{"id":38258,"date":"2021-06-08T14:39:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T18:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=38258"},"modified":"2024-10-31T14:45:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T18:45:30","slug":"alum-leads-honduran-university-through-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/2021\/06\/alum-leads-honduran-university-through-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Alum Leads Honduran University, Conservation Efforts Through Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Wilmer Reyes graduated from NC\u00a0State with a doctoral degree in\u00a0forestry and environmental resources<\/a>\u00a0in 2017. He is now president of the Universidad Nacional de Agricultura (UNAG) in Honduras, where he also teaches in the Department of Hydrometeorology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While studying for his doctoral degree, Reyes focused on carbon and water interactions in terrestrial ecosystems, expanding on his previous studies in agronomy and integrated watershed management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before coming to study at NC\u00a0State, Reyes worked in higher education in Honduras for over 12 years. \u201cMost of my teaching and research had been focused on integrated and holistic approaches to combining agriculture, hydrology, land use change and climate change,\u201d Reyes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through his studies, Reyes wanted to dig deeper into these topics, particularly because of Honduras\u2019s vulnerability to climate change. \u201cHonduras was and is as of today one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change worldwide, and 35% of our territory suffers from high water stress conditions,\u201d Reyes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2011, Reyes was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and received admission and funding from NC State and four other universities. He chose NC\u00a0State largely because of the connections he already had to the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reyes previously worked with\u00a0John Sabella<\/a>\u00a0of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, who served as a visiting professor at UNAG and helped to build the university\u2019s international program office. Sabella introduced Reyes to many professors, leading him to connect with NC\u00a0State deans and department heads. This network has played a large role in allowing students from UNAG to visit NC\u00a0State through education trips, internships and graduate programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reyes also says that knowing his advisor, Ryan Emanuel, ahead of time influenced his decision. \u201cHe was not only working in novel areas in which I was very interested (e.g. ecohydrology), but also I realized that working with him would be a tremendous opportunity to grow both personally and professionally, and that happened,\u201d Reyes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As both president and professor at UNAG, Reyes leads the university in achieving institutional goals, including increasing societal impact. \u201cEvery professor at UNAG must teach, do research and engage with the community through extension,\u201d he said. \u201cI always try to carefully combine the three. I like that my students, the communities we serve, and I learn from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reyes focuses on making courses relevant and applicable. \u201cWhenever possible, my teaching is outdoor and challenge-based, and my main criteria for doing research is that it is applicable and will help to solve a specific and tangible problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his time at UNAG, Reyes has introduced valuable knowledge, approaches, methodologies and tools to his teaching and research. He\u2019s also started a long-term research and community engagement project to help conserve Sierra de Agalta, one of the most important protected areas in Honduras. The program directly benefits 250 families and its ecohydrological approach is being implemented in several watersheds throughout Honduras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many universities, COVID-19 created a number of challenges for UNAG. Internet coverage in Honduras is below 35% and the university lacked an existing online education system. Honduras was also hit by hurricanes Eta and Iota in November 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But UNAG defied the odds, moving courses, laboratories and field work experiences online in just one week. \u201cThe university leadership, professors and students did all that was possible and found creative strategies to keep learning moving forward,\u201d Reyes said. \u201cHere is where the character, determination and the \u201cThink and Do the Extraordinary\u201d are put into practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the pandemic, two hurricanes and unprecedented budget cuts, the university has continued operating and kept crop and animal production systems alive. With food insecurity and health issues on the rise, this is more important now than ever. \u201cTwo of our regional centers are still being used as \u201cCentros de Triaje\u201d (COVID-19 diagnostic and early treatment places),\u201d Reyes said. \u201cWe also helped to sustain four municipal food banks and provided food products for at least 8,400 families country wide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what advice he has for those entering his field, Reyes said: \u201cThis field is for those who are interested in addressing the grand challenges facing humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reyes encourages students to use their academic experience to achieve their goals. \u201cBe focused, enjoy the experience and always push yourself to do the extraordinary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n

