Destiny Mullens’ favorite question to
ask during her international experience in Europe was, “How many
languages do you speak?” She discovered that most people
Students studying abroad in Costa Rica (Photo
by Dr. Don Brightsmith)
with whom she talked spoke three languages, although one person
spoke seven. Mullens, a senior biomedical sciences (BIMS) major,
participated in a spring 2015 study abroad program in Germany,
where she had both an academic and cultural learning experience.
Mullens is just one of the many students
whose trip was made possible by a stipend from the International
Programs Advisory Committee (IPAC), housed in and composed of
faculty from Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary
Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM). Mullens’ experience
is an example of how globalized the CVM is becoming. Her experience
was possible in part due to the work of CVM’s International
Programs, the mission of which is to help students and faculty to
become global citizens by supporting a variety of activities
including research collaborations and study abroad opportunities.
Mullens’ experience was also supported by several scholarships,
including the Dr. Anne Marie Emshoff ’90, DVM ’94 Scholarship from
BIMS.
Over 80 percent of the $85,000 the IPAC
provides annually for international opportunities goes to
undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at the CVM as
travel stipends. Students must apply for IPAC travel stipends to
receive funding. They may use IPAC funding for two types of
international experiences: faculty-led study abroad programs and
independent study abroad programs the students can develop on their
own with CVM approval.
However, IPAC’s efforts go beyond
helping students study abroad. The committee also helps faculty
develop study abroad programs and conduct international research.
“It assists with providing funds if you want to establish
international research partnerships or develop new study abroad
opportunities,” said Dr. Christine Budke, IPAC member and associate
professor in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences
(VIBS).
International Learning Opportunities for Students
The CVM faculty members promote
international experiences for students because they understand the
value of international work. “When students go abroad, they gain
culture awareness,” said Dr. Maria “Loles” Esteve-Gassent,
assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology
(VTPB), who has organized exchange programs between the CVM and
Spain. “The world is a big place, both a big and a small place.
There is a personal change. Some of the barriers are gone. Students
aren’t afraid of new things, of change.”
Students studying in the food safety course at
the European Food Safety Authority in Parma, Italy (Photo by Anna
Pennacchi)
“Transformative” was the word Dr. Jeremy
Wasser, associate professor in the Department of Veterinary
Physiology and Pharmacology (VTPP), who leads study abroad trips to
Germany, uses to describe students’ international experiences. He
said his goal “is to bring these students back utterly changed for
good, forever.” Wasser noted the 21st century is increasingly
global and students need to be comfortable working with individuals
from various cultures and countries.
Dr. Elizabeth Crouch, the assistant dean
for undergraduate education at the CVM, said, international
experiences add depth to students’ undergraduate careers. Employers
want post-graduates that work in teams and function in a world
culture.
Of the BIMS students surveyed upon
graduation following the 2014–2015 academic year, almost a quarter
said they had participated in an international experience. Crouch
added, “Every student who comes back says they would do it
again.”
Study Abroad Experiences
Students can participate in a variety of
experiences through the Study Abroad Programs Office at Texas
A&M, as well as several faculty-led study abroad programs
through the CVM.
In one program through the CVM, students
travel to Kruger National Park and surrounding areas in South
Africa to learn about chemically immobilizing, capturing, and
transporting wildlife species. They work with big game, as well as
plains game animals, and have the opportunity to interact with many
local experts. Dr. James Derr, professor in VTPB and director of
this South Africa international experience, said, “Every single
day, the students have their hands on animals. For 15 days, we are
darting animals, capturing animals, transporting animals, treating
animals, and observing animals.” Derr continued, “The students get
exposed to African veterinary medicine practices, wildlife
conservation, economics, and sometimes the politics of wildlife and
wildlife management.”
Veterinary students interested in
learning about food safety and public health can participate in a
summer short course in Italy. According to Budke, who helps
coordinate the course, “The students learn about the European
Union’s food safety regulatory system, which allows them to compare
and contrast it with the U.S. system.” The students also interact
with peers from another country who have unique perspectives and
backgrounds.
Similarly, undergraduate students have
analogous experiences through an international experience in Costa
Rica. During this semester-long experience, students live and study
at the Soltis Center. As part of the experience, students live with
a host family for three weeks. “They are learning something about
Latino culture, learning something about the language, and learning
how to communicate as a biomedical professional in Texas,” said Dr.
Don Brightsmith, assistant professor in VTPB and the director of
the Costa Rica study abroad trip.
