Barbara Gonzalez Fuentes ’25 made the most of her summer with an internship and intensive volunteer experience in South Africa. First, she completed a GIS and reserve management internship at Gondwana Game Reserve near Mossel Bay. There, she applied her GIS skills to real-world conservation efforts, studying the wildlife reserve’s big five species — lions, leopards, rhinoceros, elephants, and buffalo.
Barbara tracked environmental changes and supported projects like the elephant reintegration trust program, helping free captive elephants. Her main project focused on the vulnerable Cape mountain zebra, using QGIS software to map its habitat use, vegetation preferences, and ecological interactions with blue wildebeests. Barbara used these findings to help support conservation efforts, producing maps and a research report to guide her team as they continue their work.
Her second experience was volunteering as an environmental educator in Cape Town with Nature Connect, a not-for-profit organization. Barbara led outdoor excursions to the iconic sites of Table Mountain and Lion's Head, teaching students about the unique flora and fauna of the region, including sugar birds, sunbirds, ericas, and proteas. Through lecture-style lessons, she taught them to appreciate the surroundings they grew up in and about the leave-no-trace principles she learned with ߲ݴý’s Outdoor Education group. “This experience allowed me to develop my leadership and communication skills while fostering a pro-environmental attitude among the next generation,” said Barbara.
As a geography and Africana and Latin American studies minor, these impactful Summer Funding experiences matched well with Barbara’s academic interests, contributing to her personal and professional growth. Barbara plans to complete a year of work in the conservation sector before pursuing a master’s degree in geography, practicing the transferable skills she learned this summer as she goes.
“This summer has empowered me to pursue my passions in the long term and equipped me with the tools to make a meaningful impact in the field of conservation.”
߲ݴý and its generous alumni and parent donors offer grants to support students’ living costs and supplemental expenses to pursue unpaid and underpaid summer experiences. Learn more about ߲ݴý Summer Internship Funding.