1 August 2008
Ana Marcela
Florez
Universidad Industrial de Santander
Bucaramanga, Colombia
Dear Honorable Max Berry,
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to you. I was one of the lucky
people selected to participate in the Research Training Program, thanks
to your recent donation. My project focused on the evolution of three
parted compound leaves under the mentoring guidance of research scientist,
Dr. Kenneth Wurdack.
Before coming here I was familiar with the research and reputation
of the Museum's scientist, and couldn't imagine getting the opportunity
to meet them in person. I had read their papers, learned about them
in my classes and admired them and the science they conduct. The prospect
of being able to meet them and talk to them was a utopia. And then I
was actually selected, and provided the opportunity to join the RTP,
thanks to your donation. Being a participant in the RTP, and actually
interacting with so many scientist that have set trends in Biology,
has been the best and more fruitful academic experience of my life.
It definitively has opened my eyes to more opportunities and different
ways to do science. During my time at the Smithsonian so many people
have openly shared their insights and advice; it will help guide my
future and better direct graduate studies. I'm thankful to all of them,
but the person who made all this possible for me was you, through your
donation to this program, and so my first and biggest thanks is to you.
There are so many things I think that make me a special participant,
including I have never travel outside my country before and this was
an interesting cultural experience. But most importantly, as a Latin-American,
as a Colombian, we do not have the same opportunities that our American
partners have. Our Universities do not have the same facilities to conduct
research investigations, but at the Smithsonian I had the opportunity
to use a Scanning Electron Microscope and other laboratory equipment,
like a DNA sequencer, that I had never seen or used before. As a biologist
living in the tropics in one of the biodiversity hotspots of the planet,
getting to know the work being done by the scientists in the Botany
Department, their field trips, their research topics, the vast collections
that have been assembled in the herbarium, and the vast knowledge that
they have, makes me realize how important is to be prepared to inventory,
collect and characterize the diversity I have in my country and has
encouraged me to continue my education, to do more research on the Colombian
flora, and achieve my goal of becoming a scientist and an educator.
Finally, I hope the effect that this experience had in my life encourages
you to continue supporting the RTP program, so that many more generations
of young students can come and experience what I did, and gain an appreciation
of Museum-based research.
Sincerely,
Ana Marcela Florez
Research Training Program
Class of '08