Surveying at the University of Mauritius

Author: Sophia Ultes | Major: Finance | Semester: Spring 2023

My name is Sophia Ultes and I am currently a Junior at the University of Arkansas. I am majoring in Finance and double minoring in Economics and International Economic Development. Post grad, I hope to continue my education with graduate school at the U of A, studying Agricultural Economics and Rural Development. My mentor is Amy Farmer, and she works in the Economics department of the Walton College of Business.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to travel across the world to spend my summer working in Mauritius. Two other U of A students, as well as myself, spent the summer collecting data over the dairy industry as well as food security concerns on the island. Mauritius does not have an official dairy industry, so many locals are used to drinking alternate forms of milk such as powdered milk and ultra-high temperature (UHT) processed milk. A few of the locals we surveyed had never even tried fresh milk before. The purpose of this survey was to collect data to see if locals would purchase fresh milk if it was available, and at which price point. On the other hand, the second survey we gave out was concerning food security pre and post pandemic. Our goal with this survey was to find out how many people were affected by the pandemic in terms of having the economic right to purchase food.

During my spring semester, I was able to work closely with Dr. Farmer to complete my thesis write up. She was extremely helpful and provided guidance throughout the entire process. I have learned so much from this project, but I am excited to begin a new one soon!

I found out about this international research project because my mentor, Dr. Farmer, came into one of my economics classes one day and talked about her program. I immediately became interested and reached out to learn more about it. Dr. Farmer is one of the best faculty members I know. She is extremely intelligent and helpful when I ask her questions. She is very organized and personable as well. I enjoy spending time with her! She came to check on us in Mauritius while we were conducting surveys and was always quick to respond if we had any questions or concerns. Dr. Farmer has taught me so much about the world in the little time that I have known her. We have had some amazing worldly conversations which has opened my mind and changed my perspective on certain issues. Along with that, travelling to a foreign country for the summer was eye opening in it of itself. I learned so much about the culture of Mauritius by becoming friends with locals and learning how to be adaptive and flexible to new environments. Overall, this experience was life changing and I learned so much about myself and Mauritius. It was so good that Dr. Farmer was able to convince me to participate in another one of her programs in Eswatini next summer. I am thrilled to take what I learned in Mauritius and apply is to my work in Eswatini next summer, as well as continue to expand my knowledge about the world!