Most students say that their most transformative experience in school was in an international studies program. To emphasize this importance, the Carlson School was one of the first to make an international experience a requirement.
There are many ways to fulfill this requirement, including taking part in the Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) program offered through the U’s Learning Abroad Center. MSID brings students together with people from Africa, Asia, and Latin America to examine local and global problems with a particular emphasis on development issues.
Catlyn Christie is a double major in public/nonprofit management and HRIR with a minor in sustainability studies, concentrating on food systems. Her goal is to be an innovator within the public sector and devise creative solutions that address the systemic, root causes of issues.
She chose the MSID Thailand program for her international experience. For the first six weeks, she attended classes taught by Thai professors and went on field trips to various organizations and NGOs devoted to environmental sustainability, public health, and social services.
“The second half of the program was the internship phase, where we worked with an organization that matched our interests,” Christie says. “I spent my six weeks in a rural agricultural village an hour south of Chiang Mai, where I enjoyed staying with a family who taught me all about the lifestyle and operations of organic farming.”
