An intensive experiential learning program that leverages the principles of cultural competency, servant leadership, and Peer-to-peer engagement was developed to increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of diverse students pursuing agriculture and natural resource careers. Forty-two incoming freshmen participated in the program by enrolling in designated courses offered in the fall, spring, and mini-term semesters. The fall semester course explored the concepts of food safety, food security, and hunger in a local context. These same concepts were further explored in the spring semester from an international context. Through both the fall and spring semesters, students volunteered at a local botanical garden to build and maintain a new community garden project. The program culminated in a two-week international study abroad experience that immersed students in real-world experiences related to the issues they had previously studied. Three significant themes emerged from year-long journaling that indicated shifts in participants’ perspectives: the impact of hands-on experience working in the botanical gardens, realized benefits of community gardens and best practices for agriculture. Additionally, a fully-developed curriculum was created to guide instruction for the semester long courses.