Kayla Clem studied Sustainable Development and Applied Research Techniques in Atenas, Costa Rica, for 4 weeks through the School for Field Studies. She took classes that taught her field research techniques as well as the basic principles of sustainable development. She traveled to 9 different areas of the country and participated in 3 field exercises as well as a professor directed research project. The field exercises allowed her to apply her new research skills as she studied the camouflaging patterns of tadpoles in the Poco Sol Rainforest, counted and identified plant species and quantified incidences of erosion along roads in the Paramo ecosystem at Cerro de la Muerte, and collected survey data in the tourist town of La Fortuna. She participated in directed research about occupational segregation and wage inequalities of women in the tourism industry of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula. This allowed her to do her own applied research project as a part of a 5 year research plan that will later be used for the benefit of Costa Rican women. Kayla was also a part of The School for Field Studies research symposium where she learned to present research findings and share her data with the rest of the university. Kayla had the chance to interact with the local community through service projects (i.e. collecting trash in Atenas), conducting surveys and interviews for research, and by attending classes with a Tico classmate. She was also able to experience Costa Rican culture by staying at the SFS center that is staffed partially by locals and provides 3 authentic meals for students daily.