Meet Zachary Silberman, 2021 NSF REU Scholar

This is the 4th in a 10-part blog series introducing the world to our 2021 NSF REU/RET scholars.

Bio: My name is Zachary Silberman, and I am a rising senior at Villanova University who is majoring in Geography with a minor in sustainability studies and public administration. I am thrilled to be an international community scholar within the UCF REU and RET site working on community geography and GIS to map disparities in flooding in Hopkins Village, Belize.  Working as an international community scholar is an amazing and unique opportunity for someone like me who is hoping to be extremely involved within the geospatial field in my undergraduate studies and beyond. To bring my enthusiasm for GIS to an international community and see my own passions having a long-lasting positive impact on these sites is a dream come true. I believe that a fundamental aspect of working on this site is being able to bring my own knowledge and experience to willing communities while also prioritizing the ability to listen to local voices to enhance and amplify collaborative shared ideas, practices, and mutually-beneficial research.