Despite terrorism, record number of ag students study
abroad
By Andrea Campbell
Despite the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Purdue's College of Agriculture
saw a dramatic increase in students traveling and studying abroad.
"I think the effects of Sept. 11 caused students to realize that
working or studying abroad would be a great benefit to their education,"
says Mike Stitsworth, professor and associate director of international
programs in agriculture. "Study abroad is a great way to learn
about new places and do things you might not normally be able to do."
A total of 118 agriculture students studied abroad or participated
in internships overseas during the 2001-02 school year. This is almost
a 40 percent increase over the previous year's near-record participation.
Of all the Purdue students that study abroad, 22 percent are from the
College of Agriculture, which enrolls about 8 percent of Purdue's undergraduates.
Agriculture students can go to places such as the United Kingdom, Australia,
Mexico, Honduras, Poland, Russia, China, France and Brazil. Study abroad
programs are held during the summer and through the regular school year.
Students take classes for college credit, or participate in an internship.
Jennifer Meade, of Hillsboro, Ind., is a junior in general agriculture
and pre-veterinary medicine who studied in China last summer. She heard
about study abroad from a speaker in one of her classes.
Page 1 | Page
2
