Hudson Roberts in front of the Eiffel Tower on a weekend day-trip to Paris, France.

Author: Hudson Roberts | Major: Civil Engineering | Semester: Summer 2025

On May 11, 2025, after nearly 24 hours of travel, I looked around the airport in Brussels, Belgium, wondering what I had gotten myself into. I exchanged friendly, jet-lagged smiles to the eight students I had never met but committed to spending two weeks in a different country with.
I started to question what I had been thinking in the previous fall semester when I decided to attend this program abroad over the May Intersession. Little did I know the vast knowledge, valuable relationships, and unforgettable memories I would gain in such a short time. I selected this program studying Sustainability in the European Food System because it
perfectly blends my major and minor, Civil Engineering and Natural Resources Management. Having previously been an Environmental Science major before switching disciplines, I feel very passionate about environmental sustainability and strongly desire that it be incorporated into myfuture career. Although agriculture takes up a relatively small portion of Belgium’s economy dueto limited land and resources, many food producers have developed innovative practices to
maximize their yield while minimizing consumption. Entering the program, I was very eager to
study their infrastructure and consider ideas that could be replicated in Arkansas, where
agriculture is the largest economic industry.
Because this program was rather short compared to semesters abroad, our daily itineraries
were packed with varying lectures and outings to farms, factories, and bioengineering labs. We
heard from professors about the benefits and stigma surrounding genetically modified organisms,
the push for plant-based diets, and the consumer psychology behind food packaging and
marketing. An experience that stood out to me in particular was a tour of TomatoMasters, a plant
of greenhouses that prioritizes reducing environmental impact, improving the quality of produce,
and maximizing economic efficiency. Combating Belgium’s unfavorable growing climate, the
use of controlled conditions and hydroponic farming allows them to produce tomatoes and other
vegetables year round. They use automated carts on a railway-like system between rows of crops
for workers to prune and harvest the tomatoes by hand. The carts also run 24/7 through the
factory, bringing freshly harvested tomatoes from the greenhouse to their packaging plant on the
property. Passed down through three family generations, the owner, Tom Vlaemynck, gave us a
tour of the facilities himself; he emphasized how the consistent routine of the carts create a
positive and comfortable working environment for his employees. He also recently implemented
a system of individual employees being responsible for a set row of crops, rather than everyone
rotating, to encourage accountability in their work and yield. With the addition of their own
water treatment reservoir to recycle and minimize water use, I was fascinated by the company’s
simultaneous commitment to environmental sustainability and a positive, employee-focused
system.
In relation, we visited two sites that are developing natural wetland wastewater treatment
systems. As opposed to conventional water treatment plants, man-made wetlands are being
constructed to filter sewage water through soil and plants. At HOGENT University of Applied
Sciences and Arts, a professor and group of research students set out to construct a wetland
wastewater treatment system for one of the buildings on their campus. Taking up roughly 10×20
meters, the wetland has been treating all sewage water from the building and recycling it through
the sinks for five years, which has significantly decreased the campus’s water consumption. In
another case, the Leaudegem project has implemented a similar system to treat the water of
homes on an entire street. The wetland system takes up a narrow strip of land along the street and
is adorned with purple flowers, making it aesthetically pleasing and non-disruptive to the
residents of the street. Wouter Igodt, who gave us a tour of the site, explained that this project
was all possible because of his friendship with a local legislator. Igodt previously owned his own
restaurant that recycled 100% of their own water; interested by this concept, the legislator
granted Igodt one street free of jurisdiction to experiment with water treatment. Due to the
success of their pilot project, Leaudegem is expanding to treat the wastewater of the entire
neighborhood.
This legislative dynamic is interesting to me and seems different from that of the United
States. In fact, throughout my time in Belgium, I realized that many companies’ sustainable
initiatives are not a result of better morals or passion for the environment, but rather of the
restrictions that Parliament has set. As a result, many companies have no choice but to create and
develop more sustainable practices that comply with said restrictions, while also being allowed
more innovative freedom to do so. I am interested in learning more about how their sustainable
practices could be implemented under U.S. government systems.
Aside from our enriching academic endeavors, we students were left with plenty of time
to explore the area culturally. The three girls I was rooming with and I spontaneously planned a
day-trip to Paris over the weekend. Knowing how close Gent and Paris are via train, I had this
idea before arriving in Belgium, but I didn’t think I would be able to find anyone that would go
with me. I was delighted to be wrong about this, and we made the most amazing memories by
sight-seeing around the entire city of Paris in only about ten hours. We walked until our feet
ached and laughed until our stomachs hurt, making stops at the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, the
Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and everything in between.
With a head full of knowledge and a photo album full of memories, I look back on my
time abroad with so much gratitude. This program provided me with opportunities that cannot be
replicated in the United States and that have truly driven my curiosity as I begin research and
continue pursuing my future career in environmental engineering. This endeavor would not have
been possible for me without the help of the Honors College, and I cannot speak highly enough
about the academic, cultural, and social experiences I gained abroad.