My name is Joe Delnero, I am a senior broadcast journalism
major and former station manager of UATV at the University of Arkansas. My
career ambitions lie in fieldwork as a photographer, shooter, and video editor.
I am an outdoors man; fishing, snowboarding, scuba diving, hiking and Ultimate
Frisbee are my passions. My dream job is photographing for wildlife
documentaries. Whether it means scuba diving (I am certified), camping with
Grizzlies in Alaska (my summer 2013 plans), or even traveling unknown regions
of the world alone (I have been exploring New Zealand for the past 6 months and
I toured Europe for six weeks with my brother), I want to have a camera in one
hand and adventure on my mind.
The University of Auckland in New Zealand exceeded all
expectations providing me with creative learning opportunities both
academically and outside the classroom in the tramping club.
I focused my studies on New Zealand specific film, media,
and advertising to contrast what I have learned over the past three years at
Arkansas. My film class featured Maori culture with “Whale Rider,” paralleling
a chieftain daughter’s coming of age to the transition of tribal traditions to
fit in the 21st century. My New Zealand politics class went in depth
into political coverage of Maori issues and how stories are framed, spun, or
perceived. Close to 70 percent of stories involving Maori people are in negative
contexts, most deal with assaults or murders. Separately, in advertising, I learned about the
commercialization of New Zealand symbols to appeal to national discourses.
Through globalization, global products become localized to fit specific
audiences. In New Zealand, McDonald’s marketed the KiwiBurger as a claim to
fame for the egg-on-burger sandwich. The KiwiBurger inspires national pride for
locals calling themselves kiwis and for tourists wanting to experience a burger
reflecting the rare flightless kiwi bird inhibiting parts of the North and
South island.
Outside the classroom, the Tramping Club provided ample
opportunity for extreme adventures. Student leaders organized trips for every
week. My first weekend, I tramped with a group to Waiheke, an isolated island
just an hour from Auckland. The next weekend, I enjoyed a potluck Mexican meal
in a hut with students in the Hunua Ranges after hiking 15 kilometers up and
down the picturesque mountains. I explored the Pacific’s most recent volcanic island
of Rangitoto where birds land in the palm of your hand. I wandered through the
mystic Waitakeres, famous for black sand beaches and west coast surfing. I
trudged through marshes and rivers, over low-tide muck, through Lord of the
Rings sets, and over the mountains Peter Jackson filmed for scenic wide shots.
Over spring break, the tramping club did two overnight hikes in the south
island where we slept in isolated huts beneath shooting stars and a nearly full
moon lighting snowcapped peaks around us.
Through the tramping club, I learned about the environmental
impact of hikers, and the recent accomplishments of research and studies around
the country. Currently, much of New Zealand is threatened by similar plant
viruses and invasive species that have hit the United States. Before each and
every tramp, we were required to coat our boots with antibacterial spray
killing fungi and any potential seeds that may be lodged within. Many of the
tracks face landslide problems from recent earthquakes, storms, and trampers
setting up campsites outside their designated spots. Environmentally speaking,
New Zealanders say they are so far behind, they are ahead. It’s true. The huts
and tracks, overall, have minimal environmental impact because they are
minimalist structures with just a firewood stove, a sink, and small mattresses.
One single room hut along the Kepler track in the South Island only had space
for eight hikers.
For more pictures and videos of my New Zealand adventures,
visit my website at joedelnero.weebly.com.
