Introducing Difference Maker Mentor: Tamara Parks

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Headshot of difference maker mentor, Tamara.
Tamara enjoying time with friends at the Big E.

 

Hey y’all!

 

 

 

My name is Tamara Parks, and I am currently serving as a Difference Maker Mentor for the 2024-2025 NRCA Conservation Ambassador Program. I am a first-generation undergraduate student from New Haven, CT, completing my second year at UConn and exploring my course of study through the ACES program (so, I am undecided :D)!

 

 

 

 

A fun fact about me is that I took a gap year before entering college. I had a lot of support in raising money with my community, and I spent a month in Costa Rica with EF Gap Year in their Sustainable Development Program. My cohort and I completed service-learning projects with several organizations around the Costa Rican Pacific Divide.

 

 

Young lady, Tamara, digging in the sand on a beach. Two other women in the image assisting her with relocating the sea-turtle nest.
Tamara helping to relocate a sea turtle nest with Osa Conservation in Costa Rica.
Tamara standing in front of a propagule nursery, before planting 200 of them in an effort to restore the mangroves on an island.
Tamara volunteering at Lifting Hands (a non-profit in Costa Rica) during her gap year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Throughout my high school career, I had the opportunity to engage in anti-racist and anti-bias trainings where I channeled my energy to address culturally relevant pedagogy gaps in my classroom. Being an NRCA Difference Maker Mentor allows me to amplify the voices of students from marginalized communities as they engage in their own culturally relevant environmental initiatives. I have enjoyed getting to know each of my mentees on a personal level, and I’ve enjoyed witnessing how they combined their interests with a community need. 

 

Tamara leading Forestry Day during the 2024 CAP Field Experience.

 

 

During my first year at UConn, I had the opportunity to participate in the Student Health and Wellness (SHaW) Innovate Wellness Challenge. My partner, Sugita Mahendarkar, and I won this challenge with the proposal for The Green Garden project. I now spend some of my time at UConn working to establish the garden as a known student space, making it accessible through social events, club meetings, and volunteering days. 

 

 

 

Tamara (left) & Sugita (right) pitching The Green Garden for the spring 2024 Innovate Wellness Challenge.

 

 

In addition to my work with The Green Garden and NRCA CAP, I am a UConn All-Star! All-Stars is a step and dance team here at UConn. I enjoy bonding with my teammates and cracking jokes as we learn new steps during practice. And, although you’ll see us giving a lot of attitude on stage, performing and competing always brings us closer.

 

 

Team photo of Tamara and the UConn All-Star Step and Dance Team.
UConn All-Star Wildin’ Out performance at Williams College.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kat-Tastic Six (Tamara and her mentee team) completing Water Day during the 2024 CAP field experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond these extracurriculars, I like to paint with friends, rewatch Entergalatic on Netflix, hike, design websites, and try out new coffee shops. I look forward to seeing the accumulation of every mentee’s hard work at our conference this April and can’t wait to celebrate alongside friends and family.