Scholarships Awarded for Costa Rica Trip
Four students from across the Alamo Colleges District were awarded scholarships for next summer’s NVC Adventure Science Field Study School in Costa Rica.
The scholarship was generously gifted to Northwest Vista College from the Microsoft Community Empowerment Fund. It continues support for the initial field school partnership in 2022 with Universidad Veritas that was funded by the Partners of the Americas, 100,000 Strong in the Americas grant.
Students Chasta Callies, Tanya Campbell, Brianna Mabry, and Julia Martinez will each receive $3,800 for the cost of the study abroad undergraduate research program.
Chasta is a Biology pre-major at NVC. Tanya, who participated in our 2022 Costa Rica field study program could not get enough research in and is going again. She is an Environmental Science pre-major at San Antonio College. Brianna is studying for an associate’s degree in Anthropology at NVC. Julia is also pursuing a degree in Anthropology. She attends San Antonio College.
The 2023 Costa Rica Adventure Science Field Study Program < https://alamo-sa.terradotta.com/ > is a 15-day, experiential study abroad program offering students the opportunity to spend very little time in lecture and most of their time involved with research related to monkeys, crocodiles, sea turtles, cloud forest and coastal ecosystems. It will be led by NVC professors Kim Linsenbardt (Anthropology) and Scott Walker (Geography and Environmental Studies).
The field school combines community engagement activities, educational activities, and exploration. Physical Anthropology is the study of human origins and bio-cultural adaptations. This program will include topics such as primatology, genetics, human variation, forensics, health, and ethics in the discipline with a particular focus on direct experiential research of primate genetics and behavior, using live primates and research facilities in-country.
Environmental Science students will conduct shark and ray counts, as well as bat, bird, and crocodile counts, and sea turtle data collection. Students taking the independent study course will work with professors to develop a meaningful short-term research project. This opportunity is LGBTQ+ supportive.
By Scott L. Walker, ScEdD
Professor/Coordinator, Geography & Environmental Studies
International Faculty Fellow, Office of International Programs
