UWRF students get a taste of Italy during study abroad opportunity

 

UWRF students get a taste of Italy during study abroad opportunity

Sept. 17, 2026 – Over winter break in January, 19 students joined the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Agriculture and Food Experience on a tasting tour of Italy, visiting Milan, Reggio Emilia, Bologna, Florence and Rome. The students participated in food tours, cooking classes, cultural experiences and more. 

Anthony Fuchs, a food science major from Monroe, was a junior when he took the two-week trip. He said each stop on the trip had its own points of interest, starting with the visit to the small town of Reggio Emilia.

“The food scene there was amazing,” Fuchs said. “It was my favorite place for food.”

As an aspiring food scientist, Fuchs was interested in seeing what might be done differently in Italy compared to America. 

“For one thing, here, it seems like people mainly use balsamic vinegar for salad dressing,” he said. “Over there, they add it to gelato, cheese and other things. It was surprisingly really good and really eye opening.” 

Besides learning about food, Fuchs enjoyed seeing the art and architecture of Florence and the historic sites of Rome. 

“The Roman Forum was amazing,” he said. “It’s huge.”

Lyndsey Penegor, a food science and technology major from Watertown, Minn., was a sophomore when she made the trip. She found visits to a cheese plant and a family-owned prosciutto facility to be especially interesting.

“It was cool to see how they take tradition into account when they produce their products and how heavily that influences the process,” Penegor said. “You can only make prosciutto in this region using a certain type of animal and a specific kind of feed. To make a specific kind of cheese, you need a certain kind of cow with a certain type of grass. They take it all the way back to how their ancestors did it.”

Penegor enjoyed having the chance to make new friends on the trip. She said taking an hour hike to get a view over Florence at sunset was a definite highlight.

“It was gorgeous,” Penegor said. “It was worth the walk, for sure.”

Nanati Omer, an exercise and sports science major from Minneapolis, was in her junior year during the trip. Omer is considering getting a master’s degree related to nutrition or food science and thought the experience would help her to refine that plan. She said she learned about the chemistry and culture of food at the same time from the cheesemakers.

“It was this kind of bravado, like they’re proud to do it,” Omer said. “They’ll tell you the details for days. I thought, ‘Wow, this is rooted in some culture right here.’ It was really cool just seeing the passion for that.”

Taking a history tour and learning about art in Bolonga was a favorite part of the trip for her. She enjoyed the trip so much that she may decide to pursue graduate school abroad.

Lisa Meyer, a lecturer and dairy plant project coordinator at UWRF, led the trip.

“The goal of the trip was to help students understand the rich history of Italy from an agriculture and food perspective,” Meyer said. “This was achieved by visiting three distinctly different food regions within Italy. We toured a Parmigiano Reggiano plant, learned how prosciutto ham is made, learned the extensive process to make balsamic vinegar and participated in cooking classes where we learned how to make multiple types of pasta, sauces and pizza from scratch. I think all the students agree that Italian food means something different in Italy than it does in the United States.” 

This coming January, the program will take students to Greece, visiting Athens, Thessaloniki and the island of Crete, where they will tour iconic historic sites including the acropolis of Athens and the Parthenon and take a day trip to the city of Corinth. Students will also experience the vibrant culinary culture of the region through cooking classes, guided food tours and visits to traditional spice, fruit and meat markets. 

“It is very rewarding to help students experience traveling to a different country, and I encourage all students who have the opportunity to take it,” Meyer said. “They’ll learn many things about international travel, like how to go through customs and immigration and how to utilize the trains. They’ll experience cultures that are completely different from our own. Most importantly, they’ll make new friends and create lifelong memories.”

To learn more about study abroad opportunities at UWRF, visit students.uwrf.edu/international.

Photo: UW-River Falls students and faculty enjoy their creations after taking a cooking class in Rome in January. The group spent their winter break touring Italy as part of UWRF’s Agriculture and Food Experience. The program will take students to Greece this winter. Contributed photo.