Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Eight Mississippi State students are giving up their holiday break at home for the opportunity to travel later this month to Southeast Asia.
Sponsored by the university's department of plant and soil sciences, the Thai Exploration Study-Abroad Program is providing a rare opportunity for the participants to experience the culture, biology, agriculture, history, geology, politics, and architecture of Thailand.
Led by assistant professor Brian Trader, the MSU group will be based in Chiang Mai at Maejo University, an 8,800-student institution that is co-sponsoring the program. Departing after final exams Wednesday [Dec. 12], they will return on the 30th after also having visited Bangkok, the capital city, and Chumphon and Phuket.
"As the first study-abroad course in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, this course will bring together students from diverse backgrounds to create an unforgettable learning experience," said department head Michael Collins.
The unified Thai kingdom established in the mid-14th century was known until 1939 as Siam, as in the popular 1940s book and movie, "Anna and the King of Siam." It is the only Southeast Asian nation never to have been conquered by a European power. A bloodless 1932 revolution established a constitutional monarchy that rules today.
Bordered on land by Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (or Burma), and Malaysia, Thailand is a tropical nation about twice the size of Wyoming and with a population of more than 60 million. It also has nearly 2,000 miles of coastlines along the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand.
"Having the opportunity to study in Thailand will help broaden their horizons as they experience first-hand the culture of the people and witness the diverse economic, political, agricultural, and geographic elements of Thailand that make it unique," Collins said.
The 2007 Thai Exploration Study-Abroad participants include (listed by hometown):
COLDWATER--Junior Jason B. Wallace, an agronomy/golf and sports turf management major and the son of Charles and Rose Wallace.
COLUMBUS--Neal W. Hanley, a horticulture graduate student and 2003 MSU landscape contracting graduate. [Parents not listed.]
GULFPORT--Christopher J. Mensi, a graduate student in business administration and the son of Michael and Pauline Mensi. He was a May graduate in international business.
OLIVE BRANCH--Business administration graduate students Lindsey E. Harris, the daughter of Jefferson and Ladonna Harris, and Jessica R. Harry, the daughter of David and Lauren Harry. Both graduated in May--Harris, in marketing; Harry, in general business administration.
OPELOUSAS, La.--Senior horticulture major Meghan C. Schultz, the daughter of Donald and Carla Schultz.
STARKVILLE--Horticulture major Rebecca J. Kerr, the daughter of Michael and Cathy Kerr, and general business administration major Molly B. Poole, the daughter of Henry and Heide Poole. Both are seniors.
LOCAL EDITORS: For additional information, contact Dr. Collins at 662-325-2352 or mcollins@pss.msstate.edu.