2018 Presidential Summer Fellow Kay-Alana Turner, a Lamar University senior from Lumberton, is using her passion for culture to help unite organizations and communities in their efforts to create ecotourism.

In 2015, Turner was a member of the McNair Scholars Program, which helps underrepresented students prepare for graduate studies by providing research opportunities and fostering student-faculty mentor relationships. She selected ecotourism as her research topic and studied under the mentorship of Sarah Schwartz, adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences.

This summer, Turner will be expanding on that work as her Honors Thesis project where she will work with nonprofit organizations and the community in Guatemala. 

“Latin America has so much natural capital and its constantly being destroyed. With sustainable tourism, we want to preserve the natural capital — water, forests, anything that can be used as an economic driver — by making it a destination for tourism. It’s a great opportunity to change countries that don’t have many other ways to get ahead,” said Turner. 

Turner’s mission is to connect residents of the community with nonprofits such as CONAP - the National Council for Protected Areas, a government agency that focuses on the conservation and the sustainable use of biological diversity and protected areas of Guatemala, and ACOFAP, an organization that performs forestry work in Guatemala and focuses on sustainable use of natural resources and improving community forestry practices in the area. 

“Both the community and nonprofit organizations want to maximize ecotourism in the area, but my job is to find out how the goals of the community and these nonprofits differ,” Turner said. “Then I’m going to essentially build a bridge between the organizations and community to help them work together to reach their individual and group goals.” 

Originally majoring only in management, Turner decided after her 2015 studies in Salamanca, Spain for a Spanish course to expand her studies to include a double major after she discovered a passion for language and exploring new cultures.

“Knowing that I can speak in 21 Spanish-speaking countries in the world is such a incredible gift. It feels like unlocking some barrier. There are all these new places where I can interact in a whole new way,” she said.

In addition to her experience in Spanish speaking countries, Turner spent the Spring 2017 semester at ESC Rennes School of Business in France in an exchange program offered through the LU College of Business.

“Studying is France was an incredible social and educational opportunity,” Turner said. “I picked up what I consider intermediate French, and really immersed myself into the culture while making friends along the way.” 

She is also a Lamar Ambassador and a member of the Honors College, Success Partner, Global Lamar, the College of Business Student Advisory Council and the Wesley Student Foundation.

Turner says she is grateful to Lamar University for providing the opportunities that make her accomplishments possible.

In the future, she envisions herself working internationally for a company such as Marriott Hotels, known for superior employment standards, and implementing sustainable management decisions that benefit the local economy and environment.

Turner plans to attend graduate school after completing her bachelor’s degrees in fall of 2018. She is the recipient of the Mirabeau Presidential Scholarship, the McMaster’s Honors Grant for Study Abroad, the Creative Cardinal Grant, the Mirabeau Study Abroad Grant, the Daughters of the American Revolution Scholarship and the Texas Legislative Black Caucus Scholarship.