Leah Marsh, in 2019, enjoying her UD World Scholars experience on Waiheke Island.

From Delaware to New Zealand — and back again

Article by Jamie Washington Photos courtesy of Leah Marsh December 17, 2025

Lewes native Leah Marsh calls Auckland home, a full-circle story as the World Scholars Program celebrates its 10th anniversary

Leah Marsh was sure that she would go to college outside Delaware and never live in a major city. Fate, or perhaps curiosity, had better plans.

It’s July 2019, and Marsh can hardly sleep. Just a month ago, she graduated from high school in Lewes, Delaware, and now, after 20 hours of traveling, she’s spending her first night in Auckland, New Zealand.

She's eager to explore a new country as a student in the University of Delaware’s World Scholars Program, joining other first-year students in a life-changing experience.

“My parents were just as thrilled as I was by such an amazing opportunity, so they encouraged me to pursue it wholeheartedly,” Marsh said. “We’d traveled internationally as a family before, but they knew this would be a big step toward my independence.”

UD’s World Scholars Program, now celebrating its 10-year anniversary, is a unique global education experience designed to help students see the world and themselves in new and inspiring ways. It began in 2015 with 39 first-year students traveling to Rome, Italy, and has since grown into a four-year program offering structured international and domestic opportunities throughout students’ undergraduate years.

Among other requirements, students must study abroad for their first semester at one of the program’s partnering institutions in Auckland, New Zealand; Athens, Greece; Rome, Italy; Newcastle, England; or Madrid, Spain.

Marsh credits her dad, Adam Marsh, a UD associate professor in the School of Marine Science and Policy, for introducing her to the beauty of New Zealand.

Marsh’s parents, Adam and Michele, visited this year. They were all excited for her mother to visit New Zealand for the first time.

“I had my dad in mind when I chose Auckland, New Zealand, as my freshman study abroad site because he had traveled through the country countless times on his way to Antarctica for research,” Marsh said. “Growing up, he brought back stuffed kiwi bird plushies and greenstone necklaces for my siblings and me, so I always dreamed of seeing the country myself one day.”

Marsh and her World Scholars cohort studied at the University of Auckland, taking approved courses that kept them on track to graduate from UD. Her favorite course was Film Studies, a prerequisite for her undergraduate degree.

“It quickly became one of the most engaging classes I’ve ever taken,” she said. “We explored a wide range of film techniques, deepening the way I watch and appreciate movies. Each Friday, our professor hosted movie screenings that became the focus of the next week’s lectures. We’d all show up cozy in our pajamas, and they’d serve popcorn to set the mood! It was such a fun and immersive way to learn.”

When she wasn’t in class, Marsh was immersing herself in New Zealand’s culture. She quickly noticed the deep pride they hold in their Māori Indigenous culture. Throughout the semester, the World Scholars cohort participated in several Māori cultural events, both through the university and on their own.

“It was such a powerful experience to be immersed in it,” Marsh said. “I’ll never forget visiting a marae — a communal and sacred meeting place central to Māori social and spiritual life — on Waiheke Island. We learned the Māori alphabet, enjoyed a traditional hāngī (an earth-oven meal) for lunch, and shared our personal stories with one another, which truly broadened our global perspectives.”

Home was more than 8,000 miles away, spanning an 18-hour time difference, which limited contact with family and friends. Marsh said that the distance turned out to be exactly what she needed to become self-sufficient.

“It made staying in touch harder, but it also helped me stay present and fully enjoy my experience without constantly being on my phone,” she said. “Instead of immediately calling home for help, that experience taught me resilience and independence, and I still take great pride in the confidence it gave me.”

Marsh formed friendships with fellow UD World Scholars and international students at the University of Auckland. When she returned to UD's main campus, her World Scholar cohort became her main friend group and source of stability.

“We spent all four years of undergrad making incredible memories together, and many of them remain some of my closest friends today,” Marsh said.

Current UD first-year World Scholars students surrounding Marsh after their final dinner to wrap up their semester in New Zealand.

Six years after falling in love with New Zealand, Marsh, now a UD alumna with a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising and a master’s of science in fashion and apparel studies, is now a library-card-carrying Auckland resident who still approaches weekends with the curiosity and excitement of a tourist.

Living in a city, to Marsh, meant giving up relaxing at the beach on a whim. Auckland has shown her that she can have both — a vibrant urban life surrounded by stunning beaches and natural beauty.

“Being raised in Lewes, I never imagined I’d be comfortable living in a city,” she said. “But Auckland surprised me — it has the energy of a city without feeling overwhelming, and the same warmth and sense of community I associate with home.”

Marsh’s story reflects what the World Scholars Program hoped to inspire a decade ago: global citizens who can create a home wherever they go.