{"id":20021,"date":"2025-01-28T13:08:47","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T18:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/?p=20021"},"modified":"2025-02-24T10:08:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T15:08:44","slug":"naomy-robalo-moreno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/news\/naomy-robalo-moreno\/","title":{"rendered":"“Am I in the Right Place?”: Naomy Robalo Moreno on Finding Her Path"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Naomy Robalo Moreno double majors in Wildlife and Conservation Biology<\/a> and Marine Biology<\/a>. Originally from Cape Verde, she is the first in her family to study ocean and conservation science. She came to URI uncertain about what she wanted to study and, through the encouragement of her mentors and advisors as well as coursework and fellowship experience, developed her identity as a student scientist. Below is a Q&A with Robalo Moreno and CELS Communications Fellow Yvonne Wingard about Robalo Moreno\u2019s degree path, her advice for other students, and more.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which fellowships did you complete during your time at URI, and what did those experiences involve? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, I was awarded the Science and Engineering Fellowship<\/a>, and I worked with Lisa Tewksbury in the Biocontrol Lab. Then in 2023, I was awarded the RI NSF EPSCoR\u2019s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)<\/a>, where I worked with Dr. Colleen Suckling<\/a> on URI\u2019s Bay Campus. I started out mainly just taking care of the insects in the Biocontrol Lab and working with sea urchins at the Bay Campus aquarium. But I had to learn how to advocate for myself to do more hands-on research. Eventually, I got to travel to Maine for a week, where I helped a grad student set up his research. I didn\u2019t really know what I wanted to do with my major(s), and I remember talking to the assistant dean [Michelle Fontes] at the time, and she told me to apply for the Science and Engineering Fellowship, so I did and I really liked it. It opened up my world to the possibilities of my majors.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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What skillsets or knowledge did you gain from these fellowship experiences? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I learned a lot, especially research-based skills like how to gather data, surveying, and being more organized with data. I also learned how to make research posters and pull data from the information I gathered. In SURF, I learned how to come up with a research topic, conduct research and pull it all together. <\/strong>I also learned a lot about how to communicate with your professor \u2013 making sure everything is clear and they know what you\u2019re doing that week, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever encountered dealing with \u201cimposter syndrome\u201d and if so, how did you navigate or overcome that feeling? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I have. I\u2019m an immigrant. I came to the United States when I was 12, so imposter syndrome was a big thing in middle and high school, and especially in college. I felt like I wasn’t at the same level as my peers, especially on the research\/scientific side. Students would talk about the research they got to do in cool places or working with animals, and I didn\u2019t really get to do those things. I felt behind and like I wasn’t in the right place. When I started my internship, it got worse, because they would talk about terminology that I didn\u2019t know. I was feeling like, do I deserve to be here? Am I in the right place? <\/strong>I haven\u2019t really solved that; I always feel like that. But I just started telling myself it\u2019s not fair to be like that to myself. I am the first person in my family who wants to work with animals and the ocean, so I\u2019m starting from scratch. I figured that while I didn\u2019t get that experience [in research and science], I will find ways to get it now.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who have been your most influential mentors at URI? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aura Fajardo Grandidge<\/a>, assistant dean for diversity and student success initiatives, is #1 \u2013 she is my mentor. She\u2019s very inspiring and she pushes me to go out and learn stuff and find experiences. She\u2019s really good at being there for her students and the people around her. When I’m down, I can talk to her. She helps me find different ways of seeing things. Also Scott McWilliams<\/a> in the NRS department is a really great professor. He\u2019s also my academic advisor. He\u2019s very good at teaching, and his classes are very insightful. He knows how to explain things and make sure students have real-life experiences. As an academic advisor, he\u2019s responsive and sets meetings where when you leave, you feel prepared for anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your plans after graduation?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to work and gain experience in land or ocean conservation research and then go on to graduate school. I want to go back to Cape Verde to work and study there, maybe become a professor. I just want to go back home and help my community. When Cape Verde was colonized, the Portuguese introduced Prosopis pallida<\/em>, or mesquite, to help with erosion, but the plants suck all the water around them so that other native plants can\u2019t grow, so the land is left very dry when it\u2019s not raining. When I started working in the biocontrol lab (which uses insects for biocontrol), I felt like this could be something used to solve the plant problem in Cape Verde. l was thinking maybe I could find a native insect in Cape Verde that could kill the tree but doesn\u2019t stop the other plants from growing around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What advice do you have for students looking to study science or conservation, or who are applying to these fellowships? <\/strong>

<\/strong>1). I would say not to limit yourself and go with whatever opportunities are presented to you. Even if you don\u2019t like it, you\u2019re going to get some experience from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2). Be open to learning and new experiences. Be an open book and gain and absorb as much knowledge and experience as you can. And don\u2019t think that you don\u2019t belong. Because if you’re there, you\u2019re there for a reason. Even if you feel like you shouldn\u2019t be there, there\u2019s a lot of others who feel the same way. 

3). Don\u2019t be afraid to reach out. The whole staff of CELS and the Dean\u2019s Office are awesome \u2013 they really care about their students and are very involved. People like Dr. Forester, Dean Becky Sartini<\/a>, Aura Grandidge, and Kristy Levinson<\/a> were all really helpful resources, and they inspired me to pursue these research opportunities. If you have any problems, you can always go and talk to them! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Naomy Robalo Moreno double majors in Wildlife and Conservation Biology and Marine Biology. Originally from Cape Verde, she is the first in her family to study ocean and conservation science. She came to URI uncertain about what she wanted to study and, through the encouragement of her mentors and advisors as well as coursework and fellowship experience, developed her identity as a student scientist. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1089,"featured_media":20022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1089"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20021"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20077,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20021\/revisions\/20077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}