Student Spotlight: Cody Fields

"First things first, I'm the realest plant man you'll ever see." - Cody Fields (slightly amended, but approved by Cody himself)

We got to Cape Town and I realized that I still had six student interviews to complete, so Cody & I took advantage of our dinnertime together at Nelson's Eye. When we rolled up to the place, I actually thought it was a joke. This was not where Neil & I had discussed eating, but it turned out to be delicious.

Cody was born Sellersville, PA, and he has lived in a few different places in Southeastern Pennsylvania. After this semester, he will be graduating from Penn State Berks with a degree in Biology: Genetics & Developmental Biology. More specifically, Cody studies and LOVES plants.

When asked about his favorite lodging, Cody had a hard time deciding between iKhaya Lodge (Cape Town) or the Donald Woods Foundation (Hobeni). He liked that iKhaya had an excellent location and an amazing view of Table Mountain and the sky view. As we sit together during breakfast, I also feel comfortable assuming that Cody enjoyed the breakfast spread. The Donald Woods Foundation was in a different, unique setting - cows could be heard at all times of day and the valleys echoed.

If Cody were able to go back to just one place from our trip, he would choose anywhere in or around the Garden Route National Park because the scenery was the most beautiful he's ever seen. He felt a connection to the area and could see himself staying, maybe even to live. Cody recalled the moment we drove into the George valley. We traveled from the Karoo and made a big turn before seeing the valley with the forested mountains and ocean in the background. "It was quite the entrance, like a curtain was drawn."

For Cody, an avid plant lover, he really enjoyed having Danielle Brown on the trip as faculty. He appreciated that she was able to answer a lot of questions about her degree. She expressed appreciation for Cody's natural curiosity and passion.

Another faculty connection that was meaningful for Cody was Erica Smithwick, who is currently on Fulbright at Rhodes University in Grahamstown. Erica was our connection to the U.S. Consulate dinner at SciFest Africa and during that event, she introduced Cody to some other folks in the room, like a professor from Rhodes, which may lead to some future collaboration.

In closing Cody said, "Plants are a lot cooler than people give them credit for." Cody had a hard time coming up for the words to explain Parks & People. He expected there to be more miscommunication because of the different types of English (British vs. American). He also thought the nuances of jokes and inflection might get lost, but realized quickly that people understood and jokes were quite similar between South African and American culture. When thinking through the past 10 weeks, Cody realized "South Africa is pretty radical. More people should give it a chance."