�� - spring break 2023

Students Spend Spring Break in Costa Rica

mmgrant — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 15:09:47 +0000

By Brenda Witherspoon, Teaching Professor, Greenlee School of Journalism

A group of 18 CALS students spent their spring break learning about different approaches to agriculture and immersing themselves in another culture, including its people, natural environment and languages. They did that through extended visits to farms and producers of pineapple, highland fruit, coffee, sugar cane, bamboo, cacao, spices, rice, mango and a tour of a national irrigation system. This travel course has been running for more than 25 years.

“Being able to see the beautiful volcanoes, waterfalls, plants, animals, culture and soils of Costa Rica with other Iowa State students allowed me to make many awesome new friends and connections and rewarded me with a new perspective and experience,” said Sage Coffman, a senior in agronomy and environmental science.

“For a lot of us, doing agriculture totally organically was thought of as only possible in a perfect world, so it was epic to realize, wow, here’s the best bread I have ever tasted, and it’s grown from naturally and sustainably grown wheat,” said Marialuna Schreiner Cintrón, a freshman in agronomy.

Coffman echoed that sentiment saying, “My favorite part of the trip was being immersed in a different culture and communicating with farmers and agricultural workers from a different background. My favorite visit was to an organic vegetable farm managed by Juan Jose. Señor Jose was very passionate, showing us his operation and being engaged in our many questions.” Coffman had even worked on writing out questions in Spanish.

Students also spent a day visiting a volcano to hike and to bathe in mud baths, thermal pools and beneath a waterfall. Another day was spent at the beach, where a few students awakened early to explore tide pools as the sun rose and the entire group gathered again in the evening to watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.

Many of the students made a connection with Gaby Ureña, who has long accompanied ISU trips as an in-country guide and whose extended family in Santa Maria de Dota made the group feel at home, offering a tortilla workshop, a garden tour, a home-cooked meal, and even a competitive game of soccer.

Agronomy professor Amber Anderson and Greenlee School of Journalism Teaching Professor Brenda Witherspoon accompanied the group.

Original story posted: https://www.agron.iastate.edu/2024/03/27/students-spend-spring-break-in-...

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costa rica

spring break 2023

Author(s):

Brenda Witherspoon

CALS �� Fall 2023 Photo Contest

nicolerh — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 19:30:05 +0000

Wednesday, November 1, 2023 - 11:00pm to Sunday, November 5, 2023 - 11:00pm

Show off your photography skills and compete in this year's Fall 2023 Photo Contest! Submissions are due November 5, 2023

Photo Contest Guidelines:
3 Categories for Entries:

Scenic (share your new favorite view)
ISU Spirit (where did you showcase your Cyclone pride?)
Cuisine and Culture (unique foods and cultural scenes from around the US and the world).

Each student can submit one entry per category for a total of 3 submissions. (The winner of each category will win an ISU Bookstore gift card).

Submission Guidelines:

Submissions must be submitted by CALS students or non-CALS students that travelled on a CALS program.
Photos have to have been taken from programs travelling from January 1, 2023, to July 31, 2023. This would include winter break 2022-2023, spring 2023, spring break 2023, May 2023, and Summer 2023.
- Photos from August 2023, fall semester 2023, fall break 2023, and winter break 2023-2024 will be included in the spring photo contest!
Entries should be submitted as a png or jpeg and can be emailed to calsstudyabroad@iastate.edu by November 5.
Entries need to include the student’s name and program title.

Contest judging will take place on Instagram stories November 6-17th.

^{Any photos entered in the contest may be considered by the CALS �� office to be used in promotional and recruitment materials.}

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