Mic Rohde's Excellent Adventure To Japan Was 'Life Changing'

University of Nebraska at Kearney students traveled halfway across the world to present their research and immerse themselves in Japanese culture.

Nicole Kent of Benkelman, Haley Pierce of West Point, Adrian Gomez-Ramos of Lexington, Mic Rohde of Kimball and Katie Schultis of Diller recently joined UNK political science faculty Satoshi Machida and Chuck Rowling on a six-day trip to Tokyo, where they attended the Asian Undergraduate Research Symposium, explored the historic city and connected with UNK alumni.

It was a "life-changing" experience for Rohde, a senior studying wildlife biology with a political science minor.

"The opportunities provided by UNK are truly incredible," he said. "Presenting research to an international audience required us to think about our projects in new ways.

Luckily, UNK prepared us for this type of situation, and our group stood out among the presenters."

Rohde and Pierce showcased their analysis of U.S. news coverage of the Kyoto Protocol, American Clean Energy and Security Act and Paris Agreement, noting that, over time, coverage from select media outlets more closely mirrored the scientific consensus on climate change rather than balancing the partisan debate.