Hallett encourages study abroad

When it comes to plants, botany professor Steve Hallett has seen it all.Hallett has taught botany at Purdue since 2001. He has traveled to almost every continent on the planet, and he encourages his students to do the same perhaps to a lesser degree.I think traveling always broadens people’s general understanding of different cultures, Hallett said. It makes it easier to recognize that you have to connect with different people in different ways. I think it’s one of the most important things you can do as an undergraduate student.

Since he is such a supporter of seeing the world, it’s only natural that Hallett would be involved in Purdue’s study abroad programs, and he is. In fact, Hallett accompanies students on two Maymester programs; China and Trinidad and Tobago.Both of the classes run out of the Botany department, so for the China trip we travel around the country by plane, train and boat, he said.
Ashley Hudson, a student who took the Trinidad and Tobago study abroad class in May, weighed in on the change in perspective she got from the experience.

I can’t put into words how beautiful it is on those two islands, Hudson said. My world view was certainly changed by this experience, as well as conservation of wildlife. You never fully understand the problems and warnings about endangered species until you stand beside a two ton leatherback turtle that’s lived longer than even your parents.Hudson also praised Hallett for his involvement in the program.

He absolutely made the trip, Hudson said. He was always up for trips, hikes, or other extra things we wanted to do. I don’t think I would have had nearly as much fun nor learned as much as I did if we had went with a different professor.Hallett has seen more of the world than just these three locations, however. Born in England, he moved to Canada after receiving his degree, then Australia, then finally to America.I worked at several crappy jobs before I was able to find work in Canada, he said.

I packed fluorescent tubing with a doctorate in England for a while before I got the offer. After I had been in Canada and Australia for about five years, I had to come to America so the kids could have an education. We were living out in the bush with no schools around.Hallett is both a professor and a researcher at Purdue. He is currently studying invasive plant species in America.

There are several plants that have been brought over here from other continents, and when they arrive, they behave badly, shall we say. The question is, why? Hallett said. The plant I’m currently focusing on is garlic mustard. This plant leaks out chemicals from its roots, and is native to Europe. Its competition in Europe is used to the chemicals, but plants in America are fairly ignorant to these chemicals and they don’t know what to do about it.The cure for ignorance, Hallett said, is travel.Mark Twain once said, ‘Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness.’ It’s both a question of how this culture is different from mine, and how my culture is viewed differently by others.