Christine Olson had dreams of a trip to Australia someday. Like many, the thought of seeing the Sydney Opera House, koalas and kangaroos seemed fascinating.
When the opportunity arose to travel there over her semester break, she couldn鈥檛 turn it down.
The opportunity was made possible through a three-week course called 鈥淪ustainable Australia: Environment, Agriculture and Culture.鈥 The course was the perfect academic combination to fuel the biology major鈥檚 passion for outdoors and travel.
Led by David Iaquinta, professor of sociology, the course took students to Melbourne, Sydney, and the island of Tasmania, where they explored the culture, exotic wildlife, landscapes, and a wide range of agriculture.
鈥淭asmania and Australia in general is a unique place with distinct fauna and flora, reversed seasons and shared cultural heritage in important ways. This provides an excellent opportunity for students to compare the agriculture, environment and culture in Australia and the U.S.,鈥 said Iaquinta. 鈥淪ince we draw students from a variety of majors (agriculture, natural resources and liberal arts), we can explore these in the long days of the southern hemisphere summer.鈥
鈥淓ach day was some adventure I could have never imagined you could do in Australia,鈥 said the Millard West High School graduate.
For example, Olson toured the Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary in Tasmania where she learned about wombats and the Tasmania devil. Among her favorite memories was interacting with kangaroos.
鈥淭hey would walk right up to you and eat the food from your hand, and they would also grab your hands with theirs to keep you from moving your hand,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat is something you cannot experience in the United States.鈥
Olson learned about sustainability and the environment. While she admits she wasn鈥檛 as familiar with an agriculture-based lifestyle having grown up in Omaha, she soon learned that 鈥渟ustainable agriculture is a really cool way to help the environment yet still help feed people, too.鈥
Olson was surprised by Australia鈥檚 environmental conservation efforts and their focus on education.
鈥淭he Melbourne Zoo has so many in-depth environmental aspects to it that helps kids to see the impacts we are having on the environment,鈥 she recalled.
Iaquinta hopes students gained 鈥渁 true appreciation for many of the specifics of Tasmanian and Australian culture, ecology and their relationship to the larger world system of trade and human experience, more generally, the richness of another culture and ecology.鈥
Olson takes away this heavy lesson of world culture.
鈥淭he course helped open my eyes to different cultures and people around the world and allowed me to see how similar we are halfway around the world but also how different,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his experience really helped me realize that I may love nature but seeing how people react to nature is really cool for me.鈥
鈥淚t was a great pleasure to introduce the students to places, people and experiences that I knew intimately from having spent my sabbatical in Tasmania the previous year,鈥 Iaquinta added. 鈥淭he students were willing collaborators in creating a positive group experience. The range of experiences was so broad that there was something for everyone, but each student also had to reach beyond her comfort zone and area of primary interest to explore new things.鈥
Now Olson turns her attention to her 含羞草传媒 commencement and graduate school as she considers a career as an environmental studies professor or administrator.
鈥淭hat could all change in this next year, but I鈥檓 excited to see what direction I head in.鈥
***Christine Olson is among 250 presentations being shared at the annual Student Research Symposium on May 1.
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Story by Danielle Anderson, public relation intern.