After traveling to New Zealand last winter, Abby Loesing caught the study-abroad bug.
“That my was my first study experience,” she said, “and I’m a little crazy because I came back and was immediately interested in the spring France trip.”
During her 2024 spring break, Loesing and 13 fellow students spent 10 days exploring France, including visiting UniLaSalle, touring local farms, and exploring Paris and Normandy. Students got to meet French agriculture students and see the differences in agricultural education in other countries.
“It was a really cool time to be in Paris because they were getting ready and cleaning and building things for the Olympics,” said Loesing, “so that was a cultural experience of its own as well.”
Led by Rebecca Mott, assistant professor of agricultural education, and Bryan Garton, senior associate dean and director of academic programs, students got to embark on one of the first study abroad programs with an agricultural education focus.
“I think what’s really cool about all the study abroad experiences is that even though a lot of them are focused toward one degree area, no matter what major you are, you can definitely take something away from all of them,” said Loesing. “It was cool, from a peer standpoint, to meet people on the trip outside of my major, but also to meet the international agriculture students. France doesn’t have the agricultural youth organizations like we have — 4-H and FFA — in the United States, so their path to a degree in agriculture is totally different from ours.”
Students also visited the Massey Ferguson factory, a local farmers market where they navigated buying lunch with vendors that spoke only French, and a family farm that practiced holistic medicine on their Charolais cattle herd.
“I know it sounds cliché, but you’re pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and learning something completely new in a completely new environment,” said Loesing. “You can learn about different pieces of agriculture in a classroom, but it’s so different than learning it out in the real world. On a study abroad trip, you’re challenged from an academic standpoint but you’re also learning a lot about yourself too.”
Loesing will also be studying abroad in Italy this winter break. To learn more about CAFNR study abroad opportunities, visit cafnr.missouri.edu/academics/study-abroad/ or contact Shanon Dickerson, director of international study programs, at dickersonsm@missouri.edu.