In Fairbanks, Alaska, the winter sun never rises more than halfway up in the sky, and the temperature can drop to -45. As a graduate student at the University of Alaska, Erin enjoyed the cold weather, and even went snowshoeing on the coldest day of the year.

But after two semesters at the country’s Arctic university, the Saint Anselm environmental science grad embarked on a new adventure 4,000 miles to the south: 27 months as an agroforestry volunteer with the Peace Corps. She was the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ first graduate student to undertake the Peace Corps Masters International Program, a cooperative master’s degree program that allows students to integrate graduate studies with international development experience. While in rural El Salvador, she keeps in close contact with her graduate committee members as she conducts research for her thesis on community-based ecotourism. After her stay in El Salvador, Erin will return to Fairbanks for one semester and complete the requirements for her master’s in natural resource management.

“El Salvador has experienced a huge amount of environmental destruction as a result of the 10-year civil war that ended in 1992, and because of unsustainable land use practices,” she days. “Deforestation, water pollution, and soil erosion are widespread.”

Having earned a certificate in Spanish at Saint Anselm—and participated in its study-abroad program in Spain—Erin was happy to have a Latin American Peace Corps assignment. But mostly, she is happy to be able to help in a country where her skills and knowledge are needed.