Travelling has always been a passion of mine, and I take advantage of every opportunity I have to whisk off to somewhere new. As I college student, I thought that travelling would be limited based on my income, and yes- while my income is definitely the most limiting factor, it turns out that getting my travel fix isn’t as unaffordable as it seems! As an undergraduate, I took almost every opportunity to travel that I was offered as a student, I went to conferences in Sacramento, CA, Corpus Christi, TX, St George, UT, and Reno, NV and I took a month-long study abroad trip to France! Was it cheap? Not necessarily. But since they were school functions the University of Wyoming and the College of Ag have a way of helping make things happen.
My interstate travel was largely funded by the Range Club and the College of Ag SEND grants, which are awarded to help with travel expenses to and from conferences. We may have travelled in cramped suburbans and slept four gals to a room, but that’s just part of college life! My international travel was a bit pricier and I had to cash in Christmas and birthday presents to get some help from family, but the Cheney International Center travel scholarships and the College of Ag’s “Beyond the Classroom” scholarship helped out a ton! The international experience was definitely once in a lifetime, and if I had to do it all again I would in a heartbeat!
When I began graduate school, and I knew that my travelling would probably be limited to conferences, but I did not expect to have the opportunity to go to Alaska to present on my master’s research! As a graduate student, the SEND grant was no longer an option, but I still received assistance in the form of a Graduate Travel Scholarship, and additional scholarships from my department. In addition to the conference, I had the opportunity to see a local potato farm, visit a musk ox farm, and enjoy a delicious farm-to-table dinner. I also stayed a few days after and went wildlife/glacier viewing in the Kenai Fjords and went salmon fishing (out-of-pocket expenses of course!).
Travelling has been a hugely enjoyable part of my college experience, and though I’m not necessarily travelling “for fun,” the experiences I have had have been worth any out-of-pocket costs I’ve contributed. I’ve had the opportunity to meet people in my field from all over the country, gotten practice presenting research to my colleagues, and made better friends with my travelling companions. An added perk that isn’t always taken advantage of are conference hosted tours – They generally range from $40-$100, but I strongly suggest taking a look if you’re going to a conference and see if it interests you. I have learned a ton about agriculture in the United States by getting out in the field on these tours and they have helped steer my interests more than some other aspects of college have.
-Jessica Windh
