Botswana ’19

Mariel was a student in the 2019 Botswana program and continues to work on sub-Saharan African issues from Washington, DC. After returning from Botswana, her interest in politics and the environment on the African continent led her to explore these issues further. She is now the communications lead and podcast producer for the international think tank, Energy for Growth Hub. Her organization works to end energy poverty in Africa and Asia in line with global clean energy and climate goals. Working with Round River and its partner organizations in Botswana taught her how important context-specific local work is for big global issues such as these. She now collaborates with many organizations across the world in her work and enjoys meeting a variety of people and helping to tell stories of their work on energy and climate in her podcast. Some of her favorite memories in Botswana were class discussions around the campsite and morning game drives that had amazing and unique sightings each time. She especially enjoyed hearing stories from the community about their interactions with the wildlife and environment around them. Mariel still loves traveling and seeing wildlife around the world— she went to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda earlier this year, and her list of places to visit is always growing.