Meet OTS Admissions Counselor, Brooks Bonner
- undergraduate2
- Feb 2, 2016
- 2 min read
Brooks Bonner, OTS Admissions Counselor
B.A. Intercultural Communication ’04 - San Francisco State University
M.A. International Environmental Policy ’08 - Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
Q: What is your role at OTS?
A: I am the Admissions Counselor for OTS undergraduate
programs in Costa Rica and South Africa. I recruit students for all programs. More specifically, I serve as an advisor for the Tropical Biology on a Changing Planet in Costa Rica Semester Program and the Tropical Biology in Costa Rica Summer Program.
Q: What attracted you to this position?
A: My experience working throughout Latin America helped shape my perspective of the importance international conservation and sustainable development have on this world.
One of the best decisions I ever made was to escape the comforts of home and go abroad. My first trip was to Panamá and Costa Rica. And from this moment on, I knew that I wanted a career where I could travel and help conserve some of the most biologically diverse places on the planet. This position allows me to share this passion with the next generation of conservationists. I hope to show how individuals can make a difference in the world, and often, that process starts with simple decision to study abroad.
Hiking Mt. Huandoy, Huascarán National Park in Perú
Q: What related experiences do you bring to the Enrollment team?
A: Before I joined OTS, I worked and traveled in ten different Latin American countries, focusing on conservation and sustainable development. I co-founded a nonprofit organization which developed an evaluation tool for private conservation areas, which included time in Belize, Chile and Argentina. During my time with another NGO, I worked as a consultant in the establishment of Peru’s first network of Regional Conservation Areas in the Amazon. These experiences helped me to see how important it is to communicate science into sound policy. Without critical biological and ecological information, and the knowledge of how to translate that into impactful and sustainable programs, the scientific data is useless.
Q: What do you like most about OTS?
A: The best part about OTS is the practical, field-based research students conduct. No other program allows for this level of intense, science-based courses in some of the most biologically intense places on the planet. Countless OTS alumni have used these experiences to springboard their careers. Another unique aspect of OTS is the fact that students live on our biological field stations. They are surrounded by the very things they are studying. It is impossible to get this perspective from any other program or course.
Q: What advice would you give to a student considering an OTS program?
A: Talk with current and former students. These may be students who have just returned or faculty at your institution, and read this blog!. This is the most realistic way for you to know if the program will benefit you. Also, it is ok to be nervous. Anytime you do something out of the ordinary, it is a normal human response to be uneasy. Don’t take this as a sign you shouldn’t do it, take it as an opportunity to have the time of your life!
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