Meet our 2018 Ambassadors: Natalie on our Costa Rica Sea Turtle Expedition!

Natalie Buckwold was born in Winnipeg, Canada and moved to Maryland with her parents when she was a year-old. She became a USA citizen when she was 12 years old. Currently, she is a junior at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland and her passions are biology, writing and fitness. She enjoys sharing her experiences with others as well as promoting giving back to the community and environment. In this case, Natalie is excited to promote healthy ecosystems and a protecting nature by saving the turtles in Costa Rica. She tends to have a vivacious personality and likes to interact with others. Specifically, helps elementary schoolers with Hebrew classes at her synagogue, translates Spanish to her peers during volunteer trips outside the USA, and assists customers with their clothes at American Eagle Outfitters. In addition, her volunteer experiences include Biomedical Engineering with Johns-Hopkins in Maryland, Archeology with Stanford University in Peru,and building a house with the group “Cambiando Vidas” in the DominicanRepublic. Natalie also received an award for the most service hours during her studies at Linganore High School ( approximately 464 hours). She is ecstatic to become a Global Works Ambassador to document and share her upcoming trip to Costa Rica.

Throughout the academic year, most of Natalie’s time outside of school goes towards her studies. As an honors student, Natalie challenges herself with Physics, Pre-Calculus, Genetics and Biotechnology classes to work towards her goal of becoming an orthodontist. She is also on the school’s tennis team, and enjoys practicing with friends and taking lessons on the weekends. Furthermore, she is going into her eleventh year of girl scouts. She has just recently finished her gold award and received the gold medal for her project about health and fitness education. In her free time, you can find her living an active lifestyle; outside hiking, mudding, adventuring, or at the gym by herself or with friends.

Thanks to her leadership experience, Natalie thinks that she could become a meaningful Global Works Ambassador for the program. Most recently, she planned, organized, and ran a fitness event (Let’s Get Physical) for middle and teen schoolers as her Gold Award project in Girl Scouts. The event included journals, games, cooking, and dancing rotations to promote a healthy lifestyle. Being the head coordinator of this event was an excellent learning experience and she believes that she could continue strengthening her leadership skills by being a Global Works Ambassador. She would also benefit from the position due to her love for journaling and adventuring. Natalie is a thrill seeker and likes to capture every moment. As a Global Works Ambassador, Natalie looks forward to gaining a better understanding of the problems that animals such as the turtles in Costa Rica face, and spread that awareness publicly through blogging and posting on social media. Spanish was her first language growing up and she thinks it would be enriching to go back to her roots and immerse herself in the Costa Rican environment and culture. She cannot wait to be a team player on this expedition and make a difference in the turtle environment with her contribution and research.