Abril attended St. Mary’s University in San Antonio Texas, where she received a bachelor’s in environmental science. As an undergraduate, she and another student found themselves in the desert near Pulliam, where they collected leaves during both the warmest and coolest portions of the day in order to test temperature’s effect on water retention. Additionally, as part of her undergraduate research, she studied the presence of mycorrhiza fungi in tamarisk trees throughout the Pulliam and Yuma areas. Following her undergraduate, Abril returned to Phoenix, where she works as a prep analyst for Eurofins—a company which upholds EPA standards for waste and drinking water. During the pandemic, Abril assisted at Sonora Quest Laboratory, which specializes in respiratory viruses such as RSV, flu, and Covid-19. With the CDL, Abril has utilized ArcGIS Pro to create a map detailing bird migration variables, as well as one regarding the number of mycorrhiza fungi studies per country. Currently, she is learning to run IFTDSS (the Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System), work in QGIS, and RStudio. Abril plans to attend the University of Tucson to earn a master’s in environmental science, and hopes to one day assist in educating Latino communities about environmental conservation.

Of the CDL she has to say, “It provides a diverse community outside of school—connects you with people in the industry and students from other universities who can give you feedback and often become invaluable friends.”