Views Too Good to Look at the Camera

Author: Catherine Warren | Major: Biological Engineering | Semester: May 2023 Intersession

Before attending college, I knew that I wanted to study abroad, and I am so grateful that the Honors College has given me the opportunity to achieve this dream of mine. Going into my second semester of freshman year, I noticed at the bottom of one of those mass weekly emails from the engineering department that there was an informational meeting about a study abroad program in Belgium called Sustainability in the Euro Food System. Since I had just recently added a minor in sustainability to my biological engineering major, something I have always been interested in, I knew I had to discover more about the program. After meeting the University of Arkansas faculty who would be leading the program, I was sold. It checked all the boxes for me: great faculty leaders, exciting location, a subject I’m passionate about and interested in, a shorter time frame (three week May intersession), and fun excursion activities. Studying abroad has given me a unique perspective and advantage for my future career.

This program goes beyond being a resume builder; I got to be immersed in another culture while simultaneously exploring different ideas and applications of sustainable practices for both industry and residential purposes. I was able to see how different companies choose to innovate for a more sustainable future, including but not limited to vertical farming, advanced recycling, biogas production, and biological methods of water treatment. I got to conceptualize a brighter future through lectures where I learned about comparisons in sustainability between Europe and the US, innovative remote sensing for agriculture, and many other interesting topics. All of the instructors and lecturers were extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. I felt comfortable asking as many questions as I had, and I appreciated their expertise. The main difference in the classes in Belgium when compared to the US is that the lecture time is much longer than what I’m used to. This wasn’t a bad thing, however, because it really allowed the instructors to completely flesh out the topic they were covering, and it allotted plenty of time for questions with thorough, thoughtful answers. My main academic goal is always to learn, and I feel as though this study abroad experience helped me to learn in new ways, and it made me consider topics in regards to sustainability that I have never considered before.

Outside of the classroom, we got to really immerse ourselves in Belgian culture. So much so, that oftentimes people would begin speaking to us in Dutch, to which we would have to ask them to repeat what they said in English. That was one of the main perks of Belgium as a destination, because everyone there speaks Dutch, French, and English because of the schooling curriculum. This made it very easy to get around there, especially for someone who is abroad for the first time like myself. Speaking of getting around easily, the group rented bikes, which made navigating the city extremely easy since it was extremely bike friendly. The people were incredibly nice, and we really got along well with one of the university interns, Lara, whom we all already miss very much. The Belgians are known for their waffles, chocolates, beer, and fries (french fries were actually invented in Belgium), and we absolutely loved getting to try some of these things. Our weekend excursions offered us insights into other parts of the country, and it seemed like the fun never ended.

Overall, I would recommend this program to any and every student. We had a diverse range of majors there, from economics to food science to mechanical engineering. Belgium was such a perfect first place to visit in Europe, the University of Arkansas faculty members as well as the faculty at the University of Ghent were truly incredible, and the three week time frame was ideal. Not to mention, there was so much knowledge to be gained about sustainability that I had never imagined possible. I feel as though my worldview has been shifted, and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity. The only thing I wish I had known beforehand was that I was going to be eating a lot of fries. Although I loved the fries, there are some things about home that I missed. The first thing I did when I got back from this study abroad program was eat Mexican food and chug water. Those were two of the things I missed the most; you really can’t find them in Europe. To conclude, I couldn’t be more appreciative of this opportunity and experience. I hope to apply a lot of what I learned in my future career as well as my daily life.