I hail from Fresno, California where triple digit summers are custom. My environmental interests are sprawled across ethnoecology, fisheries, and GIS. Outside of academia, I dabble in longboards, videogames, and multimedia. Aside from trying to escape the desert that I call home, I gravitated towards the MES program due to my own research interests overlapping with multiple faculties’. This prompted me to believe that I would have a strong support system in an interdisciplinary setting.

During my first year in the program, I was involved in a GIS project that oversaw the removal of unexploded ordinances and mines in Cambodia, leftover from the Vietnam War. My participation was further compelled by personal ties to Southeast Asia since my parents are refugees from this part of the world. Overall, the planning process, instructors’ support, and implications meshed into a unique and rewarding experience. Moreover, the MES program provided the creative space for me to apply newly acquired knowledge and expand upon a skillset. As such, I will strive to apply the technical tools I have learned from this project onto thesis research. At present, I am in the process of working together with a consulting firm for a thesis that focuses on GIS and fisheries. Stay tuned!

My family contributes vastly to my motivation in studying the environment. My parents and their parents (a.k.a. my grandparents) provide unconditional support with limited English and can seem to make anything grow as long as there is dirt. Though I currently lack their green thumbs, it is a long-term goal of mines to preserve the wealth of environmental knowledge they possess. After earning my MES degree, I’d love to continue my stay in the Pacific Northwest for professional development. I have yet to acclimate to the rain, but the amazing summer weather here is enough to make me stay put.