Meet Iguana Team 2.0
Tenemos una versión en español aquí
It takes a special kind of people to voluntarily wake up at 4:30am to go count green iguanas on a farm. Let me tell you about those special people. In my previous post, I mentioned the dream team but I neglected to tell you why they are awesome. The team if made up of a posse of volunteers that rotate work days and tasks. Here are three reasons why they rock:
1. They make the work fly by
The dream team is a hard working group of individuals who make the laborious days under the hot Puerto Rico sun fly by. Each of them offers their own set of skills and heaps of enthusiasm. They are smart, funny, professional and quick studies. There is no shortage of dad jokes from me and generous laughter from them (Andrea is particularly generous with her laughs). I am completely mesmerized by how fast they learn and themselves provide new strategies to solve problems. It might be that they are able to propose solutions because of their myriad backgrounds. This brings me to my next point...
2. They come from all walks of [academic] life
The team is made up by men and women from three different universities and at least four different majors including environmental science, biology, psychology and wildlife management. We make up an atmosphere of mutual learning and support where we reap the benefits of multidisciplinarity. I can't tell you the number of times I learn something new from them, I hope that they feel the same way.
3. They are passionate about conservation and science
The dream team doesn't hesitate to act in the name of environmental conservation. They study human made and natural environments in order to understand how to improve life. Their work isn't limited to farm research. They focus on understanding how cities are planned, where invasive species live and how to integrate all citizens into science. They are passionate about social issues, like environmental justice, and this motivates their actions. Indifference is not in their vocabulary and I'm filled with admiration for each of them.
I am grateful to the team
From the dream team I've learned that passion drives us to act. Passion can manifest itself in multiple expressions and lead you to become an activist, or psychologist or biologist. No matter how you choose to express yourself, a common goal brings people together. I'm lucky to have spotted people who are like minded. I can't say enough how thankful I am to have the support and give support to this team. I Iook forward to witnessing the amazing paths their careers will take and to do everything in my power to help them achieve their dreams.
We are open to new students joining the dream team, send us your resume if you want to join this group of volunteers. christinadejesusvillanueva[at]gmail.com