Seventeen Westminster College students recently finished their biology class on the coral reefs of Australia.

"I just want to tell everyone to take this class," said Katie Schultz, a junior music major from Sharpsville.  "It was such a great, once-in-lifetime experience.  The 27-hour plane ride took a lot out of you.  We got there at 11 p.m., and had to get up early the next morning."

The early rising hours did not deter Schultz's enthusiasm.

"Our routine on Lizard Island included breakfast, snorkel, lunch, lecture, snorkel, and dinner.  After our first breakfast there, we never wore shoes," Schultz continued.  "You can tell who the tourists are"¦anyone without shoes and wearing '60s apparel lives there"¦the rest are tourists."

Before leaving for Australia, the students spent a semester in a Westminster classroom studying the fish and coral in the area.

"The snorkeling was amazing.  We were so close to the coral that we could see all the polyps," Schultz said.  "Once a huge turtle floated up out of the sea and swam just beneath us for a while."

Their Australian guides continued the learning experience with daily lectures about the local fish, how they interact, and what happens when man interferes with their habitat.

"A lot of the coral is bleached," Schultz said.  "In time the sand and the toxins from people causes the coral to die."

After learning about marine life in Australia, the class went to stay at Mungalli Falls where they hiked twice a day to visit falls and study the natives.

"The Aboriginal experience was my most favorite part of the trip," Schultz continued.  "We learned their point of view, their way of life, their meaning of star gazing, their myths, and their dream time stories, which is their way of explaining nature."

Russell Buttler, an Aboriginal elder, talked to the class for two days about their culture.

"The Aborigines acknowledge God and Jesus, but they remain in touch with nature and the way nature interacts with animals, much like American Indians," Schultz said.  "They have their sacred sites, but the wealthy put resorts on them and repress them."

Schultz is a music major at Westminster, but she managed to combine her love of music with this biology class. 

"I bought a dijeridoo, clap sticks, rain sticks, and claves, which are all percussion instruments because I am a percussionist and they interested me," said Schultz.  "I couldn't come home without several boomerangs or the beautiful hand-painted boxes made by the natives."

"I was ready to come home because I missed my family, but I do want to go back someday," Schultz said.  "I love going to public places without shoes."

For more information, contact Dr. Ann Throckmorton, chair and associate professor of biology at Westminster College, at (724) 946-7209 or e-mail athrock@westminster.edu.

Erin Brownstein, Kettie Matheny, and Katie Schultz at Mungalli Falls.

Erin Brownstein, Kettie Matheny, Andy Lewis (guide,) and Katie Schultz