By Tiffany Whitfield
圖朸厙 Ecological Sciences doctoral student, Zlatka Rebolledo S獺nchez, is one of seven college students from across the Commonwealth of Virginia to be selected as a (VASG). Her research focuses on understanding salt marsh-based blue carbon in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. An international student from South America, Rebolledo S獺nchez values education and the easily translatable qualities of science through community outreach. As a VASG fellow, she will be able to dive deeper into research through mentorship and professional development and use her passion for communicating science to diverse communities in the Hampton Roads region.
Originally from Venezuela, Rebolledo S獺nchez ended up coming to 圖朸厙 because of a tweet from Biological Sciences Assistant Professor Erik Yando who would later become her advisor at 圖朸厙. Before that tweet Ihad never heard about Norfolk, said Sanchez. I think it's really good for scientists toconnect on social media and after a couple of interviews we decided we made a good team.
She started as a masters student and is now entering her third year as a doctoral student. I'm working rightnow in carbon of salt marshes in the lower Chesapeake Bay, said Rebolledo S獺nchez.Actually, there is much researchbeing done in this specific area, butI want to focus on spatial variability.Experts in the field typically work on remote sensing at a large scalewith satellite images with afocus on the geographical sidein biology.
Coastal ecosystems are at the centerpiece of Rebolledo S獺nchez's research.Salt marshes provide shoreline protection, erosion control and improve water quality, but one of the most important things that Ireally like is that they provide climate change mitigation, said Rebolledo S獺nchez.Salt marsh ecosystems store and sequester a lot of carbon.It's better to have the carbonthere than in the atmosphere, said Rebolledo S獺nchez's. There are a lot of people that denythat climate change exists,or they don't understand, or they are not aware of the actual consequencesthat we are experiencingright now. Her workwith VASG fellowship will focus on two different things.One is actually tryingto answer my scientific questions,trying to decipher a littlebit more about the carbon in salt marshes,and two I will address how to communicateeffectively to different audiences, said Sanchez.
As a Latina woman, diversity not only matters to Rebolledo S獺nchez, but she recognizes the gap in communicating effectively to people whose first language is not EnglishI want to alsoliterally translate my work into Spanish, said Rebolledo S獺nchez.Her goal is to publish her work in both English and Spanish.Virginia has more than 10%of the population who are Hispanic, but most of them speak only Spanish, said Rebolledo S獺nchez.There is a big chunk ofthe population thatmany people are not reachingand it's very important toalso translate to other countries.Being able to translate her work to other Spanish speaking countries would make Rebolledo S獺nchez even more enthused about research and communicating to diverse audiences. We are here in Virginia,we have the local problems,local issues with sea level riseand all the flooding that we experience, and everyone is impacted, said Rebolledo S獺nchez.Everyone needs to be aware ofwhat is happening in English and in Spanish about how to help improve lifestyles in the world and deal with flooding.
Sanchez was encouraged to apply to the VASG for their fellowship because of her advisor, Yando. She does research in Assistant Professor Yandos .
Yando speaks highly of Rebolledo S獺nchez. "We are thrilled thatZlatkahas been chosen for this prestigious fellowship and greatly look forward to the work she will be producing in the next two years.Zlatka has worked tirelessly to ensure that coastal and salt marsh science is communicated to the public in an accessible manner. Further, this fellowship will support her research which provides some of the most robust blue carbon budgets for the southern Chesapeake Bay, while also addressing interesting conceptual and theoretical questions."
As a VASG fellow, Rebolledo S獺nchez will also have a professional mentor, Alexandra Clayton from . Rebolledo S獺nchez is overjoyed about all that entails the fellowship. We had the orientation sessionbefore the start of the semesterand I met all the otherVirginia Sea Grant fellowsand the previous ones,and I think it's awonderful opportunity to connect andto learn about researchthat others are doing. Collaboration is intrinsic to Rebolledo S獺nchez and the opportunities that this fellowship presents will allow her to build bridges with people in the community while fueling her love for ecology.
Being an international student has yet to slow down Rebolledo S獺nchez. She is very active on campus and in the community. She is part ofthe 圖朸厙 International Student Advisory Board where she serves as president. Also, she is also the director ofoutreach of a student organizationcalled Global Student Friendship. Incredibly, she is also 圖朸厙s Student Government Association treasurer.I feel like I'm serving others and I enjoy serving and making connections, said Rebolledo S獺nchez.
She works many hours every day on her research at 圖朸厙. Also, she was a teaching assistant, but she finds time to help others.I'm really passionateabout what I'm doing,my service, and my friends, said Rebolledo S獺nchez.I think I'm working,not just with colleagues,I'm working with friends and that makes it way easier to keep going,keep producing more awesome work;it's a great reward.
As a Monarch, Rebolledo S獺nchez is thankful for the opportunities available to her and other international students. 圖朸厙 is surprising with all of the resources available to students, said Rebolledo S獺nchez. Its amazing how open the different offices are to the students with all of the resources available. I think the Department of Biological Sciences is great because we have amazing faculty and have found support with all of them. The network we build at 圖朸厙 is something that Im very happy about and now, that were an R1 institution and also with the EVMS merge I think its a lot of growth in the university.
Image above:圖朸厙 Ecological Sciences doctoral student, Zlatka Rebolledo S獺nchez in the field doing research.