Fall 2025 Interns
Lindsay Villavicencio
Host Institution: FIU Tropical Rivers Lab
Lindsay Villavicencio is a freshman here at Florida International University majoring in Environmental Studies (B.S.) and Philosophy (B.A.). She was born in Havana, Cuba, and is deeply passionate about conservation and protecting the natural world. She is especially interested in how environmental issues intersect with ethics and philosophy, and hopes to use that perspective to help create sustainable, meaningful change.
Isabelle Artiste
Host Institution: Historic Black Police Precinct
Isabelle Artiste is a current senior at FIU majoring in Biological Sciences. She is very passionate about accessible healthcare, environmental conservation, and animal welfare. In her free time she likes to visit new places or observe art pieces at the museums nearby. She is honored to be a part of this team and excited to help contribute to our current research.
Alyssa Nunez de Villavivencio
Host Institution: Zoo Miami
Alyssa Nunez de Villavicencio is a third year student currently double majoring in Environmental Studies: Natural Resources and Biology (BA). She is working alongside Zoo Miami to monitor the differences in bird diversity between the interior hammocks of Zoo Miami and the Pine Rocklands during peak fall migration through the use of AudioMoth's. The main objective is to highlight the importance of green spaces in the midst of avian species losing stopover sites due to deforestation. In the future, her plan is to become a conservation scientist or a zookeeper that focuses on educating the public about animal conservation with the importance of preserving species in hopes of reintroducing them into the wild to repopulate.
Jack Ramirez
Host Institution: Deering Estate
Jack Ramirez is currently pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Studies along with a minor in Marine Biology and a certificate in Agroecology. His professional experience has currently been plant centered including terrestrial and aquatic. Jack's research interests expand to ecological relationships. He is currently researching the population and movement at Deering Estate, hoping to further the conservation of them.
Brookelynn Gotschall
Host Institution: Zoo Miami
Brookelynn Gotschall is a third-year marine biology student on a pre-veterinary track. Her goal is to be a wildlife veterinarian who specializes in marine mammals. This semester, she is interning at Zoo Miami in the Bat Lab. For her project, she will be placing passive acoustic monitors across Miami to increase the knowledge on the location and abundance of bat populations, such as the endangered Florida Bonneted bat.
Milani Cook
Host Institution: International Center for Tropical Botany at The Kampong
Milani Cook is studying Sustainability and the Environment at FIU. Her current research interests lie within agroecology and ecological restoration. At the Kampong, her research is centered around native bromeliads. Bromeliads face constant destruction due to invasive pests, and having a long life span before reaching reproductive maturity. Milani is currently working on a research project that analyzes the reproductive success of various Tillandsia fasciculata and Tillandsia utriculata specimens collected from the Kampong. In this project, she collects data measurements on plant size and photosynthetic properties, as well as seed quantities and masses.
Christian Campo
Host Institution: International Center for Tropical Botany at The Kampong
Christian Campo is currently pursuing dual B.A. degrees at FIU in Sustainability & the Environment and Political Science, with a minor in Agroecology. Christian's academic and professional experience has centered on sustainable agriculture, ecology, and horticulture in South Florida.
Christian has worked with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden on projects involving orchids, tropical fruit trees, and ecological education, as well as with local farms on sustainable practices like cover cropping, composting, and agroecological outreach. He is especially passionate about agronomy, ecological restoration, and finding ways to connect science with communities.
Katelyn Smith
Host Institution: Montgomery Botanical Center
Katelyn Smith is a Sustainability and Environmental Studies major with a concentration in Sustainable Agriculture and a Certification in Agroecology. She is currently serving as an intern at Montgomery Botanical Center as part of the South Florida Sustainable Environments Internship Program. Ms. Smith has also worked as an assistant in the FIU Conservation and Sustainable Horticulture Lab, where she developed her skills in conducting biometric analysis of experimental seedlings, running germination trials of experimental crops, preparing soil samples for nutrient analysis, performing statistical analysis, and preparing root tissue for mycorrhizal staining.
Apart from her academic research, she is a part-time assistant store manager at Skechers. There, she has developed customer service and effective communication skills in a public-facing role. Outside of her busy schedule, she enjoys baking various sweet treats and gardening. If you need a highly motivated individual or a person that is eager to jump in and learn new skills, then please don’t hesitate to reach out to her.
Paloma Bustamante
Host Institution: Dream in Green
Paloma Bustamante is pursuing a degree in sustainability and the environment, and will graduate next Spring. She loves spending time with her family, and also loves taking her dogs for walks and exploring natural areas.
Valeria Marquez
Host Institution: Biscayne National Park
Valeria Marquez is a second-year student pursuing a marine biology degree with a chemistry minor. She will be interning with Biscayne National Park’s Resource Management division, conducting creel surveys at local county marinas. With this, she will be helping collect data from recreational fishermen, conducting both verbal interviews and physical measuring of the specimen when permitted. She will also be assisting with data entry and using this data to interpret the frequency of fishermen following regulations and the effects of the population and size species over time.
