After a two-year Covid-19 hiatus, OSU relaunched 11 faculty-led programs abroad and 5 were from College of Forestry! One group of 15 students traveled to the Aysén Region of Chile, part of Northern Patagonia.

Associate professor Carlos Gonzales-Benecke and Ph.D. student Claudio Guevara from the department of forest engineering, resources and management, along with assistant professor Daniel Soto of the Universidad de Aysen in Coyhaique, Chile, led the program that explored the diverse forests and dramatic landscapes of the area. Chilean newspaper El Divisadero featured the trip, interviewed the students, and shot a documentary.

Bri Rose participated in the trip and loved learning about the native species of Chile. Her advice? “As a student, there are many scholarships and grants to apply for that will help cover travel expenses. So, my advice is to go. Apply for those trips. Leave the country. Get out of your comfort zone and see the world, you will grow so much as person.”

Next up? Borneo, Italy and New Zealand. The College of Forestry International Programs office offers study and internship programs from the biodiverse rainforests of Borneo to state-of-the-art wood manufacturing facilities in the Austrian Alps, and frequently host interns and exchange students from around the world.