UNH Today

Allison Lehoux ’18 won’t be heading straight to work or taking lots of time off to relax after commencement. Thanks to a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, she will travel to Ascoli Piceno, Italy, to study this summer.

“I will be fully immersed in the true cultural richness of Italy while experiencing the country’s food traditions, history, agricultural and sustainable practices,” Lehoux explains.

Studying abroad is something she’s wanted to do as far back as she can remember. “I have always wanted to explore the world and become a part of another country’s culture, meet new people and grow as an individual by having a new outlook on the world,” Lehoux says. That desire only intensified when she became a sustainable agriculture and food systems major in the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture. “I have wanted to see how other countries view agriculture and value their food systems — and what better place to do that than in Italy, with its well-known cuisine,” she says.

Lehoux thanks UNH’s Office of National Fellowships, which assisted her with the scholarship application, for helping make her dream a reality. “I figured it would be impossible for me to study abroad due to lack of funding," she says. "Receiving the Gilman has given me the opportunity to go abroad and gain hands-on experiences and enhance my education outside of the usual classroom setting. I'll be able to bring home what I have learned about Italy's agricultural practices and work to implement them here in the states. With this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I can bring knowledge to my future career that other individuals may not have.”

After Italy, she hopes to earn her master’s degree in an agricultural science program. “The opportunities that I have had to learn beside professors, lead research projects, gain hands-on experiences, and now gaining a new perspective on agriculture from studying abroad all helped to prepare me for a Cooperative Extension career.”