Egyptian Student Studies Dairy Science at SUNY Cobleskill

Abo El Nassr Gamal Sweed looks like most other students who work in SUNY Cobleskill’s dairy barn— weathered baseball hat, jeans, old shirt and rubber work boots.  It’s when he starts talking that you notice he’s not so typical.  His accent-laden English showcases his Egyptian heritage.  Known simply as Sweed to students, faculty and staff, he sought out SUNY Cobleskill to study dairy production and science for a semester.

“This was a big chance for me to come here and study abroad,” he said about coming to New York. “These opportunities aren’t available to everyone in Egypt.”

Sweed, a graduate of Alexandria University in Alexandria, Egypt who studied dairy science and technology, realized he had all of the book knowledge he needed to operate a dairy farm and produce cheese, but he didn’t have any practical applications of it.

Sweed’s desire for experiential education led him to an online search, where he found information on SUNY Cobleskill’s Dairy Science classes.  He contacted Professor Dr. John Tryon and Dr. Susan Jagendorf-Sobierajski, director of International Programs, who helped arrange his stay.

“[SUNY Cobleskill] offers a unique experience in that I get to practically apply my studies,” said Sweed. “I had learned 50 percent of the dairy science through books at Alexandria University.  Here I’ve learned about the whole operation, the other 50 percent.  You have the cows, you milk them and then you make products like cheese and yogurt.”

Working at the dairy barn 30 hours a week gives Sweed a chance to apply what he’s learned in dairy cattle management and dairy record management classes.  While his course work may give Sweed a chance to continue his education, it also helps SUNY Cobleskill students experience what agriculture is like in another country, as well as a foreign culture.

When he heads home to Alexandria, Sweed hopes to take parlay his experiences of cheese processing in the United States and with Yoplait into a business of his own.

“I will probably work on processing cheese because that gives you more profit than raw milk,” he noted.

Sweed said he wanted to try his hand at making Kariesh and Domiati, two traditional cheeses for which Egypt is known.  Domiati cheese is the most popular in Egypt—soft white pickled cheese—and makes up about 75 percent of the cheese produced and consumed there.  Kariesh cheese is produced by acid coagulation of milk and may be consumed fresh or after ripening.

Abo El Nassr Gamal Sweed works in SUNY Cobleskill’s dairy barn milking cows.