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鈥淚 believe that industry and the environment can be very good friends,鈥� says Monica Del Aguila.

She has worked in the health, safety and environmental sector of the oil and mining industry for 10 years since completing her bachelor鈥檚 degree in forestry engineering in Peru. Over the years she developed a keen interest in sustainability and the environment. 鈥淚 want to help bring together the world of industry and the world of environmental protection,鈥� she says.

Completing Dal鈥檚 MREM program this spring is Monica鈥檚 first step toward making this happen.

She first considered programs in New Brunswick and Newfoundland, but the MREM program presented itself as 鈥渢he perfect diploma.鈥� She remembers reading the course descriptions and getting excited about the deep environmental knowledge she stood to gain.

鈥淲hat really made me decide to do it was the internship,鈥� says Monica. 鈥淚 wanted to experience how it works in other countries, what their rules and regulations are, so that I can learn and bring it back to my country.鈥� She says regulations regarding recycling and sustainability in Peru need to improve and she wants to help with that.

Early in the program, she knew she had made the right choice. 鈥淭hey have a whole class in the first semester where they talk about the internship and help you with your r茅sum茅. They introduce you to people. As an international student, I didn鈥檛 know anyone here, so it really helped,鈥� she says.

Monica spent her internship at Twin Rivers Paper Company in New Brunswick. 鈥淚t was a really good experience. I learned a lot and the people were great,鈥� she says. She admired the company鈥檚 re-use processes and its ability to generate so much of its own energy.

While she speaks highly of her experience at Dal, she admits it was no easy feat. 鈥淭he program is good but it鈥檚 hard. You have to do a lot of writing,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 not good at writing and, of course, even worse in another language.鈥� At the suggestion of one of her instructors, she started going to the Writing Centre鈥攁 lot鈥攁nd it helped. 鈥淏y the next semester I knew what they wanted and how they wanted it. I really improved,鈥� she says.

In fact, Monica鈥檚 writing improved so much that you can now find her name on two published works, including a chapter in , which is a collaboration with her classmates, as well as a paper in which she co-wrote with a professor.

Monica is proudest of completing her master鈥檚 in a foreign language. She is grateful for all the help she got from resources at Dal and encourages students to take advantage of as many as they can. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to be open for you all the time but only if you go and say you need help,鈥� she says. 鈥淒on鈥檛 worry about what others will think. Ask for help and don鈥檛 hesitate鈥� they will listen to you and give you the advice you need.鈥�

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