Once in a Lifetime

Hey everyone! I am Hannah Imgrund, a junior at PSU studying Animal Science. During 2017's spring break I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to Guanajuato, Mexico for a study abroad trip. I traveled with fellow Penn State Students, former Agriculture Secretary Samuel Hayes, and Agriculture professors Gail Good and Melissa Kohler.

Throughout the week in Guanajuato, I traveled to landmarks, processing plants, and a lot of farms. My favorite place we toured was the bull-fighting ranch. Talk about a once in a lifetime experience! That is definitely not something you can see whenever you want in central Pennsylvania. It was super interesting to see how they raise their cows/bulls differently than us. The differences all made sense when you think about the difference in resources we have compared to Mexico. With my love for beef cows, it was awesome to see how Mexico uses their resources for the cows to be beneficial for something within their culture.

I learned so much from this experience. Not only did I learn how to work well with others, I also learned how to adapt to other cultures. Oddly enough, I had the opportunity to work with people from different cultures at my internship last summer, so the experience I gained from traveling abroad helped tremendously. This experience also helped myself gain more of a realization for how grateful I am. We had the opportunity to donate clothing to a local migrant worker village while in Guanajuato. It was very humbling to know how much they appreciated the donations.

I would describe this experience to a future employer by explaining how well I was able to grow as an individual after this study abroad experience. I was able to step out of my comfort zone and travel with others I otherwise would not have had the chance to. I believe this experience has allowed myself to grow as an individual because I am more aware of the struggles and thoughts that go into trading and exporting items between Mexico and the United States. I am very glad that Penn State gave me this opportunity and I strongly suggest studying abroad if you get the chance!