An op-ed piece for the Ames High School newspaper landed Sam Bird in Uganda, where he has taught students how to build beehives. Bird, a senior in global resource systems, says he wrote the op-ed because all of Iowa is tied to agriculture, "but the average student in Ames didn't appreciate that connection." The letter caught the attention of David Acker, associate dean of academic and global programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Bird says he was originally headed to San Francisco to attend college. That changed when Acker contacted him and explained the global resource systems major at Iowa State. Students who choose the major focus on an international region of their choice. Before graduating they learn the language and an understanding of region's issues.