Students Follow in Professor’s Study Abroad Program Footsteps
Interested in finding a way to utilize foreign language skills outside of the classroom? NC State offers an array of study abroad programs that allow students to put their knowledge to the test. Spanish professor Louise Dolan helped her students, Anna Stewart and Regan Lane, create an opportunity to apply their knowledge of both Animal Science and Spanish in Argentina.
Dolan earned a vet-tech degree from Instituto Agrotecnológico Tandil in 1973. After the wife of a friend from her class of 1973 visited Dolan’s Spanish classes at NC State University, students Stewart and Lane expressed interest in studying in Argentina. With the help of friends in Buenos Aires and the school in Tandil, Dolan was able to put together a program that offered her students a chance to practice their Spanish and vet skills.
Many meetings and emails later, Stewart and Lane left for six weeks in Argentina to mentor students in a submersion high school in Buenos Aires and assist veterinarians at the Instituto Agrotecnológico in the summer of 2016. “We went with the intention of uniting our two majors,” said Stewart. “We wanted to work with vets in Spanish speaking countries, and with this opportunity, were able to do an independent study abroad and receive credit for an Animal Science internship.”
On a family ranch, Stewart and Lane expanded their educational experiences by performing hands-on work with dairy cows and sheep. They were allowed to assist with medical tasks alongside the veterinarians. “We were able to perform medical procedures because they [the hosts] were open and trusting, and because the animals belonged to the vets there,” Lane said.
After her time abroad, Regan advises future travelers, “This is a life experience more than anything. Be patient and don’t be afraid to branch out.” If you wish to take advantage of unique, educational study abroad opportunities like these, please visit our study abroad page for more information. The world awaits.
