Grace Reiss
Grace Reiss, a senior majoring in nutritional science and global resource systems, has always had an interest in nutrition and a passion for helping to solve world hunger, so she decided to participate in the Iowa Youth Institute during high school. The Iowa Youth Institute allowed her to get involved with the World Food Prize, where she met like-minded individuals passionate about impacting the world. Through this passion, talking with faculty at Iowa State University, and then attending the CALS Study Abroad fair, Grace learned about all the opportunities to study abroad through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. By learning about these opportunities, Grace participated in the Sustainable Global Resource Systems in Uganda and The Netherlands travel course and spent a semester abroad.
“Going into college, I knew that I wanted to study abroad, and applying for the Uganda and Netherlands trip as a freshman was kind of a leap of faith! I quickly learned that study abroad programs through the college were affordable and easily accessible.”
Grace shared that her experiences in her study abroad programs have been impactful and eye-opening. One experience that has stuck with Grace was when she was in Uganda, and the group of students was able to experience a day in the life of the local Ugandans. The students were quickly immersed into the culture when each student was paired with a family to see first-hand the lifestyles and experiences of living in rural Uganda. During this experience, Grace spent the day with a mother and her children, where she helped walk the children to school, gathered water from a local borehole, and assisted the mother with cleaning and other housework. While the opportunity was a complete culture shock to Grace, it gave her a better understanding of different lifestyles and made her appreciate the amenities that may be taken for granted in the U.S.
After participating in the travel course, Grace was inspired to seek a longer and more in-depth opportunity, so she decided to spend a semester at the American Farm School, Perrotis College in Thessaloniki, Greece. While she didn’t know anyone else in the program, she quickly made connections and friendships that will last a lifetime. While in Greece, Grace traveled to Germany, Italy, France, and Spain, but her favorite was traveling to the Greek Islands, where one of her classmates at the college grew up. Grace continues to stay connected with her new friends she met while in Greece, with plans to travel and visit some of them soon!
“Any student interested in studying abroad should jump on the opportunities offered by the college! The values and new perspectives you gain through experiencing different cultures cannot be obtained in the classroom or on campus.”
Grace will continue enhancing her global perspective this summer when she travels to India in July to participate in her global resource systems international internship with the Sehgal Foundation.