April 7th, 2021
For my last IA event, I decided to watch Dr. Mary Rodriguez’s presentation on her research and experience working abroad. She began her talk by describing her background and how she got to Ohio State. I was fascinated by many experiences she had as an undergraduate and graduate student. Her time spent abroad, for me, was the most interesting to hear about. I thought it was cool that she discussed not only what she did abroad, but also emphasized the impact it had on her. She described it as challenging and difficult at times, but in the end worth it. This was encouraging to hear, personally, since I’m hoping to study abroad in the fall and hopefully more in the future. At the end of her presentation, she listed out several takeaways and skills necessary for doing intercultural work including listening, observing, adapting, and having humility. Her advice was incredibly helpful, and I will try to keep it in mind when I go abroad.
Dr. Rodriguez’s specific findings from her experiences and research were also interesting to hear about. I was most amazed by the statistic that women complete around 70% of all agriculture production around the world. I think it exemplifies the importance of women in our society. Also, it supports Dr. Rodriguez message that we need to help these women by finding new technology or methods that allow them to be more efficient. As Dr. Rodriguez mentioned, most women that she worked with both abroad and in the U.S. have many roles and little time, so improving efficiency will give women more valuable time. Overall, I found her work to be very thought-provoking and cool to hear about, especially how she has used her research to help women. I think this event was a great way to end my time in IA because it reminded me of the importance of being a global citizen, which I believe I’ve learned throughout my time in IA.