Meet our interns: Michelle Tamez

Saludos a todos! My family is from Monterrey, Mexico but my older sister and I were both born in the U.S. I grew up in Madison, WI and consider myself a proud cheesehead! My education has always been extremely important to me and my mother is the greatest role model one could ask for. She had a goal of getting her PhD at one of the most prestigious universities for Counseling Psychology in the country - University of Wisconsin-Madison - even when advisers in her high school told her she could only be a secretary, she pursued her dreams. Even with two children and a job, she still managed to get herself through school. My mother has always been very supportive of whatever pursuits my sister and I have had and she has encouraged us to determine our goals based on what makes us happy.

As an entering undergraduate student I planned to be an English major even though I had a strong interest in wildlife and its conservation. I wasn't as successful in my math and science classes in high school as I was in my English and social science classes and I convinced myself I couldn't be a science major and I would have to find other ways to pursue my interests in ecology. I joined a laboratory which studied amphibian ecotoxicology the fall of my freshman year of college in the hopes that I could be involved at least through an independent study in research. I continued to work there in the winter and into the spring semester and during that time I was consistently asking my mentor about study abroad opportunities that interested me which all involved immersion in tropical studies and conservation. He sat me down one day and urged me to apply to the Wildlife Ecology program and I told him my doubts. He was convinced that my sincere interest would allow me to succeed and convinced me it wast the only way to accomplish all the goals I had for working in conservation biology and I knew he was right. The next day I declared my new major and have never regretted it once.

Since that time I continued to work in the laboratory where I learned to write scientific papers, present at research conventions and participate in field studies. I also achieved my goal of studying abroad in Costa Rica and my change in career direction has led to many other opportunities including this Monarch Internship. I am excited to learn about the Monarch Biosphere Reserve and surrounding communities and learn about the community-based conservation efforts that are happening at Alternare.

I will be graduating this December (only two weeks away!) and it's hard to believe I almost convinced myself I couldn't achieve the point that I am at today. I look forward to all the coming experiences and adventures and believe strongly that community support and encouragement is very important for young people who are interested in the sciences (or any other area of study). I hope my experience will encourage other young students to pursue their interests and what makes them happy instead of convincing themselves they aren't capable of achieving because I know that they are!