International

Meet our Fall 2023 Interns for the FAO in Brussels, Belgium!

 

Owen Gibson Food & Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations – Liaison Office with the European Union and the Kingdom of Belgium Owen Gibson is an agricultural economics major with a minor in financial planning, graduating in the Spring 2025. She is originally from Gadsden, Tennessee where she grew up on a small cow-calf operation and competed in rodeos all over the country throughout most of her childhood. Now, she furthers her rodeo career by competing for the Texas Aggie Rodeo Team. Throughout her undergraduate career, Owen found a passion for international agricultural trade and policy. She has recently grown fond of the topic of world food security, which is what motivated her to intern for the Food and Agriculture Organization. Owen is also passionate about agricultural literacy and helping people understand where their food comes from. Owen’s involvement in the policy-making process stemmed from her mother, who works closely in Tennessee state-level policy making. Now, Owen plans to take what she has learned from both her undergraduate studies and her mother and apply them to global relevant resilience and disaster mapping with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations—Liaison Office to the European Union and the Belgian Government.

Reagan Powers Food & Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations – Liaison Office with the European Union and the Kingdom of Belgium Reagan Powers is a senior Agribusiness major with a minor in Economics and a certificate in International Trade and Agriculture from Mansfield, Texas. Growing up around her family’s commercial cattle operation and involvement in her high school’s FFA program sparked her interest in agricultural advocacy. She found a passion for meeting the needs of agriculturalists and educating those around her about the agricultural industry. During her time at Texas A&M, she has been involved in Gamma Phi Beta, the AGEC Department Aggie REPS, Progressively Reaching Excellence in Professionalism (PREP), Fish Camp, Conference on Student Government Associations (COSGA), and the MSC Wiley Lecture Series. She has also served as an Off-Campus Student Senator for the Student Government Association, representing over 50,000 students for three years. Last summer, Reagan traveled with the Mays Business School to Florence, Italy, to study business law and the economics of the European Union. Upon her return, she began her internship with the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. As the customer engagement intern, she met with U.S. foreign trade officials and researched current issues facing global trade and agriculture. Her time with the USDA sparked her desire to build a career working in international agricultural policy. On her trip to D.C. with the Agricultural Policy Honors class, she was fascinated by the work toward global sustainability and capacity building in lower-income countries. Following her graduation from Texas A&M University, Reagan plans to attend law school and pursue a career in international agricultural trade where she can advocate for U.S. producers globally. Interning with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) this fall will allow Reagan to understand how the FAO works toward efficient and resilient food production while supporting global trade. She is excited about this experience and to represent Texas A&M University abroad!