Zyro

Hola! I’m Zyro and I’m going to be your Project Director this summer!

I was born and raised in Uruguay, but also lived some time in New Zealand, Paraguay, and Mexico. I met AMIGOS a long time ago since I’ve been working for an AMIGOS Partner Agency for many years back at home managing programs for youth and children. I was then Project Supervisor in Matagalpa, Nicaragua 2016 and I came back to AMIGOS as Program Coordinator in 2020, mainly involved in the Community Impact Project and providing support in some staff trainings.

I’m passionate about solving problems, meeting new people, and learning new things all the time. For example, in the last couple of months, I’ve started dancing salsa, scuba diving, and most recently I took a couple of surfing lessons!

I try to have fun and enjoy all that I do as a life philosophy, and I’d like to believe I learned to embrace uncertainty and make peace with not knowing what’s going to happen even before the pandemic.

I’m really excited about coming back to an in-person program and looking forward to meeting our awesome cohort of volunteers, and of course, enjoy the amazing Costa Rica!

 

Kallin

Hello! My name is Kallin, and I will be the Health and Wellness Coordinator for the summer. I am originally from the Chicagoland area, which I still consider my home base.

I graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of Massachusetts with minors in Conservation Science and Psychology. My time there included a semester abroad in Costa Rica with a similar program to AMIGOS called ICADS. After that program and through many internships around western Massachusetts, I discovered my love for environmental science. In general, my interests lie in wildlife studies, eco-tourism, environmental education, and college study abroad programs. I hope to one day live abroad somewhere in Latin America as a program coordinator for semester abroad students and have a street dog rescue on the side.

In my free time, I (also) like to take salsa and bachata lessons, go on road trips, and volunteer at animal shelters. This past year while I have been stuck inside I have found myself watching documentaries, reading, listening to tons of podcasts, and learning American Sign Language. I was also surprised with newborn kittens last month, so I have been busy bottle feeding my new rescues every few hours.

Currently, I work as a manager at an organic farm and eco-hotel living in the Dominican Republic. Before this, I lived in Peru for 2 years in both the Amazon and in Cusco. I love to travel to new countries whenever I can. Top on my list to see are Tibet, Turkey, and South Africa.

I have no prior experience with AMIGOS, but I can’t wait to jump into both training and our project this summer. I’m happy to meet you both and be back in Costa Rica soon.

 

Emily

Hi all! My name is Emily and I’m from Washington, D.C. area. I’m (technically) a second-year student at Stanford University, where I study international relations and human rights, although I’m currently taking a gap year due to the pandemic. I participated in the 2017 AMIGOS project in Chimborazo, Ecuador, and the following year I worked with the D.C. Chapter as a veteran volunteer.

Overseas experience in Latin America — living three months in Mexico, two months in Peru, and one month in Guatemala with my family — sparked my initial interest in travel and intercultural exchange.

This year, I worked on integrating human rights in US foreign policy with an organization called Freedom House, interned on press freedom issues with Reporters Without Borders, and taught journalism to middle school students. I just got back from taking classes at the University of Salamanca in Spain, where I studied Spanish literature and history.

Over quarantine at home, I spent a lot of time painting acrylic portraits of my friends and baking overly elaborate desserts. I ran track in high school and still run now, love going on hikes with picnic supplies, and spend a lot of time at art galleries and concerts in D.C. (in normal years).

I’m incredibly excited to meet both of you and the rest of our pod, and learn more about Costa Rica!!