What’s in your tote bag?

Jethro, a baby Wallaroo, visited Tate Plaza on Tuesday to raise awareness of the expanded Discover Abroad Maymester program in Australia. SEAN TAYLOR/Staff

Most bags carry pens, textbooks or a computer, but one blue-and-white-striped bag carried an unexpected campus visitor today: Jethro the baby Wallaroo.

Jethro joined Joy, an adult kangaroo, in Tate Plaza to promote Discover Abroad — a study abroad office offering programs to Antarctica, Australia, Fiji and India, among others.

The pair came from the North Georgia Zoo and signified an expansion of the Australia Maymester program, which will now include leadership classes through a partnership with the ADDO leadership institute. ‘Addo’ means inspire in Latin and the program aims to enhance students’ experiences abroad. 

Garrett Gravesen and Kevin Scott, both University alumni and founders of ADDO, will join the group as professors for the leadership classes in Australia.

Apart from seeing kangaroos, students on the study abroad program can take classes in their majors while learning in the field, said Bridget Altman, a senior wildlife management major from New York.

Altman participated in the program previously and said her adventures in Australia were engaging and carried a low price tag compared to similar programs.

“We got to do amazing things and had an ecology class while snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef,” Altman said.

Gravesen said the furry supporters helped raise awareness about the partnership between ADDO and Discover Abroad. He hopes students will join the program.

“When you add a leadership component to the largest study abroad program in America, it’s like how a kangaroo boxes,” Gravesen said. “It’s knocking out the competition.”