College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Forestry

Multicultural Scholars participate in a 10-day study-away program during the summer before their first semester at MSU. Scholars travel throughout the state of Michigan exploring a variety of forested ecosystems, including urban green infrastructure. Via this study away experience, students are introduced to diverse career pathways in forestry in urban, rural, and suburban areas. Students network with current forestry professionals who may provide internship or other practicum experiences during the remainder of their MSU career. The study away program builds a stronger cohort and promotes a ‘sense of belonging’ in the Department of Forestry community.

A student reflects on the Study Away Program

"The experience was an exceptional one to say the least. I was taken around various areas around Michigan and shown things that I had never actually known existed in my own state. I had been to the northern region of Michigan before, but never to that magnitude.

The itinerary was very well put together and I never felt like I wasn’t learning something new or engaging with the fellow students I was traveling with, or the speakers we were taken around to meet. I was shown so many different aspects and iterations of forestry and conservation in general, and due to the program my idea of what it was I could and would do with forestry changed drastically.

I had originally thought that forestry was only good for chopping trees and taking index, but it made a clear shift to exploring the land and working interdepartmentally to

fulfill sustainable goals of the future. I may never forget the trip to the Indigenous reservation where they taught us ways in which to engage in sustainable forestry, thinking decades down the line in their planting techniques. Along with the history of Idlewild, and the historical reverence of the place in relation to people of color.

More than anything though, I will say that the beautiful locations of Michigan, and the quiet moments in the deep forests connected me to the land and nature in a way that I have craved since I was a child. To that degree I thank this program for all it gave, and look forward to what the program and my mentors can offer for the future."

DAVIEN GRAHAM – BS ‘22