Katie Speicher recently found herself spending a sunny weekend on the Chesapeake Bay -- but it wasn’t for a vacation. Instead, the trip was just one of the many highlights she experienced while taking an environmental resources management class.

In recent years, searching for renewable energy resources has become something of a treasure hunt. A group of Penn State students spent their spring break in Costa Rica learning about one of those “treasures” -- cow manure.

Junior Environmental Resource Management major Kaitlyn Benson traveled to Costa Rica in high school around the time of the BP oil spill, and was motivated to make a difference.

The study of agricultural sciences can lead to incredible opportunities. Penn State student Nancy Kammerer discovered this firsthand during her recent trip to Jeju, South Korea, for the first International Soil Judging Contest.

Innovation is key when dealing with issues such as poverty, food security and conservation, according to Dana James, a recent graduate of the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Long before Cory Chelko graduated from Penn State in 2011, he knew that working with soils was what he wanted to do. Growing up around farms in Sarver, Pa., piqued his interest, as did the potential for real-world applications of the agricultural sciences. Today, as a zone support coordinator at TA Seeds, Chelko provides technical support on products and promotes research and sales behind the scenes.

Laura Davis had dreamed of traveling to Africa for years. So in May 2012, she jumped at the chance to embark on a journey to South Africa and Mozambique offered through a Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences natural resources embedded course. The trip was a life-changing experience.