03/09/2026
Last fall, SUNY Cortland junior Krystal Puesan spotted a campus email urging students to apply for a prestigious conservation science-related internship exchange program in Puerto Rico to be offered in late May.
Funded by the Chancellor’s Summer Research Excellence Fund, the SUNY pilot research exchange experience is undertaken in partnership with the University of Puerto Rico and the conservation organization Para La Naturaleza.
The selection process for a SUNY-Para la Naturaleza (SUNY-PLN) internship strongly encouraged students with financial need, first-generation students and those seeking research experience to apply. Puesan, a dual major in adolescence education: social studies and history from Brentwood, N.Y., met all three criteria.
Out of more than 300 students who applied, she is among nine young scholars selected from across six SUNY campuses.
“I read in the description that the program has a lot in it about water quality and things of that nature,” she said of the initiative offered by the SUNY Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development.
Puesan’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic in the early 2000s, and she has spent many summers in her family’s native home.
“There’s very similar ties between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico with water degradation and environmental degradation,” she said of the two Caribbean islands, one its own nation and the other an unincorporated territory ceded by Spain to the U.S. in the 1898 Treaty of Paris.
“I feel like being well-rounded is important, especially as a future educator,” Puesan said. “So, I thought, ‘OK, I don’t have experience on this. But this would be really cool.’”
Puesan applied for the SUNY-PLN opportunity, admitting that she put her heart and soul into the required application essay. Selected students were announced Feb. 15, and Puesan was among them.
“It was honestly a huge surprise,” Puesan said, noting that as a scholarship recipient in the Cortland Urban Recruitment of Educators (C.U.R.E)program, she was relaxing in the C.U.R.E. lounge with friends when she opened the transformational email.
“I let out this really big gasp,” she said. “Everybody’s like, ‘What?’ And they all came around me and were reading the email. It was a really cool environment to receive that news.”
Starting on May 18, Puesan will spend 10 days in Puerto Rico together with a small group of SUNY students immersing themselves in interdisciplinary learning, research and cultural experiences. They will explore the El Yunque rainforest, practice identifying geological formations in canyons, observe the monitoring of water quality and discuss conservation strategies with local experts.
Puesan will have her trip expenses plus a $1,280 stipend paid by the university system as she conducts research aimed at taking climate action and improving sustainability. This program is being administered by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), which will arrange the orientation and logistics.
SUNY Cortland received 35 applications for the program, according to Daniela Baban Hurrle, director of the university’s International Programs Office. A campus review committee selected Puesan as a finalist for consideration by SUNY.
SUNY on Nov. 14 announced a second round in its growing initiative, piloted in Fall 2025 with students from SUNY Oneonta, SUNY ESF and University at Buffalo. In addition to SUNY Cortland, this year’s expanded program also will include students from ESF, SUNY Oneonta, University at Albany, Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Oswego.
As a C.U.R.E. scholar, Puesan has already visited two different urban classrooms in the Syracuse (N.Y.) City School District, to observe the approaches of actual teachers. She has committed to teach in urban or disadvantaged schools for several years after graduation.
“As a future educator, Krystal will gain invaluable firsthand experience observing and engaging with these environmental and sustainability initiatives in context,” Baban Hurrle said.
“This immersive exposure will better prepare her to bring real-world examples, global perspectives and culturally responsive insights into her own classroom, ultimately enriching the learning experiences of her future students.”
Puesan said she’s looking forward to visiting Puerto Rico for many reasons.
“I’m going to visit San Juan, that’s a really popular, more urban area,” she said. “Definitely there’s a lot of history there and I’m a history junkie, so that catches my eye as well as another part of the island where the artist Bad Bunny is from. I’m really into his music.”
Baban Hurrle hopes Puesan’s experience inspires future students.
“We are very excited about this opportunity and hope it will be a highly successful program for all involved,” Baban Hurrle said. “The study away experience in Puerto Rico offers students a unique combination of academic enrichment, cultural immersion and meaningful engagement that aligns closely with our office’s mission.”