Like many study abroad opportunities,
the semester in Costa Rica leads students to step outside of their
comfort zone. London Dority, a student from the 2014 fall
experience, said she got off the plane in Costa Rica and felt
“alien in a new place. Everyone spoke only Spanish.” While in Costa
Rica, she “overcame a lot of fears.” Dority couldn’t pronounce her
name, when translated to Spanish, on the first day at a restaurant,
but stayed with a host family for the cultural immersion. The host
family welcomed her as one of their own and helped her practice
Spanish over cookies and coffee in the afternoons. “The hands-on
learning really helped me learn the material,” Dority said.
Spanish is also an integral component to
the program in Spain, where students enroll at a local university
and transfer the credits back to Texas A&M, which is
coordinated by Esteve-Gassent. The program, which emphasizes public
health, is targeted to students who are interested in careers in
veterinary medicine, human medicine, and public health.
Specifically, the program focuses on how to communicate about
global health in a different language. “It’s an immersion program,”
Esteve-Gassent said. “The students need to experience what it is
like to be in a different country, so they can appreciate at a
different level why public health happens differently in different
places.” She continued, “Cultures are different, people are
different.”
Chinma Onyewuenyi, who is a medical
student, participated in Esteve-Gassent’s trip to Spain as an
undergraduate student, learned Spanish, and studied public health.
Like Dority, she lived with a host family and experienced a
cultural immersion. The program pushed Onyewuenyi to become
independent. She learned to interact with people despite the
language barrier and explore new places. “Just go. Go with a plan,
go without a plan,” Onyewuenyi said. She encourages other students
to go on an international experience and said, “because in the end,
it doesn’t matter where you go or how you get there, but that you
went. That’s what will change you.”
Wasser has developed experiences for
both veterinary and undergraduate students in Germany. The
veterinary students in the first two years of school travel with
Dr. Michelle Pine, clinical associate professor in VIBS, to Europe
for four weeks in the summer to experience aspects of the
veterinary world in Germany and the Netherlands. Wasser leads the
semester-long undergraduate experience in Germany, which has
predominately BIMS and biomedical engineering students. The
undergraduate program is a culturally intensive experience,
including a stay with a German host family.
Students receiving IPAC funding write
reports about their experiences, which can be seen at the
International Programs website at tx.ag/studentreports.
Internationally Diverse Graduate Programs
Students from outside the United States
are encouraged to travel to the CVM for educational, research, and
cultural opportunities. “While it does not financially support
international students, the IPAC helps to facilitate bringing
international students to the CVM. It shouldn’t be a one-way
street,” Budke said. “While at the CVM these students share their
unique perspectives and experiences.” Esteve-Gassent brings
veterinary students from Spain to Texas A&M for clinical
rotations and culturally immerses them in American culture,
expanding their views.
Dr. Linda Logan, director of
International Programs since 2010 and professor in VTPB, said she
is interested in “diversifying our graduate program with
international students.” As of the fall 2015 semester, there were
315 international students in the veterinary and graduate programs.
These students represent 26 countries, including Colombia, Germany,
Iraq, Nigeria, and Japan.
Esteve-Gassent encourages graduate
students to research and collaborate at the CVM. She encourages
students to determine what techniques they know. Then the students
can identify techniques they want to learn in a collaborative
experience. Currently, the Esteve-Gassent lab has an array of
people from China, Egypt, India, and Brazil.
Biomedical Science students at the University
Hospital Bonn in Bonn, Germany (Photo by Dr. Jeremy Wasser)
Faculty Engagement in International Research and
Development
IPAC also supports faculty collaboration
internationally. This includes research and development of new
study abroad programs. International collaborative research at the
CVM has centered on food security, global health, and the One
Health Initiative, among others. Developing these collaborative
research interests involves building international teams to obtain
funding. For example, the CVM has successfully partnered with
universities in Mexico to obtain Conacyt grants for collaborative
research projects. The Conacyt program promotes inter-institutional
research collaboration between Texas A&M and Mexican
educational institutions. Conacyt projects that faculty members at
the CVM are working on include studying the immune response of an
endangered species of fish and improving immune responses to
brucellosis.
According to Esteve-Gassent,
international collaborations aren’t “something that you plan.” She
explained they develop by going to meetings and talking with
people. Budke said these collaborations provide unique perspectives
and problem-solving approaches “that help us tackle research
questions in ways that may not be evident from a single cultural
viewpoint.”
Many faculty at the CVM have
international collaborations. These faculty members can act as
resources to consult about funding possibilities. They also provide
guidance for building new collaborations and developing new study
abroad opportunities. When new ideas for collaborative research or
teaching opportunities arise, faculty are encouraged.
Esteve-Gassent said that with new international experiences,
teaching or research, “Yes you can do it, but we may not know how
yet.”
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Contact Information: Megan Palsa, Executive Director of
Communications, Media & Public Relations; mpalsa@cvm.tamu.edu;
979-862-4216; 979-421-3121 (cell)