Food and Sustainability in Thailand

Alex Anderson is a senior majoring in Environmental Science, and minoring in Planning & Public Policy. She is a part of the SEBS Honors Program and Douglass Residential College. Her past experiences include research with Dr. Lisa Rodenburg of the Environmental Science Department, interning abroad at the US Embassy in Rome, Italy in the Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Section, and interning at the NJ Public Health Laboratory where she lead a team testing blood lead levels of Newark mothers and babies. She is also a DRC Red Pine Ambassador, worked for Women Organizing Against Harassment’s “Take Back the Night” march as an organizer and Speak Out Emcee, and a Barbara Vorhees Mentor. Alex has served for four years as a Cook/Douglass Representative to the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA), and served as the Internal Affairs Chair on the Executive Board. She hopes to work someday as an Environmental Policy lawyer on international treaties.

My name is Aliya! I am in my fourth year as a nutritional science major. My goals are to become a Registered Dietician after graduation. I will be graduating from Rutgers in the fall of 2020. I am actively involved in the Nutrition Club and a member of Kappa Omicron Nu, National Honor Society for Human Sciences. I worked as a dietary aide in a nursing home where I get shadow dieticians and learn more about my career. I have a passion to volunteer and work with others. I volunteer at the Youth Empowerment Services with the RU Healthy Kids New Brunswick, Elijah’s Promise, and more recently RAH: Rutgers against Hunger. I have always had an interest in food and living healthy. My passion for food has expanded as I dive deeper into my degree. I am excited to go to Thailand to learn about the practices of sustainability and agriculture, as well create unforgettable memories with the people I will spend time with during the course of this international duration.

I am currently a fourth year student in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. I am studying Marine Science with a minor in Environmental Policy, Institutions, and Behavior. My passions involve the future of sustainability of our everyday lives and the marriage of environmental policy with the climate-driving applications of our oceans. I have conducted research in the past on sea level rise effects on coastal dune vines and possible conservation efforts. I have also worked on projects regarding the intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic. I plan to go into policy work involving the environment and possibly attend graduate school in that field.

Hi there- my name is Megan, and I'm a junior majoring in food science and minoring in microbiology and sustainability. I'm actually a bit of a homebody, and my hobbies until recently were mainly limited to cooking/baking, knitting, gardening, playing the piano, and other domestic activities. I love spending time with my family. But as attending Rutgers has taught me, there is so much more world out there than we could ever hope to see in a single lifetime, and a single lifetime is all we have. So why not study abroad? Why not take what you learn in the classroom and see it play out in a different cultural context? I'm hoping to return home from the Food and Sustainability in Thailand program with a broader perspective and a better understanding of the paths I can take with a future in food science.

My name is Ryan Kirchner and I am a senior here at Rutgers. I am excited to say this is my second time studying abroad with the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and I cannot wait to see what I learn in Thailand during the Food and Sustainability course this winter break. Soon, I will be graduating with a degree in food science and I am optimistic that I will be able to apply what I experience abroad to my career post undergrad. I have never been to this part of the world before and I am extremely excited to see it first hand while learning about different aspects of food science that can strengthen my performance in the field. When not in school, you can find me working and volunteering as an EMT for both Rutgers University and my hometown of Clinton, long distance running, or cooking at home. Stay tuned and follow mine and my classmates travel blogs to keep up with this awesome adventure.