C.U.R.E. scholar finds purpose in Puerto Rico

11/10/2026

SUNY Cortland senior Krystal Puesan never considered herself much of an outdoors person.

But ask her about a pivotal college experience and she'll describe the distinct bird sounds and the emerald-green backdrop of El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, along with the friendships she formed there.

This past summer, Puesan pursued a selective conservation science-based exchange program through SUNY, the University of Puerto Rico and Para La Naturaleza, a nonprofit focused on promoting environmental education and protecting the ecosystem. She called it one of the most formative experiences of her life.

"I can't emphasize how life-changing it was," said Puesan, a dual adolescence education: social studies and history major and a high-achieving member of Cortland's Urban Recruitment of Educators (C.U.R.E.) program.

SUNY Cortland will participate in the third year of the exchange program in 2027. One student will be selected to represent the university among seven SUNY partners, earning a trip to the Caribbean archipelago for the immersive experience supported by the Chancellor's Summer Research Excellence Fund.

If Puesan's example is an indication, the opportunity can defy expectations. Of the nine student participants from SUNY institutions in 2026, Puesan was the only one representing a discipline outside of the natural sciences. She wasn't sure what the 10-day trip would bring.

"Going into it, I was so intimidated of it not being my world," said Puesan, a teacher and historian at heart.

At Cortland, she exemplifies the purpose of the C.U.R.E. program, which aims to support high-quality urban teaching by preparing educators who understand the benefits of diversity and the power of knowledge. Puesan, who grew up in Brentwood, N.Y., is a first-generation college student, the daughter of hardworking parents who immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic in the early 2000s.

For her entire life, learning has been a constant motivation. That proved to be a common bond with her peers from the moment they met at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City, even before departing for Puerto Rico.

"We jelled instantly," Puesan said. "We called ourselves 'the nerd herd' and it just stuck."

In Puerto Rico, the SUNY group explored many disciplines and topics over a week and a half, spanning sustainable farming to groundwater to wildlife habitats to marine ecosystems. They hiked through rainforests early in the morning and late at night. They enjoyed art and culture in Old San Juan. And they learned historical lessons throughout the trip - an opportunity for Puesan to share her own talents with the group.

At a coffee plantation known as Hacienda Buena Vista, students discussed the history of slavery in Puerto Rico.

"Everywhere we went, there was contextual evidence to be gained from the land and the indigenous people who lived there," Puesan said. "I would lean into my interests (in history) and then I would feed off of theirs (in science), which felt different for me because I'm not an outside person at all."

The group's accommodations ranged from apartment-style living with amenities to camping in tents - and Puesan grew to appreciate the latter.

"It's funny that the more simplistic that the living conditions became, the more fun we had," she said.

In addition to the knowledge she gained, Puesan cherished the friendships she made with peers from other SUNY campuses, all of them representing different academic majors. Among them, SUNY Oswego zoology major Jonathan Hernandez shared her hometown of Brentwood, though he graduated a year before her in high school. They had never met before making the trip 1,600 miles from home.

Hernandez introduced Puesan to birding and identifying species by their sounds. Both were fascinated by the Puerto Rican tody, a tiny and vibrant bird native to the island.

"From that day on, you would catch us every day on the terrace with binoculars," said Puesan, joking that she continues to monitor bird sounds in Cortland and send text messages to Hernandez with her findings.

Puesan also credited Elizabeth Padilla Rodríguez, manager of science, volunteers and education at Para La Naturaleza, for standing out as a strong woman in an educational role - a trait that Puesan hopes to take into her future classroom.

"When she walked into a room, she commanded presence and respect," Puesan said. "It extended so much further than the content we were learning. It was like, 'You're exactly what I want to be.'"

At the end of the trip, the students delivered an emotional presentation about their experience for SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. and the leadership of the nonprofit, expressing the trip's academic, social and cultural benefits.

"This academic experience became so deeply emotional for me," Puesan said.

In several ways, the trip mirrored Puesan's motivations in the university's C.U.R.E. program and the teacher she aspires to be for underrepresented students. She initially pursued the Puerto Rico experience because it promised an opportunity for learning, despite being nervous at the outset that she didn't have a background in science.

"I always told myself, 'Science isn't for me. I can appreciate it from a distance, but it's not really for me,'" Puesan said, recalling her feelings before the trip. "But being there really flipped the narrative.

"It was never about science 'being for me,'" she said. "It was more about accessibility, and the trip just made the lessons more accessible."

She praised the other students as well as the trip's faculty leaders and organizers from Para La Naturaleza for making that happen. As a shining representative of the C.U.R.E. program, she plans to bring the same gift to her future classroom.

"A lot of my 'why' is representation and wanting to be the teacher I didn't always have when I was growing up," Puesan said.

The Puerto Rico experience was rewarding in many ways, Puesan said, providing friendships and lessons that she'll carry for a lifetime. Ultimately, she traced its success to the fact that everyone shared knowledge in ways that were empowering to others.

"It's so important to immerse yourself in something outside your comfort zone," Puesan said. "That brings you closer to your comfort zone."