Being involved with the FIU Wine to Water chapter was an experience that transformed my life. I was the organization's vice-president for two years and was heavily involved in community outreach concerning water conservation and water access in communities across the world. I also planned various fundraisers and social events targeted at raising awareness about local and international water issues.
In 2015, the FIU Wine to Water chapter built a partnership with FIU Alternative Breaks. As a result of this partnership, me and the organization's president led a group of ten students to a community in the Dominican Republic where we worked on one of Wine To Water's water filtration projects. During this service endeavor we helped make ceramic water filters, tested them chemically for proper functioning and distributed them to local schools. |
I became involved with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's Million Orchid Project during a restoration ecology course I took during my senior year. This project seeks to restore native orchid populations to the urban landscapes of South Florida, something that is both innovative and important for biodiversity conservation in the region.
I continued my involvement with this project through FIU's Tropical Conservation Internship and worked on mapping and monitoring populations of native orchids planted at FIU's Modesto Maidique Campus. Additionally, I was part of a team involved in the development and testing of a mobile application that allows community residents, students and interested stakeholder to input data about native orchid populations across South Florida remotely and monitor their progress. |
As the Science Communications Coordinator for the CREST Center for Aquatic Chemistry and Environment (CAChE) I was in charge of creating marketing materials, managing programs, organizing scientific data and sharing it with the public and interested stakeholders.
This role allowed me to learn about the importance of communicating science effectively. CREST CAChE has the very important mission of identifying contaminants in South Florida, tracking their movement through land-use boundaries and developing data analysis tools to synthesize the data and inform public policy. Transforming research findings to language that is both interesting and meaningful for diverse audiences is not an easy task but it is one that is necessary in order to create pathways between science and public awareness and action. |
I was selected from a group of university leaders to be part of Israel Uncovered, a program that takes young leaders to Israel to learn about the many layers and perspectives of the country's political and social conflicts. This experience opened my eyes to brand new world. Israel is a country where many religions, ethnicities and ways of life coexist. As I walked through the streets of Jerusalem I encountered the footprints of the historical struggle for coexistence and saw how many people from very distinct backgrounds were living happily next to each and simultaneously facing a very complex political arena. I had the opportunity to hear from Palestinians, Israelis and Syrians about their perspective on the conflict, giving perspectives to further understand the complexity of their situation.
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My journey in leadership development started in Student Government Association (SGA) at FIU. During my first semester of college I joined SGA as an intern and became a senator shortly after. Being involved in SGA led me to fall in love with my university and with helping students be successful. I had extensive leadership training throughout my experience and learned a lot about successful conflict resolution, strategic planning and program managing. My sophomore year I took the position of Speaker Pro Tempore of the Senate and the following year I became an executive board member and managed the financial affairs of the organization. Something that I really cherish about this experience is that I built relationships with amazing leaders and university faculty & staff who have served as mentors and have guided my professional growth. My leadership positions also allowed me to create and advance university ecology and sustainability projects and tie my involvement with my passion for the environment.
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In the spring of 2017 I submitted an entry to the Global Learning Transformation Contest, which sought creative work from students representing how their lives may had been transformed by intercultural experiences. I submitted a series of paintings that illustrated the challenges of moving the US at a young age and how I overcame them. I was selected as a winner and as a result I had the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC in May of the same year and visit the US Department of State, Oxfam America, The Peace Corp and FHI360. During these visits I had the chance to have very meaningful conversations with staff at these organizations and to explore possible career pathways and career development opportunities.
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Johnny, Luis and Genesis, my three students from Project Panther LIFE had a greater impact in my life than I ever thought any friend could. Project Panther LIFE is a post-secondary program that supports the academic, social and professional development of students with learning disabilities. As a Peer Coach for Project Panther LIFE I had the opportunity to guide my students through social learning processes and helped them take steps to develop social skills, independence, and professional competencies. These students really inspired me with their drive to pursue their dreams. They felt blessed for being able to be in a university and made the most out of this opportunity. It has been very rewarding to see them graduate from the program and succeed. I am happy to know I was there for them along the way and will keep being there as their mentor and friend.
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Global First Year supports international students with intensive English courses, cultural and social adaptation and programs targeted at giving them opportunities to be successful in their college career. I worked with Global First Year as an orientation leader. This involved organizing and executing a variety of activities that helped the students get familiarized with university resources and ease their transition to a new life in the US. For me this experience was very meaningful because it was a way for me to give back. I was familiar with the difficulty of coming to a new country and learning a new language while being challenged with college courses and responsibilities. Being able to help others going through this transition was very rewarding and helped me build leadership, organizational and interpersonal skills.
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