International Education Week: SURFing in Iceland

Undergraduate student, Yi Lin, shares her experiences and perspectives on research and culture from her 2022 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) at the University of Iceland. What began as a summer of doing research turned into an 11 – week adventure in one of the most seismically active countries in the world. While helping to develop a near fault ground model to reduce earthquake damage, Yi became part of her own research as she was woken up by earthquakes that led up to an epic volcanic eruption. From getting lost on idyllic hikes to navigating the Reykjavik social scene, Yi shares her personal experience of being alone for the first time in a new country and ultimately how the culture and landscape of Iceland renewed her perspective on what it means to have a happy, fulfilling life.