THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Agri
cultural program to advertise nationally
The College of Agricultural
Sciences is attempting to
attract more students to its
international program.
By Kristin Colella
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER I kac39s@psu.edu
Penn State's College of Agricultural
Sciences will advertise one of its study
abroad programs nationwide next
month, encouraging students from any
university in the country with an agri
culture department to apply.
Deanna Behring, the college's inter
national programs director, said the col
lege wants to make the program, which
places students in two universities in
Russia and Ukraine to study the
Penn State students
socially assess Belize
By na Bochnakova
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER I tnbsoo2@psu.edu
With limited electricity and unpaved
roads, Monkey River Town, Belize, is
not the average college student's spring
break destination.
But 16 Penn State Students, who jour
neyed into the remote parts of Central
America as a part of the Rural Sociology
497 A (Cultural American Field Study)
course, were looking for more than a
typical vacation spot.
The Belize assessment is part of
Penn State's short-term study tours.
Students who sign up for the course at
the beginning of the semester create
their own experiments for the trip.
The students spent eight days in the
village of Monkey River, conducting the
second set of social assessments for an
ongoing project at Penn State.
"We went in to find out how people
are using their resources and what their
goals are for the future benefit of the
community," Project Coordinator Frank
Higdon said.
The students were split into three
groups: women empowerment, eco
tourism and integrative pest manage
ment. Each group had a common goal:
community improvement.
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regions' agriculture, more competitive
by attracting more students from all
around the country.
In the past, Penn State has accepted
students from select universities, but
next month the program will be open to
applicants from any university.
The Moscow program currently
includes three Penn State students, one
student from Montana State, two stu
dents from the University of Nebraska-
Lincoln and two students from the Uni
versity of Florida. There are no students
currently enrolled in the Ukraine pro
gram because many have postponed
their study until next spring due to polit
ical turmoil in the country, Behring said.
She added that it is important for stu
dents to study in those regions because
of their unique approach to agriculture.
"For example, in the former Soviet
"These students were able to develop
a relationship with a community" Hig
don said. "We are trying to focus on
what the community is getting by inter
acting with our students [rather than
the other way around]," he said.
Lori Zimmaro (senior-English and
Spanish), who participated in the
women's empowerment section of the
project, said the 16 student participants
came from a range of diverse majors.
"It was a chance to interact with peo
ple that you wouldn't usually share
classes with," she said.
Zimmaro added the women's empow
erment group focused on creating a
"portrait" of the lives of Monkey River
women through interviews and discus
sion forums. The women discussed
their values, roles, concerns and inter
ests in the community. "For the most
part, the women there are limited to
domestic responsibilities," she said. "We
encouraged them to look beyond and
take advantage of the opportunities they
have outside their village."
Higdon said the ecotourism group
worked with the Toledo Institute for
Development to access problems within
the community that affect the environ
ment and tourism.
The students were able to evaluate
Union there are so many historic issues
with different approaches to agriculture
in the communist and new post-commu
nist era," Behring said.
She added that although the college is
considering admitting more students to
the program, the total number would
remain low.
A new Web site and a broadcast cen
ter with video clips made by students
who have participated in the program
are in the works to boost interest for the
program.
Behring said the program is unique
because American students study with
Russian and Ukrainian students in
classes taught by American professors,
yet have the opportunity to learn
Ukrainian or Russian culture and lan
guage on the Internet before their visit.
At the University of Florida, Mickie
Keisha Johnson and Jennifer Dean of
IPM examine algea blooms.
"These students were
able to develop a
relationship with a
community."
various tour groups that come through
the village, and they suggestea ways for
the guides to increase overnight stays
and distributing information.
"It was more than just a spring break
trip," Josh Ream (junior-animal sci
ences), an ecotourism member, said. "I
learned so much. As far as business, we
learned about politics and marking. All
LOCAL
Photo Provided
Frank Higdon Photo Provided
project coordinator A plantation manager talks to the integrated pest management (IPM) group.
Swisher, associate professor of sustain
able agriculture, said that although she
encourages students to study abroad, it
is particularly difficult for the universi
ty's agriculture students to participate
because of their specific degree require
ments. "We do collaborate with Penn
State on the study abroad program at
Moscow," she said. "What we try to set
up are programs that generate Univer
sity of Florida credits...and we have to
make sure courses that students are
going to take are going to apply to our
program."
Christa Joy, study abroad programs
director at the University of Nebraska-
Lincoln, said their university already
has agriculture students studying
abroad in Moscow, and would definitely
encourage more students to apply to
Penn State's program.
these topics were fairly new to me." Dean explains simple things, such as
The third assessment group, integrat- buying bananas, forced her to think
ed pest management, dealt with prob- about the situation in Monkey River,
lems in chemical pest control in local since the chemicals used in pest control
and commercial farming surrounding run into the river that is the primary
the village. water source for the village.
"Since I've been back, there's a lot of "The student got a chance to learn
hesitation when I go to the grocery that there's more than just them and
store," Jennifer Dean (graduate stu- that they can make a difference in peo
dent-entomology) said. ple's lives," Higdon said.
THURSDAY, March 17, 2005 I 7
Penn State student Randy Koontz
(senior-agriculture and extension edu
cation), who studied abroad last year at
the Lviv State Agrarian University in
Ukraine, said the experience taught him
much about the country's unique agri
culture.
"The agriculture there is very differ
ent," he said. "For example, two aver
age fields here in America would be one
huge field in Ukraine, and soil there is
the blackest soil in the world... and
there are no rocks in the soil."
Koontz added that time spent study
ing abroad is looked highly upon by the
agriculture industry
"I talked to many employers who are
looking for individuals who have had an
international experience," he said. "If
you've had an international experience,
employers will look at you more closely."