Biography
My name is Taylor Klass and I am an undergraduate senior at The Ohio State University double majoring in Animal Sciences and Sustainable Plant Systems. I am originally from Worthington, Ohio, only 15 minutes from the OSU campus. Throughout my childhood, I developed an interest in other cultures and agriculture. It was not until college that those two interests joined together into one passion for international agricultural development. Even though my undergraduate time at Ohio State is drawing to a close, I believe I have made the most of my 4 years here. Some of my favorite experiences as a undergraduate have been being a College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) Ambassador, being part of the Animal Welfare and Behavior Club, participating in the Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest, relaxing with my roommate/best friend Holly Huellemeier, and traveling to Nicaragua and Uganda.
Why I decided to pursue Global Option
The CFAES Global Option was not created until my senior year of college. However, I had already been pursuing an internationalized experience throughout my whole college career even though I did not know about the Global Option at that time. Hearing about the creation of the Global Option made me excited, because there is now a transcript designation that easily shows that I have gone out of my way to internationalize my college education. I believe that the Global Option demonstrates on paper my passion for international agriculture.
My Goal for Global Options
My top goal for the Global Option was to have the chance to learn about and interact with cultures that were different than my own by actually traveling to other countries. I learn best by doing and experiencing, so traveling to different countries is very beneficial and important to me. During my college career, I had the chance to travel to Nicaragua on a CFAES First Year Experience Study Abroad trip and to Uganda for my honors undergraduate research. Both of these trips changed my perspective and outlook on life. In the future, I want to live and work internationally in a developing country. My goal is to empower smallholder farmers through agricultural extension. Participating in the Global Option has given me experience in traveling and living abroad and as a result, has only confirmed my goals for the future.