By Siena Giljum (’22)

Picture this: One semester you’re an introverted Lord of the Rings fan from New England. The next, you’re researching sleep cycles and jumping out of a plane in New Zealand. That leap around the world (and out of an aircraft) is exactly what happened to Breanna Dooling (CAS’20), who studied abroad in Boston University’s Auckland Internship program in the fall of 2018.

“Coming into college as a freshman, I had the idea that I wanted to go abroad,” Breanna says. “I pretty much lived my whole life in the northeastern U.S., and I just wanted to get out and go far.”

BU’s study abroad program in Auckland, New Zealand also happened to line up with her academic interests, as it’s one of the few that fit the requirements for her biology major and her specialization in cell biology, molecular biology & genetics (CMG). A Vermont native, Breanna also felt the emphasis on outdoor activities, such as hiking, made her study abroad destination a good fit for her lifestyle. The Middle-earth scenery didn’t hurt, either.

Researching outside the classroom and the country

She studied at the University of Auckland, taking a sociology class and another on animal behavior. The deepest dive into her field, though, was in the chronobiology lab at the University. The lab specializes in bees research, examining how light exposure and chemicals affect the insects’ daily rhythms, and the research team Breanna worked with is studying circadian rhythms.

“With my focus being on very molecular, genetic things, chronobiology caught my attention,” she says. She helped them set up a new study that looks at sleep tracking and compares various wearable devices’ (the actigraphy device Actiwatch, the Fitbit, and the Apple Watch) effectiveness in tracking sleep patterns. The Actiwatch is worn on your wrist, but unlike an Apple Watch or Fitbit, it’s almost entirely concerned with sleep. Many researchers, including those at the lab, use it to conduct sleep studies.

The researchers “went over the top” to give Breanna hands-on experience. In addition to her role in the aforementioned study, they let her get a glimpse into as many roles and tasks as she wanted. She was able to use the knowledge gained in her classes and apply her liberal arts education in a real-world setting. 

“For the first two weeks I was with them, they had a researcher who had been doing lab work working with dissecting live mice and then visualizing the center for the human circadian clock in their brains,” Breanna says. “So I actually got to spend an entire day with him where we just sat and went through the dissection from the beginning to end.”

Finding mentorship while abroad

One of her greatest supporters at the lab was her supervisor Dr. Guy Warman, who specializes in chronobiology and oversaw her work. She still keeps in touch with him. Before Breanna left, Dr. Warman gave her a list of Boston-area researchers to look up. Since returning from her semester abroad, she has been able to connect with professionals and secure a research position at Dr. Francisco J. Naya’s lab at CAS, where she helps investigate stem cells and cardiac disease.

“I attribute a lot of that to just how I was a lot more comfortable with what I was talking about and putting myself in that position because I had this experience from abroad,” Breanna says. 

Leaping out of her comfort zone, literally

In addition to pushing her boundaries professionally in the lab and socially with other group attendees, Breanna took a big physical leap, too: skydiving. Despite her discomfort with edges and heights, it was always something in the back of her mind. She even looked into skydiving companies in New England but never took the plunge. Being abroad was the push she needed. “A theme for my experience also was stepping outside of [my] comfort zone,” she says. “I was like, ‘if I’m gonna do it, I should do it in New Zealand,’ and I have no regrets. It was one of the best things I’ve done.”

With the confidence boost and the new professional connections and mentorship, the Auckland program helped Breanna decide that she wants research to be part of her career after graduation. “Prior to going abroad, I didn’t want to do research,” she says. She isn’t premed and doesn’t want to be a doctor like many people in her major, so she wasn’t quite sure how she wanted to use her degree. “But after having a research position, I really, really liked it […] and that’s kind of my goal now. I’m much more open to looking into those positions,” Breanna adds.

Reflecting upon all of the opportunities for growth that her semester abroad afforded her—in terms of her career prospects, academics, and social life—Breanna says that “I just really felt like I was on top of everything in my life for the first time in a while, which was a good feeling.”

Her advice to those considering the Auckland program and study abroad in general? Do it! Oh, and if you have a chance to go skydiving, go skydiving.

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Siena Giljum studies journalism in the College of Communication (’22) with a Spanish minor in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is from Southern California and hopes to one day write for The Atlantic. She loves podcasts and avocados, in no particular order.

(Photos: Breanna Dooling)