Arianna Ortiz joins NSF REU team!

We'd like to introduce one of our 2019 NSF REU Site International Community Scholars! Welcome to the team, Arianna! Read her story in her own words below.

Arianna Ortiz, Environmental Science Major, University of Massachusetts Boston

Hola! My name is Arianna Ortiz andI will be entering my junior year in the fall at the University ofMassachusetts Boston. I am an Environmental Science major with a minor in GeospatialAnalysis and Modeling. I am looking forward to being an international communityscholar this summer in the UCF REU Site in Belize! Being an internationalcommunity scholar entails having a global perspective along with having astrong sense of humility, optimism, open-mindedness and being able to adapt tonew circumstances. Engaging in community research allows scientists to workhand-in-hand with locals from the community while relating scientific knowledgeof different issues and solutions relative to the area. Part of this process isestablishing a core sense of trust and healthy dialogue between researchers andcommunity members to avoid scientific misconduct as all good scientists andscientific research projects should reflect a commitment to humanity. Relayingscientific findings to the general public in ways that are honest and effectiveis a skill that I believe all scientists should have. I am excited to be a partof this!