Where: Tour of the American Farm School university campus in Thessaloniki, Greece including their dairy farm, poultry unit, cheese-making building, & a lecture on Greek food culture inclusive of a cooking lesson

Who we met: Thanos Bisbiroulas, Dr. Strato Souglis, and Dr. Tryfon Adamidis

Imagine you are in line for food or coffee, and once you reach the window to pay you are told that it has already been paid for and to pay it forward! The feeling of helping and making a difference in someone’s day is nearly indescribable. Being part of the College of ACES has exposed me to many of these opportunities. All of April the Student Advancement Committee held a scholarship campaign to Pay It Forward, students helping students. During this campaign our events team, which I was a part of organized three events, which will make a difference in many students’ lives.

What a year! It is already May, meaning finals are coming up, last-minute details of summer internships are being finalized, and the temperature is getting warmer (little by little). Unfortunately, it seems that before we know it, May will be over as well. Thinking back, without ACE, I would be lost here. ACE has given me so many educational experiences with some of the brightest and most inspiring professors in the nation. I have also been presented with numerous opportunities to give back to the department.

Coming to school my freshman year I had no idea what I wanted to major in. At first I thought maybe I wanted to get my degree in Biology or Anthropology but quickly changed as I wrapped up my first year on campus. It wasn’t until halfway through my sophomore year that I transferred from DGS into ACE with a concentration in Markets and Management. After that, there was no looking back for me.

A little about myself, I am from Bloomingdale, IL and am graduating in May 2016 in the Public Policy and Law concentration. I have been afforded fantastic opportunities through the College of ACES.  As a sophomore, I went to Sierra Leone, West Africa to do agricultural extension research and our group paper got published. I was presented with another great experience during my sophomore year. I was given the opportunity to go to Washington D.C.

As junior year is coming to an end, I can appreciate the opportunities of growth and direction that The University of Illinois and the ACE department have provided me through my course work alone. I feel that the concentration of Finance in Agribusiness within the ACE major is one of the best majors to have as a student. Its diversification within the course work coupled with the opportunities the department presents within business industries to propel students' future career paths.

As a senior with graduation around the corner, looking back at the different ways ACE has prepared for the future is incredible. Being able to partake in three different internships over the past three summers with top name companies in the agriculture industry were all incredible opportunities. These experiences would not have been possible if I had not of made the great decision to major in Agricultural and Consumer Economics. The people I have met and the connections I have gained have opened many opportunities for the future.

One of the reasons why the University of Illinois is so renowned are the opportunities available to build the perfect skill-sets for your professional future. The courses in ACE adequately prepare you for technical job applications and work demands. ACE 222 and 428 provides an excellent introduction into trading, commodities, futures, options, and hedging. We have guest speakers come to class and lecture about the influential aspects of these trading tools in their businesses.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to San Francisco over spring break as a part of my class ACE 199 Farm, Food, and Environmental Policy. This course focuses on agricultural policy issues in California, many of which are currently not concerns for farmers here in the Midwest. Many people, whether you grew up around agriculture or not, fail to realize that California is the largest agricultural state in the United States. In fact, if California were its own country, it would have the 7th largest economy in the world.

[From the ACE 199 "Farm, Food & Environmental Policy" experiential learning study tour, spring break 2015]