�� - Dean's Global Agriculture and Food Leadership Program

When opportunity knocks

mmgrant — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 13:49:59 +0000

When Gillian Anderson (’24 agricultural and rural policy studies, international agriculture) received an email revealing the details of an extraordinary opportunity, she thought it was unattainable, so she deleted it. Fortunately, a follow-up conversation with Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice assistant teaching professor and advisor Ramesh Balayar gave Anderson the confidence to take a second look. She is grateful she did because during the summer of 2023, Anderson was living in Rome, Italy, collaborating with a United Nations organization that combats food insecurity.

The experience, made possible through the Dean’s Global Agriculture and Food Leadership Program, is administered through Iowa State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It gives students the chance to gain valuable skills and knowledge related to global agricultural production, resources, and food issues. Students conduct coursework on campus during spring semester before spending the first month of summer break in Rome, working directly with United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) professionals.

A new direction

For Anderson, working with FAO sparked a new interest in research.

“I would love to work for a multi-national organization or nongovernmental organization doing research, something similar to what I was doing his summer,” Anderson said. “My favorite thing about this experience was the sense of purpose I got out of it, but also the opportunity to work with experts in their field in such a cool place like FAO. As a college student, I would have never pictured myself doing anything like that, so all around it was amazing.”

Anderson worked with an FAO group that researched information for an upcoming report related to genetic livestock resources. Specifically, Anderson focused on the social and political implications of gene-editing in livestock, including what regulations prevent gene-editing from progressing and how low- to middle-income countries might respond to gene-edited livestock.

She admits the research was intense, but it helped guide her future career path.

“I would like to go to grad school, either for rural sociology or international development,” she said. “I really have an interest in research and working for an organization like I did this summer. I’m also not ruling out teaching at the college level.”

A major revelation

Anderson initially planned to major in animal science when she came to Iowa State, but after a heavy dose of the hard sciences her first year, she realized the humanities were a better fit. Agriculture, however, was still her focus. That’s when Anderson discovered the agricultural and rural policy studies major in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. She appreciates the multi-faceted approach the major takes toward agriculture.

“It’s kind of like sociology and political science and agriculture all put together,” Anderson said. “You also get more than just an Iowa-centric view of agriculture. You really get a global perspective.”

Anderson can’t think of one agricultural and rural policy studies class she hasn’t loved. One of her first courses was Rural Society in Transition (SOC 230), where they discussed issues facing rural America. This hit home for Anderson, who grew up in Charles City, Iowa.

“I grew up in a rural community so I could see some of those issues being mirrored in my own community and it was really interesting to learn about why that stuff is happening and dig deeper into it,” she said.

Find your passion

Anderson credits the Dean’s Global Agriculture and Food Leadership Program with opening her eyes to the possibilities that exist in the global agriculture arena. As a result, she is participating in programs in Nepal over spring break and in Uganda this upcoming summer to explore those interests even further. She advises current and future agricultural and rural policy studies students to find their passions as well.

“I wouldn’t have gotten involved with this stuff if I hadn’t found what I was really interested in and if I hadn’t fallen into ag and rural policy,” Anderson said. “I think finding out what you’re interested in and excited about just opens up everything else.”

Original story posted: https://soc-cj.iastate.edu/2024/02/05/when-opportunity-knocks/

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Dean's Global Agriculture and Food Leadership Program

Agricultural and Rural Policy

international agriculture

Rome

FAO

Gillian Anderson

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Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice

When in Rome…students research, explore different culture

nicolerh — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 17:23:20 +0000

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When in Rome…students research, explore different culture

Tags:

Dean's Global Agriculture and Food Leadership Program

Rome

When in Rome…students research

explore different culture

When in Rome…students research, explore different culture

nicolerh — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 17:21:02 +0000

Does conducting research for an international organization on the weekdays and exploring one of the most ancient cities in the world on the weekends sound interesting to you? GLOBE 497: Dean's Global Agriculture and Food Leadership Program to Rome takes students to Italy for the summer, where they collaborate with scientists at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to research globally relevant topics.

The program began in 2009 and focuses on introducing students to global agriculture concepts, such as food insecurity and international food systems. During the spring semester leading up to their time in Rome, students learn about the complexity of those issues and enhance their leadership skills in the GLOBE 495 course.

Shelley Taylor, director of global programs, said the students' work in the classroom helps prepare them for their international experiences. At the end of the spring semester, the students form teams and pick the topic they will focus on while abroad, based on a list of pre-determined topics provided by the FAO.

Taylor said that even if a student doesn’t have a specialty in a given year’s topic, there is still room for them to contribute. In 2023, the projects had a primary focus on livestock genetics.

“They are supposed to be operating as a high functioning team,” Taylor said. “There might be some students that have the animal science background and know more about genetics, and others are better at policy and ethical implications of genome editing. There's a place on each team for everybody.”

This past summer, two teams made their way to Rome. The students utilize the Iowa State University College of Design’s facilities there and get the full experience of living and working at the FAO They set their own hours and work one-on-one with staff members to give progress reports and prepare for their final presentations.

“Walking into the FAO is an incredible experience,” said Jennifer Holliday, senior in agricultural studies. “You walk in and they have flags from every nation of the United Nations hanging in the main entry. The building truly shows how passionate the organization is about the work they're doing to better the world. It was like you could feel the magic in the air.”

Holliday worked with her team to research genome editing in livestock, focusing on the feasibility of implementing it in middle- and low-income countries. She was nervous about the topic since her background was more communications-centric, but as she and her team dug deeper into the research, they discovered how much they all brought to the table.

Toward the end of the international experience, each group gave a 15-minute overview of their research and results and fielded questions from members of the FAO. Holliday said the FAO set up a livestream that the students’ friends and family were invited to watch, as well as over 100 additional viewers.

“We had people attending the livestream from well over 15 countries,” Holliday said. “I think that was shocking to all of us because we realized we made an impact, not only in our lives but in so many other people's lives. They were all there to hear the research that us 20-year-olds were conducting.”

Both teams' research, “Genome Editing in Livestock” and “Challenges in Livestock Phenotyping,” will be used in the 2027 edition of the FAO’s State of Livestock In The World.

When the teams aren’t working on their research, they get to explore Rome. Taylor said there are a few planned excursions, including a trip to Tuscany to see the region’s food systems strategy. Beyond that, students are free to adventure through Rome and visit the local sights.

“We made friends with a coffee shop owner,” Holliday said. “We went there every day. We would walk in and he would already know what we wanted. There was a bakery next door, and one day the owner said, ‘Oh, we don't have the Nutella croissants today,’ because that's what I had ordered the day before. She remembered it.”

Holliday said the trip was hard work but life-changing and something she thinks about every day.

“Your eyes are opened to culture in a way that is so unique to any other study abroad experience,” Holliday said. “You get to directly work with professionals in the food insecurity industry. If you have a passion for food insecurity, this is the place to be.”

The deadline to apply for next summer’s program is Nov. 1. Taylor said that while preference is given to juniors and seniors, any classification of student from any major can apply.

^{Original story posted, https://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/2023/when-romestudents-research-explor....}

Tags:

Dean's Global Agriculture and Food Leadership Program

Rome

When in Rome…students research

explore different culture

Author(s):

Madelyn Ostendorf