Hello! My name is Kaylee Vanni and I’m a third year Environmental Science major at UCLA.  This quarter I will have the wonderful opportunity to do an original research project in the Nicaraguan rainforest! We have just begun preparation for our trip and already I’m being asked interesting questions that I never thought to ask myself. For example, what species should we focus on conserving? This is a particularly difficult question because, as a young scientist, I am aware of my naivety for wanting to save anything and everything. In order to have effective conservation tactics, questions like this are imperative to ask and attempt to answer. This classroom environment is unlike any other course I have taken at UCLA. The professors and TAs are so engaging and passionate about what they are talking about. I’m acclimatized to huge lecture halls where my face gets lost among the three hundred students. This quarter will be the exact opposite, with one-on-one interactions and attention.

Thinking about what to do when I graduate often makes me feel nauseous. So I’m hoping to have a realization of what it is I want to do with my career and my life during this trip! I hope my experiences can help refine my professional goals and help me discover my true passions of science. This quarter will provide me with so many new and exciting opportunities; I hope I can be open and willing to experience new and unknown adventures. I think I’m most excited about the potential of discovering or describing something new. The rainforest is home to such high biodiversity that many organisms have yet to be discovered. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of new research coming out of Nicaragua. I can’t wait to get out in the field, conduct research, and hopefully come home botfly free!