Hey Everyone!
As a Design, Merchandising, and Textiles major, the University of Wyoming was not exactly my first option. It is not a college that comes to mind for most when considering fashion and design degrees, however, I will never regret giving the program a chance. My first semester in the College of Agriculture was eye opening to say the least. As an incoming freshman, I could not figure out how my major fit into this college. After the first couple of months I stopped questioning and started to be grateful because I figured out that the College of Agriculture offers so many diverse opportunities to its students. The scholarship opportunities are definitely noteworthy, but my personal favorite is all of the opportunities that are offered for learning outside of the classroom.
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to go to Italy. My freshman year I heard about a two week study abroad trip within the Family and Consumer Science department that would focus on Textiles. It was a dream come true! Not only could I go to Italy, but I could study textiles in Italy and receive credit for it! The day after the first meeting for the trip I started applying for scholarships and planning out what I would need to do to be able to go on the trip. The following May two professors, three other students, and I were off to Italy! We spent two weeks traveling all over Italy, seeing major sites, and learning about textiles. We were able to talk to designers, tour a leather school, and visit major fashion sites in Milan. Immersing myself in the fashion of Italian culture was such an amazing experience! Along with this, we ate all the gelato we could and witnessed so much history and architecture.
Even though I stil
l have a year and a half more years to go, I can say without a doubt that my trip to Italy was one of the best things I have done in college. I saw SO much, learned SO much, and gained more confidence to travel abroad in the future. It was definitely an irreplaceable experience, and I want to encourage everyone to at least look into going on a study abroad trip! Finances are one of the hardest parts of being able to travel abroad, but the College of Agriculture as well as the University itself offers so many scholarships! Don’t let finances stop you. I want to end this post with a little encouragement. Find something you are passionate about, and seize every opportunity that will aide you in the pursuit of that passion…you will not regret it!