17 May Introducing Myself: a latina scientist – Alicia Siobhan Kelley

¡Hola!

I am Alícia (she/her/ella) and I moved around a lot during my youth, spending most of my time in Latin America. I was born in Brazil and later moved to North America in high school. I am currently living in southern California in San Diego. I graduated recently from the University of San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental and Ocean Sciences, with a focus in Environmental Science, and a minor in Chemistry. I am definitely interested in the sciences!
I completed the pre-medical track at my undergraduate university because I would like to be a physician in the future. I have a passion for medicine in addition to my passion for the environment. I would like to do a Master’s in Environmental Health so that I can learn about the effects of climate (and climate change) on human health.
I have some ideas on how I can intertwine my passions in my future career, and I will solidify the details in time. I wasn’t raised in a family with doctors, environmental scientists, or scientists in general. For this reason, I feel that I need to make my own path and learn as I go. It can be challenging to look ahead and know what careers are possible when I haven’t had exposure to them!
I am thrilled to start my internship in Interpretation, Outreach, and Digital Communication with the Latino Heritage Internship Program at Point Reyes National Seashore. I decided to intern at this site because of the variety of tasks I would be involved in. I had previous experiences similar to certain aspects of this position. However, I also noticed this role included several opportunities for me to step outside of my comfort zone.

This internship will help me develop my skills in making a positive impact in a community, which will be very useful for my future career. I know that I will learn so much from my time in this internship, and I will form many memories. I am looking forward to learning about all the science going on at the park and expanding my knowledge on the best ways to reach out to Latinx communities.
I am very excited (and a little nervous, I must admit) to make a poster presentation and to share my project with other interns in Washington DC at the end of the summer. I am looking forward to seeing what projects my fellow interns take on at their parks!