For Carro, the rafting trip mirrored the experience of studying abroad.

“I’d describe it as a little bit unexpected, a lot of adventure, and connections that last a lifetime,” she said.

The connections Carro made include life-long friends and fellow College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) alumni Jennifer (Cascarino) Reith, Erika (Feierstein) Mathews and Erin Curry. 

During the course, offered every other year since 1999, the newfound friends studied sustainable farm management, animal science, conservation of natural resources and current issues facing agriculture in New Zealand. Lesa (Griffiths) Massarotti, professor in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences, co-led the 2003 course with professor emeritus John Dohms. What left a lasting impression was the value of travel.

“Traveling helps you come into your own, realize who you are, especially when you are outside of your comfort zone,” said Mathews, UD Class of 2005 (B.S.) and 2009 (M.S.) alumna. “You have to fend for yourself to some extent and build relationships.”

The study abroad course was Reith and Carro’s first chance to experience another country. Curry completed a study abroad course the previous year; her very first airplane ride was to Tanzania for a CANR wildlife conservation course.

“I had never traveled anywhere prior to that,” said Curry, UD Class of 2003. “When I got off the airplane, even the air smelled different than what I was used to. Being exposed to different cultures was eye-opening, and it really sparked an interest in international travel.”

Curry’s interest was shared by Carro, Mathews and Reith. When they returned to campus, the four friends made a pact. They would visit every continent and take a group trip every year. Curry graduated, and they reunited the following year to tour London.

“Being the nerdy scientists that we are, we put a lot of effort into where we went and did a lot of research on what to do, where to stay and what sightseeing adventures we wanted to go on,” Mathews said. 

Reith had the idea to bring along silly props, and the friends posed for photos around London with sunglasses and fake mustaches.

The following year, the friends traveled to Brazil, where they discovered the pitfalls of the language barrier. The buddies signed up for what they thought was a tour of Rio de Janeiro, only to find themselves on an all-day island-hopping adventure. 

“The tour van just kept driving and driving, a lot farther away than we expected,” recalled Reith, a UD Class of 2005 (B.S.) and 2007 (M.S.) alumna. “And then, we got on a sailboat. At that point, we didn’t know what we’d gotten ourselves into.”

Any good traveler knows to expect the unexpected. It’s often these moments that make for the best memories.

“It ended up being my favorite part of our Brazil trip,” continued Reith, who works as a lab director and quality assurance manager. “We toured these little tiny islands, where you could swim from one island to the next. We had a fish dinner on the beach. It was gorgeous.”

The following year, the four friends reunited to tour Ireland. They visited iconic landmarks like Blarney Castle and the Cliffs of Moher.

In the 23 years since graduation, a lot has changed in the lives of these traveling Blue Hens. They have earned advanced degrees, launched scientific careers, moved across the country or started families. Yet, no matter where life has taken them, their tradition of traveling together remains unbroken. 

“It’s a unique relationship; we’re all in different parts of the country, and we don’t see each other often,” said Curry. “But I feel like we’ve grown up together.” 

Staying flexible helped these alumni maintain their travel over the years. While they admit the pact they made in college to travel to every continent may have been overly ambitious, the friends have never stopped traveling together. The group hasn’t given up on visiting every continent, but they have discovered numerous exciting destinations right here in the U.S.

“When we were all in graduate school and couldn’t really afford to travel internationally, we took turns visiting each other,” Curry said. “More recently, we’ve stayed domestic because we all have work and family obligations.” 

Those obligations highlight the variety of careers available to animal science graduates.

“What I think is pretty cool about this group of ladies is that we all started out in the animal science program at UD, but we have different post-graduate careers,” said Carro, who is the director of global regulatory sciences in the research and development organization for FMC. “Erin’s in reproductive physiology and conservation, Erika’s interest is genetic testing in humans, and Jen works in microbiology.”

Their careers also provide opportunities for travel. Curry travels regularly in her role as director of the Polar Bear Signature Project at the Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, visiting zoos throughout the U.S. and Canada.

“Studying abroad was my first time exploring and doing things on my own,” Mathews said. “In my job, I travel quite a lot, and it was that New Zealand trip that gave me the confidence to go out on my own. At this point, I’ve been to more than 35 countries.”

After graduation, Mathews worked as a field application scientist. She is now a senior next-generation sequencing (NGS) sales specialist at Twist Bioscience, helping a broad range of scientists utilize NGS tools in their research.

It's no surprise that all four travel buddies recommend UD’s study abroad program. A longstanding tradition, UD founded the first study abroad program at a U.S. university in 1923. Today, the University offers more than 100 programs in approximately 40 countries.

“I don’t think our story is unique,” Mathews said. “You can build lifelong relationships and friendships from study abroad because you learn, as young people on your own, that you can lean on each other.”