(bright music) - Things that can help more women thrive in science.

Hi girls!

Is making sure that people understand their needs and what women in general, but also women of color need to feel confident and heard and understood and supported.

I'm really proud of being able to go for things and even if they're scary.

It's hard sometimes, like it's not easy to get to where you wanna be, but if you're courageous and you do your research and you prepare, you can get there.

My name is Claudia.

I am a biological science technician and citizen science coordinator at Congaree National Park, which is located in Columbia, South Carolina.

(lively music) As a citizen science coordinator, I develop protocols for collecting scientific data that the park needs.

It's a good question.

Citizen science is programs that bring community members and engage them in collecting data.

Welcome, come on in, bienvenidos.

Outside of work, I like to spend my days drawing.

I like the colors.

I like putting colors on paper and it just relaxes me.

I also like dancing, so when I was younger I learned ballet and modern dance.

I really liked sports and being outside and just learning new activities.

I am a Latina, specifically from indigenous people in Oaxaca and my mom has Japanese heritage.

Growing up I feel like I never really got to know a lot about the indigenous communities in Oaxaca, so I really feel like I wanna connect with that heritage.

Currently I'm teaching myself Zapotec.

(Claudia speaking foreign language) I think it's very exciting to be a park ranger at Congaree, and especially during the fireflies events.

The Firefly Festival and the Citizens Science Program is very important because it's a time when people get to come to see the fireflies and experience them live.

People get to understand why they're flashing and why is it important to help conserve their environment and help them thrive.

I love fireflies because they're so good at emitting light.

If you think of a light bulb.

Ta-da!

The energy that it produce, 90% is heat and 10% is light.

But fireflies, all the light that they produce is energy converted into light.

Yay, awesome.

Working with the community gives me joy because I get to talk to the volunteers that are gonna help us and that makes me feel happy that I'm helping them learn more about science, but also about Congaree and about why is it important that we need to protect environments like Congaree.

If I could go back and talk to younger me, I would tell her not to be scared, not to let other people tell her who she is or what she should be doing.

My mom always says like, (Claudia speaking foreign language) She says like, "Yes, you can."

So I sometimes like tell myself that, that it's possible and you just need to work hard or just take it one step at a time.

(lively music)