For anyone studying abroad in the tropics, snorkeling in the crystal blue ocean is an exhilarating study break activity. But if you're in the right program, snorkeling isn't a break from class. It is the class.
Isabelle Rowley '26 calls her dad a walking nature book. He's a lawyer by trade, but Rowley believes the environment was his calling.
"We'd go camping when I was younger, and honestly, his knowledge was almost creepy. But I loved it. It made me want to be a forest ranger when I grew up."
Loving nature isn't a competition, but if it was, Rowley has pulled ahead of her dad this fall. The camping trips aren't as frequent, but they do compare bird sightings on the Merlin Bird ID app. You can identify a species with a picture of the bird or by its call and then add it to your library. Rowley's dad is spotting Canada geese in the Capital Region, while Rowley's running up the score with toucans.
"He's really jealous of all the birds I'm seeing."
Rowley is studying at the School for Field Studies in Bocas del Toro Archipelago – a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea northwest of Panama. She was looking for a program that mixes marine ecology with forest ecology. It's not a common pursuit, and only two Siena students before Rowley have ever participated in this program. But this is exactly where Rowley was meant to be.
"Usually we're in the field three times a week. If it's tropical coastal ecology, we're snorkeling from 9:00 a.m. until noon. We're doing fish and sponge identification and measuring the health of algae. In tropical forest ecology and resource management, we'll mimic the call of male bullfrogs to see how territorial they are. We also have soil labs where we're collecting soil from the rain forest."
Rowley is also taking a cultural competence in conservation course. The class requires three hours of Spanish three times per week and the students meet with indigenous individuals and ask questions about tourism and its impact on the environment and the economy.
"My parents taught me environmental stewardship at a young age. People often think environmentalism is a hobby, but you can make a career out of this. It's not just a lifelong passion, it's so much more than that. I really make an impact."
Rowley plans to pursue a career in marine or environmental policy. Law school may be in her future, like it was for her dad, but she would leverage the degree to fight for environmental justice. In the meantime, Rowley and her dad can still try to one-up each other on their bird app. But for at least the next five weeks, it's hardly a fair fight.
