Tori Budin (CALS, Food Science) was the first-ever UW-Madison student to participate on the ISA Lille program, which is administered by CALS Study Abroad in partnership with IAP. ISA Lille, located in northern France, is one of the country’s top universities specializing in Agricultural Science, Food Science, Environmental Science, and Agricultural Economics. Tori worked hard during her first three semesters at UW-Madison in order to be able to fit study abroad into the tightly-structured Food Science major curriculum. Her time abroad was cut short by the global pandemic and she had to return to the U.S. in March 2020, but Tori says that she has no regrets:

“The amount I learned while [at ISA Lille], and the fact that I was the only UW student on my program, gave me so much personal growth that I wouldn’t change it for anything. Before studying abroad, I had never traveled alone before. I messed up and made mistakes— one time I went to the wrong airport, for example— but I’m so glad I made them because I was able to learn from them. [This experience] opened up my eyes so much and gave me a drive to want to see the whole world. Even though I was only there for 2 months, it was totally worth it. The amount I grew from doing it myself and pushing through and figuring it out is irreplaceable.”

Tori was also recently featured in Inside UW for the cookie decorating business that she started after returning home from Lille. Check out her COVID-themed cookies @icedillustrations!