Diana P. Lopez Doctoral Student
My Story
I was born and raised in Bogotá-Colombia. Right after high school, I moved to The United States wanting to learn English and attend a North American school. I started to build my dream by attending Valencia Community College, and later I finished my Bachelors degree in Biology with honorary mention from Florida Atlantic University. A year later, I was accepted as an Environmental Studies masters student at Florida International University where I completed and published my thesis titled "Non-native African jewelfish are more fit but not bolder at the invasion front: a trait comparison across an Everglades range expansion". After graduation, I moved to the Washington DC metropolitan area to work as an Environmental Specialist for a government contractor to support environmental programs for the Department of Energy and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. After working for a few years, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming an ecologist and conduct research in marine settings. I am now a Biology PhD student at Temple University under Dr. Freestone's guidance and working for the BioVision (Biogeographic Variation in Interaction Strength and Invasions at the Ocean’s Nearshore) project.
My Story
I was born and raised in Bogotá-Colombia. Right after high school, I moved to The United States wanting to learn English and attend a North American school. I started to build my dream by attending Valencia Community College, and later I finished my Bachelors degree in Biology with honorary mention from Florida Atlantic University. A year later, I was accepted as an Environmental Studies masters student at Florida International University where I completed and published my thesis titled "Non-native African jewelfish are more fit but not bolder at the invasion front: a trait comparison across an Everglades range expansion". After graduation, I moved to the Washington DC metropolitan area to work as an Environmental Specialist for a government contractor to support environmental programs for the Department of Energy and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. After working for a few years, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming an ecologist and conduct research in marine settings. I am now a Biology PhD student at Temple University under Dr. Freestone's guidance and working for the BioVision (Biogeographic Variation in Interaction Strength and Invasions at the Ocean’s Nearshore) project.