, she met the man<br />
who would become her husband.<br />
“Sean and I lived in the same dorm and were in a class<br />
together,” she said.<br />
The couple returned to Australia last fall so Sean could<br />
complete his undergraduate degree.<br />
“For us to be together, one of us had to make sacrifices,”<br />
explained Ludbrook. “He delayed his graduation so<br />
I could finish [my last semester] at <strong>Keuka</strong>.”<br />
So now it’s her turn, and besides, “I love Australia and<br />
we live three blocks from the beach.”<br />
Ludbrook thinks more <strong>Keuka</strong> students should study<br />
abroad.<br />
“We are in such a protected community—which is<br />
great—but seeing other parts of the world is important,”<br />
she explained. “Americans need to understand that we are<br />
not the only country out there. It may help our international<br />
relations.” —Gretchen Parsells
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