The background: My name is Marcela Maldonado. I was born and raised in Ecuador until i was 10 when I moved to New York City. I learned English in 4 years and excelled academically enough to go to a great school (Mount Holyoke College)! 

I moved to San Francisco in 2012 to pursue my dream of becoming a biologist. I interned with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy for 2 years; i focused on ecological restoration. I loved it. I want to do that for the rest of my life if have any say in the matter, and I do. 

The goal: Through my internship I learned so many wonderful things including the magical world of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). GIS is an amazing tool that can be used to map, monitor and plan restoration projects. Having even limited experience in GIS can give you a leg up in the restoration field. 

By talking to some of my mentors I discovered an awesome program at SFSU (http://gis.sfsu.edu/certificate.html). Here is where the problem arises. Taking all the courses i would like to take in order to trully fit it into my young carrer the Certificate can cost me me up to 6000 including tuition fees and materials. 

With your help I can make a very proactive use of my time between now and Graduate school. Your donations can help me further my curiosity, aspirations and goals. 

Thank you in advance <3