Cultivating Culture: Ferguson students expand their knowledge through an Ireland and Scotland study-abroad course

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Media Contact: Sophia Fahleson | Digital Communications Specialist | 405-744-7063 | sophia.fahleson@okstate.edu

From lush green hills in Ireland to the rocky roads of Scotland, Oklahoma State University Ferguson College of Agriculture students extended their agricultural education far beyond the classrooms of Agricultural Hall through a summer study-abroad course.

The two-week study-abroad course in June 2023 provided an eye-opening opportunity for students in the Ferguson College of Agriculture, said Derrell Peel, agricultural economics professor. He assisted agricultural economics professor Elizabeth Norwood to develop and guide the course.

They strategized the group’s stops in Ireland and Scotland to widen students’ perspectives of agriculture on an international scale, Peel said.

“I was excited to see two new countries, learn about their cultures, and get to see their agricultural practices,” said Emily Ward, food science junior who completed the Ireland and Scotland study-abroad course.

Norwood and Peel began promoting the course in August 2022 at the college’s study-abroad fair. Students interested completed a one-page essay expressing why they desired to go to Ireland and Scotland. Using their essays, faculty selected students based on their reasons for applying and school classification.

“I wanted to take part in the study-abroad course because I am of Choctaw and Irish descent,” said Jerret Carpenter, natural resource ecology and management senior. “The Choctaw and Irish have a relationship that remains today.”

Before leaving for the course, students attended multiple meetings in the spring semester that gave an overview of the day-to-day travel and how to prepare for the study-abroad course, Peel said.

Pre-travel assignments included an essay on what they expected to see on the trip and an essay from a list of topics they could choose from provided by Norwood and Peel. Some topics included Kinnitty Castle, cultural food and sites to be visited.

Once they returned from the course, they completed a paper on a historical topic and another on what they enjoyed about the course.

“We were on the move constantly with 12-hour days,” Peel said. “Long days, a lot of movement and mobility — we tried to prep the students ahead of time for that.

“We didn’t stay more than two nights in any one location,” Peel said. “It’s more intense in some ways and a fairly demanding schedule for both students and faculty.”

Students kept a journal during their travels to express their thoughts on each day’s educational experiences, which became part of their final grade in the course.

Having a small group allowed students to embrace spontaneous travel to local pubs and unique tours only offered to smaller groups, Norwood said. Students even had the unexpected opportunity to spend a night in a “haunted” castle, Norwood added.

Students stayed in a castle deep into the Irish countryside at the end of a gravel road.

“The room I stayed in was 100% haunted,” Ward said. “I was standing at the sink in the bathroom, and the shower came on by itself.”

Students viewed the scenery near the castle by exploring trails to a “stone circle” or visiting the pastures filled with horses before gathering to dine in the dungeon, Ward said.

The Ireland and Scotland study-abroad course allowed students to broaden their perspective on agriculture because the methods abroad are different than those used in the U.S., Peel said. The group’s stops included agricultural colleges in Ireland and Scotland, a whiskey distillery, and the Boora Bainne Milk Co. and its dairy in Tullamore, Ireland.

“It was cool to see the whole process of agriculture from the independent farmer side all the way through the manufacturing, the processing and the finished product,” Carpenter said.

One of the memorable stops was the small dairy operation that had a milk vending machine, Carpenter said.

“The dairy with the vending machine was a unique experience,” Carpenter said. “The dairy farmer did that to help increase sales using syrups of different flavors so you could get all these flavors of milk.”

The flavors offered to students were plain, banana, chocolate, strawberry and “surprise.” Students filled their choice of flavor into a glass bottle they could take with them as a souvenir.

For some students, like Carpenter, meeting people in production agriculture contributed to the cultural aspect of the Ireland and Scotland study-abroad course.

At the college visits, students heard lectures on recent agricultural milestones and technology advancement, Norwood said. At the University College Dublin, Michael Wallace, agricultural and food economics professor, presented an educational lecture to discuss the similarities and differences between Ireland and the United States, Ward said.

“Primarily, their beef is all grass-fed because they have extensive grasslands, whereas the United States is mostly grain-fed,” Ward said. “I didn’t even think it was beef because there was no fat.”

Students learned about Dolly the Sheep, the first cloned farm animal, at the Roslin Institute and viewed the monument at the University of Edinburgh, Peel said.

At the University of Edinburgh, students attended lectures about the humane treatment of animals in food production, Norwood said.

Allowing students to travel to another country makes them try new things, she added.

For some students, the course was their first time traveling away from home. However, they urged others to not be nervous or afraid to put themselves out there, Ward said.

Other students should get to know the other people on the study-abroad course, and talk to locals when possible, she said.

“Going on this course helped push me out of my comfort zone,” Ward said. “We all got super close because it was such a smaller group.

“I love learning how people live there and their perspectives of their day-to-day life since they’re more laid back compared to America,” Ward said.

The Ireland and Scotland study-abroad course has become in high demand from students, Peel said.

Faculty anticipate offering this course each year while keeping a limit on the number of spots, he added

For the 2024 course, Norwood and Peel expect to have 15 students and faculty. The itinerary will be unique each year but will showcase similar locations and cities, Norwood said.

“This international experience was invaluable,” Ward said. “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Story by: Kathryn Coleman | Cowboy Journal