Andrés Pérez shares how this organization has helped him develop professionally in biology in Puerto Rico.
Andrés Pérez Cintrón expressed a desire to work as a biologist on the island of his birth and, with the efforts of organizations such as Conservation Opportunity (CO), he has been able to make it a reality. Through the opportunities of CO, multiple individuals have obtained employment within their fields of study in Puerto Rico, the United States and even internationally. The recent University of Puerto Rico master's graduate recently joined this list of professionals.
“I had already been working for two years, that is, in that summer, I was working as a Global Experience Specialist Analyzer in a private agency here in Puerto Rico, and a colleague sent me a CO position with requirements that fit me, because they were a mix between wildlife and ecology topics,” he mentioned about the square of Resource Assistant Program with the Hispanic Access Foundation and the US Forest Service (USFS) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Pérez Cintrón thanked the CO initiatives, since it not only gave him a space to work within his field of study, but also opened doors for his next chapters in life.
“It's been a brutal experience because I've been able to travel, paid for the work, do a lot of networking and meet other people who are doing the same work as you, with the same experiences,” he added.
He also stressed the importance of having job opportunities as a wildlife biologist. and how CO is beginning to have an effect on this issue.
“One of the best things is that they give you some funds for professional development and I was able to use my salary to take some courses in proposal writing. With this, I was able to travel to Portland and that was very shocking for me because that's when I discovered that there are many Puerto Ricans outside the island. Too many, I would say,” she included.
Perez brought attention to the lack of opportunities in the archipelago, and how, if those who emigrated had had the opportunity from the beginning, “they would have chosen Puerto Rico from one, but they never had it”.
It has been highlighted with the emigration from Puerto Rico to the United States that there is a lack of job opportunities. The environmental planner commented on how he has heard expressions from colleagues in the U.S. who wish to return to Puerto Rico but do not have the ability to do so because of the risk of losing the life they developed there.
“The decision to stay here was shocking and helped me understand that I made the right decision and that from where I am I can make an impact,” he exalted.
Maintaining the culture is essential if one works outside the Puerto Rican community, Pérez said that working abroad can alienate one from his or her culture. For this reason, he asks that at least there be a recognition of local customs in federal government spaces and that they can find a way to implement Puerto Rican practices within their systems, such as encouraging USFS employees who come from the U.S. to learn Spanish when working in Puerto Rico.