Hi! My name is Leah Kerber, and I am from Cleveland Ohio. I just finished my freshman year at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering where I’m majoring in Civil Engineering. At Pitt, I play clarinet in the Varsity Marching Band and Symphonic band. I am also a sister of Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary band sorority. In my free time, I like to hang out with my friends and family, hike, and ride my bike. I am super excited to go to Costa Rica to experience the culture and practice my Spanish!

What inspires me most about Costa Rica is their sustainability. They have many different initiatives to keep their environment safe and healthy. To start, the Blue Flag Ecological program aims to keep costal waterways and beaches clean. With Costa Rica being a huge tourist country, they host many different people on their beaches everyday. With a lot of people, comes a lot of waste, so having requirements for these beaches keeps everyone safe and produces clean drinking water.

The government also encourages residents to invest in rainforest preservation projects. This helps protect the wildlife in these areas. This program has allowed rainforests to grow from 21% of land in 1987 to 52% of land in 2005.

Overall, I would conclude that Costa Rica is a great country for environmental change. They seem to understand what it takes to keep their water, land, residents, and wildlife safe.