Hey there! My name is Celine Sefakor Agbotey. I am a junior at UConn with a major in Applied Mathematics and a minor in Computer Science, as well as a member of the Conservation Training Program as a Natural Resources Conservation Academy (NRCA) Difference Maker Mentor (DMM) this year. My interests include analytical science and poetry. In my free time, I love to crochet and read crime thrilling novels. 

I wanted to be a NRCA Difference Maker Mentor because I found a not-so-popular interest for the use of mathematics in ecology and conservation fields after taking a global change ecology class during the spring of 2021. Taking that course, coupled with the fact that I would be working with other peers, really drove home the need for me to become a DMM. Community conservation, to me, refers to the role everyone plays to ensure assets the environment has are well preserved and able to last a long time for future generations to be able to enjoy. It matters to me that resource protection is not left solely to those in power, because more often than not, community members suffer the direct consequences. 

Recently coming from Ghana, the field of conservation and ecology to me is fairly new yet very fascinating. I am learning all about the different components that make up our environment and I take pride in consciously thinking about my role. I look forward to applying the observational and analytical skills from my mathematical background to NRCA community projects. Also, I will bring the ability to think quickly about possible solutions to projects that we may undertake and openness to learn a lot from my peers who are from different backgrounds.

---