Dr. Chris Houser (Global Faculty Ambassador):
"The Soltis Center was a generous gift by Bill Soltis class of 1955 and his wife Wanda. They saw this opportunity for students to go down to Costa Rica and gain an international and global perspective. The Soltis Center is far more than just a field station in the jungle: it is Texas A&M University’s gateway to Latin America. Only three hours away from the city of Houston, it is a world away for many students who have never left the United States and for some, who have never left the state of Texas."
Dr. Georgianne Moore (Department of Ecosystem Science and Management):
"The Soltis Center provides us with a tremendous opportunity to study hydrology here in the tropical forest. And from the work we are able to do here, we are able to better understand how the conversion of forest to agriculture will affect our environment."
Dr. Tony Cahill (Zachry Department of Civil Engineering):
"I’ve been bringing undergrads here from A&M for five years now every summer. And I think one of the great things about the Soltis Center, is it gives our Aggie undergrads an opportunity to experience another country, another culture, and I know that that will be really valuable for them when they’ve graduated and are working as practicing engineers throughout the United States."
Ryan Andrews ’16 (Civil Engineering Graduate Program):
"It is really a great opportunity for me to get to some international experience because I’m hoping one day to do international development work. So just the global perspective we get here is great and hopefully I can apply it one day to international development work and just help people out overseas."
Courtney Merket ’15 (Civil Engineering):
"I am here under an undergraduate summer research grant for Texas A&M, and this grant is giving me the opportunity to do some hands-on learning. I get to make the learning myself instead of studying through a textbook. This environment is totally different than anything I have gotten to work in before. It is a great opportunity. Next year I will be entering grad school, and this experience is helping me define the direction of my graduate research."
Josh Olmos ’14 (Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences):
"This has been my second time at the Soltis Center. I’ve learned so much from the international and biological diversity that’s here, and I am ever grateful for the Texas A&M Soltis Center."
