海角社区

International students visited 海角社区鈥檚 campus in Baton Rouge this summer as part of International Summer School at 海角社区, a weeklong exchange. The program is a continuation of a two-year international short program that began in 2019 but was postponed due to the pandemic.  

The program was organized jointly by 海角社区 and Mendel University (MendelU) in the Czech Republic. Both 海角社区 and MendelU students participated in the program. There were 26 students from across the globe, including the Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Poland and Thailand. 

Throughout the week, students learned about a broad range of Louisiana agriculture, touring 海角社区 AgCenter research stations and commercial operations. Stops included opportunities to explore horticulture, animal sciences, entomology and food science.  

Jenish Tandel is an 海角社区 student majoring in animal sciences with a desire to learn about other agriculture sectors. 

鈥淚 wanted to learn about different aspects in the College of Agriculture, apart from animal science. I wanted to explore all the other fields and see what they have, too,鈥� he said. 

Entomology was a field that Tandel had little experience in before attending summer school, and he felt that he learned a lot by visiting the U.S. Department of Agriculture Honeybee Lab in Baton Rouge. 

鈥淚鈥檝e been learning a lot about how insects are, how they鈥檙e preserving that entomology,鈥� said Tandel. 鈥淚 never knew how they preserved them, and they showed us how they do it in the glass boxes.鈥� 

While some students wanted to learn more about agriculture in Louisiana, others wanted to know about innovative practices in the U.S. that they could apply in their careers. 

Luk谩拧 Ko拧钮谩l, a master鈥檚 student at MendelU, is studying landscape ecology. Ko拧钮谩l feels he could take his career in many directions but would like to focus on agritourism and combine what he knows about tourism, ecology and landscape. 

Ko拧钮谩l felt that participating in International Summer School at 海角社区 and learning about U.S. ecology and tourism was not an opportunity he could pass on. 

鈥淓ven though this program takes us into more directions than just what I study, I was very interested in how things are done in the U.S.,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then I can take different points of view and compare how it is different from my country.鈥� 

Students toured many of the research stations across the state, learning about the land-grant university system and the outreach that the 海角社区 AgCenter has for the agricultural industry in the state. 

Michaela Frankov谩 is a MendelU student currently pursuing her master鈥檚 degree in food science and food security.  

For Frankov谩 having the opportunity to visit rural Louisiana was a unique opportunity that most U.S. tourists do not get to experience. 

鈥淚 like how connected the rural part of the state is with the university through the extension programs. We don鈥檛 have that, and I think it鈥檚 really good,鈥� said Frankov谩. 

One stop was Fleur De Lis Tea Company in Amite City. Here students learned about how tea is being grown in Louisiana. 

鈥淚 would never imagine that you could like grow tea under the pine tree. It鈥檚 so innovative,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think in the U.S., people are really innovative when finding stuff that works. The guy was teaching us that they had to dig some kind of drainage system for the plants. It鈥檚 so interesting.鈥� 

Frankov谩 chose to attend the International Summer School at 海角社区 to expand her network and build her resume as she approaches the end of her master鈥檚 program. 

鈥淚 would like to work in some international company where I can meet people from all around the world, and it鈥檚 also the reason why I came here,鈥� said Frankov谩. 鈥淚 just like to make new contacts, meet new people, see new places, and the food industry is so various. In every country, it鈥檚 different.鈥� 

海角社区 AgCenter Global Network plans to continue the international summer school exchange program in the future. 

鈥淭his creates a great platform for the exchange of ideas, establishing professional networks, learning, as well as bringing more international opportunities to 海角社区 AgCenter and College of Agriculture,鈥� said Ivana Tregenza, associate director of鈥�海角社区 AgCenter鈥疓lobal Network.