Week 5: My Name is "Pakcha"
This week was crazy! When I say just about everything that could happen did happen, I mean it.
Emma Slaymaker '25 is interning with Manna Project International, working closely with an indigenous Kichwa community in the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador. This internship involves developing and running community programs and workshops, developing community infrastructure to encourage ecotourism locally, and building relationships with community members.
This week was crazy! When I say just about everything that could happen did happen, I mean it.
It’s exciting to think that our work will stand long after we are gone from Ecuador and allow us to leave our mark on this community that has...
I also spent a lot of time this week working outdoors, starting the week by planting plantains on a local family’s chakra (an ancestral farm)!
I chose three projects to focus on for the time being and have been able to make progress in all of them. I am proud of this movement and so...
After arriving in Ecuador early Sunday morning (6 am, to be exact), I was both excited and exhausted.
Hometown: Geneseo, Illinois
Major(s): Environmental Justice and Sustainability, English Creative Writing; Minor: Politics
Hello! My name is Emma Slaymaker and I am a rising senior. I am studying Environmental Justice and Sustainability and English Creative Writing as a major, and minor in Politics. During my time at Cornell, I have been active as an RA, Zamoras Barista, and 23-24 President of my Sorority (Phi Lambda Xi). In my free time, I love to hang out with my friends, girlfriend, and cat, spend time outdoors, cook, and listen to music! I am so excited for my internship to learn more about the intersections of my degrees in different environments, as well as expand my worldview.
I have an outstanding opportunity to study and intern abroad this summer in Ecuador. I found this internship through Handshake and applied after looking through their website. I will be working alongside the Manna Project as they work to break cycles of poverty in Shandia, which is located in rural Ecuador. Alongside the Manna Project, I would get to serve underprivileged communities and work with them to break cycles of poverty. The Manna Project would provide me with deeper insight into community service organizations, focusing on the environmental aspect of health, specifically water. The environmental focus is of particular interest to me, as it is my major and one of my life's passions. I have been especially interested in how environmental issues are central to not only the well-being of the Earth but for all people.
