The "Lehigh Launch" series highlights first-semester students' experiences learning about the literature, earth and environment, and peoples of Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands in Fall 2022. Ally Hoang ‘26 shares their experience.
Hometown: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
What drew you to Lehigh Launch?: When I first knew about Lehigh Launch, especially in Ecuador, I thought it was a chance of a lifetime and I just couldn’t miss out on the experience.
What did you like most about Lehigh Launch?: What I liked most about Lehigh Launch is the constant field trips every weekend to get first-hand experience of what we learned in class that week. It’s an amazing approach to comprehending the materials and actually making a sense of it.
What was the best thing you learned?: For me it was Spanish, being able to slowly comprehend what everyone was saying was extremely rewarding. It was also the ability to ask good questions, to think matters from different perspectives and incorporate different aspects into coming up with the best solution.
What is a fun fact from the trip?: Cotopaxi is actually at a higher altitude than Mount Everest but because of the sea levels and landscapes, Mount Everest is higher.
What is something you wish you knew before you packed your bags?: Bring more warm clothes, more variety of clothes and basically bring everything from home to save money.