Photo: Cotton with her host mother (left); in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica (right)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – As the 2015-16 academic year gets started today on the Northern Arizona University campus, Bradlee Cotton had a study abroad experience of a lifetime this summer. Cotton, a junior on the NAU women's basketball team, spent six weeks in Costa Rica where she took two Spanish classes and enjoyed all that country had to offer.

It was not Cotton's first trip out of the country, and definitely not her most recent having spent a week with the team in the Dominican Republic earlier this month, but it was her longest stay outside the United States. Not to mention, she traveled by herself without her family, which also marked a first.

However the experience was a rewarding one that stemmed from her involvement with the Global Science and Engineering Program on campus. At their first meeting last school year, she was informed that they would be incorporating a program in Costa Rica. With it being in the summer between the end of the spring semester and when the team had to report for Dominican Republic preparation, she jumped at the opportunity as a Spanish major.

She was one of 30 students from NAU to make the trip to Costa Rica, where she stayed with a host family in San José, the country's capital. Aside from taking her two classes, she also had the unique opportunity to explore outside the city with her host family while immersing herself in their culture.

"I lived with a pretty large host family so I got to experience their culture," Cotton said. "Learning from them was really great. I was only in classes for four days a week so we went on weekend excursions and did some pretty crazy stuff. I got to go zip lining, bungee jumping and I went to a ton of beaches. I would've never been able to do stuff like this here."

Like her trip to the Dominican Republic roughly a month after she returned from Costa Rica, her six-week stay in Costa Rica had a profound impact on the way she views life. Unlike the everyday hustle of the States, the laid-back mentality of the locals in Costa Rica was a welcome change.

"My views have completely shifted," Cotton said. "The lifestyle there is completely different. Before I left, I was told there was going to be a culture shock, but I didn't feel it while I was there but more so when I was coming back. It was unexpected, but the people there are really calm and they just live through thing. Coming back here is the complete opposite. One of my biggest takeaways was to stay calm and everything is going to be ok; just live life."