Coralys Vicéns López is a recent PhD graduate from the University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras who majored in Biology and minored in Ecology and Systematics. Her overall research focuses on understanding the dynamics and properties of urban vegetation. Coralys is also a fellow of the Puerto Rico Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (PR_LSAMP) where she has had the honor of teaching students from primary to high school about STEM career opportunities.
As a way to provide a voice to the scientific community, Coralys created a podcast and Instagram account duo where STEM students, hispanic scientists and anyone else could dive into their work, their life, their challenges, and the solutions they discover while treading through their career.
This intersectional idea was sparked by Coraly’s own personal struggles of practicing science in such a dynamic environment, filled with everything from funding issues to university strikes to pandemics. Ecology with Friends, also known as “Ecología entre Amigos,” aims to bring a sense of “comunidad” with a very vital message that: we are not alone. Coralys, along with her friend who studies ecology and organismal conservation, virtually creates this safe place, all while educating on the struggles scientists face, both inside and outside of their academic career.
And continuing on with this lens of authenticity, Ecología entre Amigos is hosted in Coraly’s native language: Spanish! Find Ecología with entre Amigos streaming on Spotify.