Wilmer Reyes graduated from NC\u00a0State with a doctoral degree in\u00a0forestry and environmental resources<\/a>\u00a0in 2017. He is now president of the Universidad Nacional de Agricultura (UNAG) in Honduras, where he also teaches in the Department of Hydrometeorology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While studying for his doctoral degree, Reyes focused on carbon and water interactions in terrestrial ecosystems, expanding on his previous studies in agronomy and integrated watershed management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before coming to study at NC\u00a0State, Reyes worked in higher education in Honduras for over 12 years. \u201cMost of my teaching and research had been focused on integrated and holistic approaches to combining agriculture, hydrology, land use change and climate change,\u201d Reyes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through his studies, Reyes wanted to dig deeper into these topics, particularly because of Honduras\u2019s vulnerability to climate change. \u201cHonduras was and is as of today one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change worldwide, and 35% of our territory suffers from high water stress conditions,\u201d Reyes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2011, Reyes was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and received admission and funding from NC State and four other universities. He chose NC\u00a0State largely because of the connections he already had to the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reyes previously worked with\u00a0John Sabella<\/a>\u00a0of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, who served as a visiting professor at UNAG and helped to build the university\u2019s international program office. Sabella introduced Reyes to many professors, leading him to connect with NC\u00a0State deans and department heads. This network has played a large role in allowing students from UNAG to visit NC\u00a0State through education trips, internships and graduate programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reyes also says that knowing his advisor, Ryan Emanuel, ahead of time influenced his decision. \u201cHe was not only working in novel areas in which I was very interested (e.g. ecohydrology), but also I realized that working with him would be a tremendous opportunity to grow both personally and professionally, and that happened,\u201d Reyes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As both president and professor at UNAG, Reyes leads the university in achieving institutional goals, including increasing societal impact. \u201cEvery professor at UNAG must teach, do research and engage with the community through extension,\u201d he said. \u201cI always try to carefully combine the three. I like that my students, the communities we serve, and I learn from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reyes focuses on making courses relevant and applicable. \u201cWhenever possible, my teaching is outdoor and challenge-based, and my main criteria for doing research is that it is applicable and will help to solve a specific and tangible problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his time at UNAG, Reyes has introduced valuable knowledge, approaches, methodologies and tools to his teaching and research. He\u2019s also started a long-term research and community engagement project to help conserve Sierra de Agalta, one of the most important protected areas in Honduras. The program directly benefits 250 families and its ecohydrological approach is being implemented in several watersheds throughout Honduras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many universities, COVID-19 created a number of challenges for UNAG. Internet coverage in Honduras is below 35% and the university lacked an existing online education system. Honduras was also hit by hurricanes Eta and Iota in November 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But UNAG defied the odds, moving courses, laboratories and field work experiences online in just one week. \u201cThe university leadership, professors and students did all that was possible and found creative strategies to keep learning moving forward,\u201d Reyes said. \u201cHere is where the character, determination and the \u201cThink and Do the Extraordinary\u201d are put into practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the pandemic, two hurricanes and unprecedented budget cuts, the university has continued operating and kept crop and animal production systems alive. With food insecurity and health issues on the rise, this is more important now than ever. \u201cTwo of our regional centers are still being used as \u201cCentros de Triaje\u201d (COVID-19 diagnostic and early treatment places),\u201d Reyes said. \u201cWe also helped to sustain four municipal food banks and provided food products for at least 8,400 families country wide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what advice he has for those entering his field, Reyes said: \u201cThis field is for those who are interested in addressing the grand challenges facing humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reyes encourages students to use their academic experience to achieve their goals. \u201cBe focused, enjoy the experience and always push yourself to do the extraordinary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wilmer Reyes, who graduated from NC State with a Ph.D. in forestry and environmental resources in 2017, is now president of the Universidad Nacional de Agricultura.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":38259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"displayCategoryID\":173}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[173,1],"tags":[98,362],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-38258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-and-friends","category-hidden-news","tag-alumni-profile","tag-forestry-and-environmental-resources"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":173,"name":"Alumni and Friends","slug":"alumni-and-friends","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":173,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Learn about the career paths our alumni set out on to make the world a better place. Discover their dedication to protect the environment, enhance parks and recreation and develop sustainable materials and technologies.","parent":0,"count":167,"filter":"raw"},"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38258"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38260,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38258\/revisions\/38260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38258"},{"taxonomy":"_ncst_magazine_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_ncst_magazine_issue?post=38258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}