Skills
Discipline, Communication, Achiever, Restorative
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Throughout my experiences at the University of Florida, my CliftonStrengths are telling of the skills that I have developed and honed through my degree program. Communication is foundational to my role as an international scholar, researcher, and DEI leader across campus. Achiever and discipline allow me to complete difficult tasks alongside resilience, as exampled by my self-led research in Peru and overall completion of my degree program.
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Discipline: While earning the grants from CLAS and CUR at UF, I was struggling to receive the money, as I had reached the cap on my financial aid. I received $7000+ additional funding for my expenses throughout the duration of my fieldwork. I was unaware of budget expansion forms and ended up with several thousand dollar charges on my account, which took several meetings to get cleared. I was then notified that my grant money replaced my scholarship funds and it would be impossible to get back. After scheduling a series of 15 calls and meetings, all while preparing to go to Peru within the upcoming week, I was finally able to receive my funding upon my first month of fieldwork. I was determined and disciplined in my efforts to effectively retrieve my funds while undergoing several red tape and bureaucratic funding processes.
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Communication: Being the primary DEI Agency Head in the UF Student Government has offered several insights, but I found my most tough challenge to be communicating these themes to students that were (1) uninterested and/or (2) scared of backlash due to the political state of Florida. Thus, working with my team and communicating with members and students that were uninterested or scared, I was able to develop a comprehensive DEI curriculum under Students Taking Action Against Racism (@staar_uf), where I have since then been able to present to over 3000 students about themes in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion, all while fighting for the gator good.
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Achiever: I conceptualize achiever as ambitious; upon my first meeting with my research advisor, Dr. Adrienne Strong, I discussed my project of interest - as a researcher with minimal experience of stasrting a project from scratch with no advisors in the desired location, it was extremely arduous and hectic. Yet, after ten weeks, I was able to leave with strong connections in local schools, universities in Peru that have demonstrated interests in my research, and long-term connections that allow me to call Peru my second-home.
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Restorative: "Able to deal with problems" - I feel like this has been my life lesson since I was born. This was most prominent in my work with the Jane Goodall Institute throughout my high school and early college career. Working with JGI under their National Leadership Council was an opportunity that I could never exchange, as it taught me the importance of resilience and introspection. I remember being confronted with several issues, the most memorable being COVID-19. How could we engage students in service and volunteering campaigns during a worldwide lockdown? I worked on developing media campaigns and strategizing at home tasks that could continue immersing students in service and ethical volunteering, all of which was nationally recognized by the Institute.
Global Experiences
Archaeological Field School in Huanchaco, Peru
The first time I went abroad for school-related purposes was for an archaeological field school in Huanchaco, Peru,=
led by Dr. Gabriel Prieto. We were required to excavate about 40 hours per week alongside partake in culturally immersive activities. Not only was I able to engage with the local community and material culture presented through the digging and preservation of child, camelid, and household burials, but I was also able to connect with fellow peers, many of whom I still talk to!
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From Mondays to Thursdays, we conducted excavations learning about archaeological methods and theory, while practicing it first-hand. On Fridays, we would go to the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo to learn about previously excavated materials, such as bones and pottery, and understand their placement and importance in material history, as well as Peruvian Archaeological projects. Little did I know, that I would be working with the University again, but in my pursuits with their director of investigations.
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When we were not excavating or at the lab, we would explore Peruvian culture and archaeological history through museum visits, lab tours, and more. We were able to visit several important landmarks and archaeological sites within Peru, including those of which Dr. Prieto worked in his early career! I would not trade this abroad experience for the world, as it has made me just as passionate about my work and career in the present!
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International Reproductive Health Coursework
My engagement with international and anthropological coursework at the University of Florida is critical to my experience as an International Scholar. One of my favorite courses has been "Making Babies" and "Global Gender Issues" with Dr. Adrienne Strong. In these courses, not only was I able to expand on my linguistic skills as a Spanish Minor through reading and analysis of latin-based resources, but I also was able to internationally contexualize anthropological theory. One example may include my development on a guide for reproductive technology for young adult men, where I had to consider both theoretical and cultural frameworks pivotal to the understanding of reproductive and sexual health in different cultural settings. Another example of my work would be a research paper I developed in the "Global Gender Issues" class, where I investigated the connections between tea-making and gender hierarchies in Bengali cultures. Further, my work and project-based experiences at UF have allowed me to develop the critical thinking skills required to be an international scholar that is aware of their surroundings, empathetic towards different knowledge systems, and contributional to any efforts to support locally-informed decisions and projects.
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Medical Anthropology Research in Trujillo and Huanchaco, Peru
Click here to read more about my research and adventures in Huanchaco, Peru!