The following blog post was written by Bridge Year Fellow, Logan Kesner.
August 22nd, 2025:
When I first applied for this fellowship, I really wasn’t sure I would receive it, but I so
vividly imagined everything I would do if I did get it. I imagined a different opportunity at first, but
what has come of the last few months of hard work searching is finally coming to fruition, and I
am even more excited for this than what I was originally imagining. Tomorrow I start my journey
to Ecuador, where I will be working on orchid conservation on the side of a volcano in a cloud
forest. Now this is exciting for many reasons: I get to use my Spanish again, I am actively
engaging in conservation efforts literally on the side of a volcano, and I have been an orchid
super nerd since I was a little kid. I have an extensive collection at home in a greenhouse out back, and I have been absorbing scientific data on orchids for years. Particularly, the habitats that orchids naturally grow in have always interested me, though, and that’s why this is such big news.
I remember in 7th grade watching random YouTube videos of guys walking around the Brazilian
Savannah speaking Portuguese, just enamored because that’s where my favorite subtribe of orchids, Catasetinae, has the richest diversity and grows super readily. Although I won’t be working with those genera at such high elevations, I still get to work with other genera I am familiar with and just as excited to work with. Also, I am sparking the interest of a few of my orchid friends, and they are asking that I send a bunch of pictures when I get there, and boy am I about to blow up their phones.
As excited as I am, I am also petrified, and I really don’t want to blow over that fact
because it’s important to recognize that for myself and anyone reading. Realistically, my
Spanish is not nearly fluent, and I already had to send a few emails in Spanish, which I was of
course double-checking with Google Translate. I am scared that I am going to feel so alone as
well, because the work I’m doing, I am doing alone. The only people within a few miles of me
are the family that I’m going to have meals with and the park ranger, neither of whom speaks any English. Also, I don’t even have a super solid research idea yet, aside from simply identifying plants and gathering coordinate data. I just have a loose idea of what I am doing, and that is terrifying considering I fly out tomorrow! However, I know I will figure something out and that I will be okay, and I think it’s that thought that is keeping me sane. Also, I will have wifi access should I need to talk to anyone, so that’s also nice. Nonetheless, I know this is going to be such an incredible experience and I know I am going to have fun and hopefully add to the academic conversation, and that is what matters!
I’ll write soon with pictures, but for now I hope you guys have a nice one.
– XOXO, Logan
P.S. I am only taking one bag, an Osprey 65L, which is packed full. I don’t know
how people take even smaller bags because I feel like I’m taking the bare minimum.