Hi! My name is Colibrí. I am currently an undergraduate senior student majoring in General Science at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras Campus. There have been two main influential people in my life in relation to my love of science and my interest in ecology: My mom (dedicated educational chemistry researcher) and Dr. Elvia Melendez Ackerman (my current advisor at my University). My mom showed me the incredible and wonderful world of science and how it can explain most of the things in this world. That is partly why I started out in college as a physics student, to try and learn how the universe and all of its components work. But, there was something missing from the experience. In the fall semester of 2003 I embarked on an exchange program to Sweden. This is where I took my first Biology course which was Landscape Ecology. This course blew my mind in both theoretical and practical hands-on experience. That was three years ago and since then ecology has been a big part of my life. When I got back from Sweden, Elvia gave me a chance (without any biology courses at that point) to be a part of the Tropical Plant Ecology and Evolution Laboratory. Working in the lab has not only given me field and lab experience, but it has put me in contact with graduate students. I have been able to see what it takes to go to graduate school. Elvia not only gave me a job as a research assistant, but she also has encouraged me to apply for courses, internships, and conferences that are part of my research interest. I participated in the fall 2004 Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) semester abroad program of Duke University in Costa Rica, an amazing experience that really put me (and anyone) to the test of either loving ecology or hating it….I LOVED IT!!! Knowing that I love to travel, Elvia mentioned one day that ESA had field trips that were a week long and a good field experience for undergraduate students. This is how I first learned of the SEEDS Program. I started looking through the website and found so many amazing things I could participate in that my excitement turned into action and soon I was applying for the SEEDS fellowship program, and to my delight got accepted!!!
My first encounter with other SEEDS students and organizers was in Arizona in March 2005. That week was incredible!!!! Everyone was so energetic and overwhelmed with happiness that it kind of just stuck on you like glue. After that week I have come to realize that the SEEDS program not only helps you to achieve great science and your academic goals, but it also helps you realize that your thoughts and ideas on humanity and the environment aren’t that far-fetched and that there are other students out there that feel the way you do. This past summer I started my fellowship research with Dr. Luis Garcia Barrios from El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) in Chiapas, Mexico. Working with Luis has been a real treat. He has showed me the importance of understanding and working within social aspects in the field of ecology. I am participating in the first stages of a new project that is trying to promote conservation and better management techniques in communities that live in the buffer zone of “La Sepultura” Biosphere Reserve in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas. During the months of June and July I collected data on the types of vegetation surrounding the community to give a general overview of the landscape and the relationship with the cattle production systems they generally use. We looked at regeneration in the different landscape units that we found and hopefully next summer we will be able to continue with these measurements to get a better idea of the natural regeneration of trees in cattle pastures compared to natural forest. This summer Luis helped me organize not only my interest in ecology, but my attitude towards life in general. I got to Mexico feeling overwhelmed and depressed with life and left Chiapas energetic, happy, and excitedly overwhelmed with what life might bring me next. The experience that I had this summer really blew me away. I had never been in charge of my own project, having to make all the decisions (with LOTS of valuable help from Luis) about funding, field work, data analysis, group organization, and time schedule. I got a taste of what it will be like to do my graduate research and I can’t wait!!!!
I am applying to graduate school in August 2007. Throughout the years my interest in ecology has expanded and I know for the first time what I really want to do in graduate school. I would like to work with the ecological and social aspects of biodiversity conservation, mainly the impact of excessive wealth on biodiversity (thanks in part to a talk I heard on this same subject at the 2006 ESA Annual Meeting by Ivette Perfecto). My mom was a Chemistry professor at the University of Puerto Rico for many years, and she always said one thing to me, not only speaking as my mother, but also as a professor: “Your work should always be part of the things you most love to do in life.” So, after spending these last few years studying and participating in ecology-related activities I realized what was missing from physics, at least for me, which was having nature in a social context as an integral part of my work. I have to admit it has taken me many years to figure out what I want to do when I finish my studies, but I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t gone through all the years of doubt and despair. I can’t say that I will become a professor at a university or that I will work in a nongovernmental organization or government agency, or become part of the private sector, but what I am sure of is that I will LOVE what I do in my professional academic career.