By Lily Rutherford
Programs like this one also inspire curiosity and drive within students who continue to come back to study abroad experiences and international exposure.
A plant sciences major with a concentration in horticulture and production, Nora Mooney traveled to Costa Rica this past spring break for a Herbert College of Agriculture study abroad
program.
Currently in her sophomore year, Mooney took the program as an opportunity to learn more about diverse ecosystems, sustainable horticulture practices, and how people in Costa Rica
interact with their environment.
While the course was short, their time abroad offered many new educational experiences for the students and faculty involved.
Mooney said, “My favorite part of the week was being able to bond with my peers while in a new environment. Being able to have once in a lifetime experience with people you otherwise would not have met is life changing.”
And the program wasn’t only academically enlightening. She added, “All of the students on the were experiencing this country’s food, music, nature, and culture for the first time together.”
The focus of the course was largely agriculturally centered, but new food and music are a big part of cultural history and context as well. Many different aspects go into what makes a society, the most important of which are people and agriculture.
Along with the new reality studying abroad can provide students with, it also offers unique environmental and cultural perspectives, in addition to personalized education.
“While in the country, we did personal research projects, and I chose to study orchid and host plant interactions.”
Conveniently, Costa Rica’s national flower is the Guaria Morada, a species of orchid, making this an ideal project topic. What place better to study orchids, host plant interactions, and their environments than somewhere completely enriched with these things?
On another note, Mooney had much to say about the travel aspect of her experience in the course. She commented, “This program far exceeded my expectations, with the meticulous
schedule fitting more into a day than I thought was possible. We had a very knowledgeable tour guide that was able to answer almost every question that he was asked.”
To further this idea – there’s a significant benefit to learning from a uniquely experienced person than a textbook. This interpersonal part of studying abroad can’t be recreated in a classroom.
When asked about how the experience impacted her, she said, “It has widened my views in so many ways. I have begun to dial in more on what aspects of my degree interest me for my future career and have developed a deep appreciation for a culture that I previously did not know much about.”
Programs like this one also inspire curiosity and drive within students who continue to come back to study abroad experiences and international exposure.
As Mooney noted, “This experience is definitely my first of many. I have begun to research graduate programs abroad or even similar programs offered at UT.”
Students continue to have positive experiences like this one and the others we’ve highlighted in our study abroad stories series. In turn, more students seek opportunities abroad and develop into global citizens.
Be like Nora Mooney and go seek a new experience, academic endeavor, or program abroad!
Learn more about how you can grow global through study abroad here.