My Internship as a Beekeeper

Location:
Heredia, Costa Rica
Latitude/Longitude:
9.998141300000, -84.119764300000
Journal Entry:

Of course, I anticipated that my study abroad experience in Heredia, Costa Rica would be one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. However, I didn't realize that this program would change my future! As an Environmental Studies and Spanish double major spending time abroad in one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, I wanted to find an internship opportunity that would satisfy my desire to learn about conservation while practicing my Spanish. With the help of my Resident Director, I was able to secure an internship working with the Center for Tropical Apiculture Research (CINAT) at the Universidad Nacional, Campus Benjamín Núñez Center in Heredia, Costa Rica.

Apiculture, or beekeeping, was something I had never considered pursuing in the United States. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the weather is only warm enough for beekeeping between the middle of May and the end of August. Even though I was nervous and intimidated as an undergraduate with little to no experience in this field, I was excited to work with amazing scientists and professors like Rafael Calderón and Fernando Ramírez as well as the graduate level students finishing the Master's program.

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