In 2015 I applied and was accepted into Miami University’s Project Dragonfly graduate school program. The program interested me as someone who was passionate about conservation and environmental sciences but who did not have a science background. My grad school work focused on community engagement and how people impact their environment – for good or ill. I think it’s important for the conservation community to acknowledge that people have always had an impact on the land in order to effectively protect and manage it moving forward.

The master’s program did an amazing job of letting us “choose our own adventure.” Our Master Plan was a synthesis of how we wanted to make our community better and how we planned on doing so.

Through this program I was able to travel to India, learn how to read and analyze scientific papers, and get a better understanding of how to organize in my community. My final portfolio highlights my work during the two and a half year program. I graduated with a master of arts degree in Biology in 2017 with a 3.7 GPA.

An Inclusive History of Water Use in the Rio Grande