Kansas State University reaches far across the globe — from its campuses all the way to Cambodia.
Cristina Mansfield ‘04 had already completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree but had unanswered questions for her career in international development. Among her many global experiences, she worked on democracy and governance issues in Cambodia and became interested in where the country should be investing their money, particularly in agriculture.
Mansfield found her answers through K-State’s Master of Agribusiness (MAB) program, which she completed from Cambodia, along with students in several other countries.
“In the years I was in the program, we had someone in Ecuador whose job was growing mangoes, someone in Beijing working with wheat and me based in Cambodia,” Mansfield said. “It was amazing to be in a program with people who had such different backgrounds.”
Mansfield enjoyed the connection to her peers so much that she continues her involvement in the program by writing alumni spotlight profiles for the MAB newsletter.
“Working on the alumni articles has been a fun way to keep up with the program and get acquainted with students who have come after me,” Mansfield said. “They’re all doing completely different things all over the country, and it’s been great fun to keep up with them.”
Now pursuing a juris-doctorate from Vermont Law School, Mansfield was selected as the K-State Global Campus 2014 Alumni Fellow for her outstanding academic and international accomplishments. She visited the K-State campus several times during the MAB program and again as Alumni Fellow, noting that K-State has given her a sense of place.
“It’s amazing that a large university like K-State can have such a sense of community,” Mansfield said. “I feel that K-State has an extraordinary ability to have that small-town community feel.”
See the global impact of the K-State Master of Agribusiness program.