Celebrating 30 Years of Stony Brook Study Abroad

By Johanna Mitra, CVB/ICTE Communications Officer; October 9, 2023

This year, we are exceptionally proud to celebrate 30 years of the Stony Brook University Study Abroad program! Since the very first Fall program in 1993, held in the old research cabins of Ranomafana National Park, Centre ValBio has welcomed undergraduates and graduate students from all backgrounds and universities in Madagascar and abroad to conduct research and experience life alongside the rainforest's incredible biodiversity. In 2003, we hosted the first Fall program on CVB’s newly built campus. We expanded to host a Summer study abroad in 2010 and in 2016, we welcomed our first Winter cohort. Since 2003, the program has attracted hundreds of students across diverse majors, including engineering, journalism, linguistics, political science, health sciences, sustainability studies, and environmental science. Although the pandemic put studying abroad on pause, we are grateful to have all three of our programs this year run uninterrupted for the first time since 2020.

2023 has been especially memorable for recognizing the program's impact on our student's lives. This January, the Winter cohort had the opportunity to present their research findings to none other than Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis and the US Ambassador to Madagascar, Claire A. Pierangelo. For President McInnis, it was an opportunity to see firsthand the novel projects Stony Brook students undertake each year in health, education, ecology, anthropology, and more. "Students describe this study abroad program as life-changing, from the coursework and the hands-on field research to forming connections with local residents and communities," President Maurie McInnis says. "While students often choose this program for a number of specific academic interests, they discover so much more while they are here that goes beyond the curriculum. These opportunities enrich their education and development in ways that forever expand their understanding of themselves and the world.”

Students in our most recent Summer cohort took this aspect of the program to heart, building on their interests to create innovative and impactful projects. Karrthik Pitchayan, a senior majoring in Anthropology and Philosophy, used his love of making music to develop a new, music-based curriculum for CVB's My Rainforest My World program. He hopes to expand his project, which gave students the creative space to write and record a song about the water cycle, on a future trip to CVB. For Kai Wong (pictured right), a recent graduate in health sciences, his project on the foraging behavior of red-fronted brown lemurs was new to him entirely. Long hours of hiking and observation in the field were combined with his lectures on primatology and field research methods for an experience unlike any he’d had before. "Being in Madagascar doesn't mean just learning about the wildlife and landscape here; it means meeting it face to face," he reflected. "For me, choosing this trip was one of the best things I've ever done for myself." Many students and alums of the program share this sentiment; for some, it is far from their last visit to Madagascar and CVB. They often return years later to conduct their graduate research or as professors, leading research labs or study abroad programs.

In July, we welcomed one of the very first students to participate in the program back to CVB—now as the Head of Research and Conservation in Madagascar's Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development. In 2003, Sahoby Randriamahaleo was a master's student at the University of Antananarivo studying biology. Now, as a leader in Madagascar's environmental protection, he remembers his time at CVB fondly. "[The] study abroad [program] was my first experience in research and improved my knowledge about the biodiversity and protected areas here. It was very interesting for me to create relationships with other researchers, Malagasy students, and Stony Brook students," says Sahoby. During his visit, he had the opportunity to tour the microbiology lab, the Insectarium, the Herbarium, and many other facilities that weren't there during his time as a student. "There's been an evolution. There's so much value here for Malagasy students to have this perception of biodiversity, research, and conservation." Sahoby now works to strengthen the relationship between Madagascar National Parks, Centre ValBio, and the Ministry so that Malagasy and international researchers can continue conducting impactful research in Ranomafana.

Sahoby Randriamahaleo tours the CVB Insectarium (Photo courtesy of Johanna Mitra)

In October, another program alum will join us at CVB—this time as our Chief Operations Officer. Shin Shin Hsia first attended the program in 2005 and returned once more as a Teaching Assistant in 2007. “The opportunity to travel, study, and be immersed in different cultures [and] environments as a student is such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that helps shape who students become,” she says. As COO, Shin Shin will oversee CVB's departments, research, and coordinate incoming study abroad programs. She is looking forward to returning to Madagascar and the opportunity to work alongside old and new faces to advance CVB's initiatives. Right: Shin Shin and Dede Randrianarista, Head of Logistics, in 2005 (Courtesy of Shin Shin Hsia, 2023)

Other program alums include Dr. Andrea Baden, who first studied abroad at CVB in 2001 and returned as a graduate student researcher from 2005-2011. Now, as a faculty researcher at Hunter College, she leads the Ranomafana Ruffed Lemur Project, training Malagasy and international students in collecting critical data on Ranomafana’s black-and-white ruffed lemur population. Dr. Christina Bergey, assistant professor in the Rutgers University Department of Genetics,  studied abroad at CVB in Fall 2007. She returned in 2022 as the coordinator of the Summer program and has since been conducting research on the transmission and co-evolution of malaria and the mosquito vector in and around Ranomafana.

As we welcome nine new students to CVB this month for the fall semester, we reflect on all the students, both past and present, who have made the program so successful. Since 1993, studying abroad at CVB has grown to host numerous other universities and has become an integral part of our annual operations. We want to extend a thank you to all the people, past and present, who ensure the programs run smoothly, including our incredible staff, our resident coordinators and in-country coordinator, Franck Rabe, our teaching assistants, and the teams at ICTE, MICET, and the Stony Brook Study Abroad Office.

“Study Abroad is a catalyst to a student's career and launches them into their future achievements,” says CVB Founder and Executive Director Dr. Patricia Wright. “It is indeed a transformative experience. I am so proud of all the students that have participated in our Madagascar programs." We look forward to many more years of bustling student activity in NamanaBe Hall and cannot wait to see where this experience takes our students.