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Sean conducted his research with the School of Field Studies during Fall of 2014. His project, Keeping it real: Preserving authenticity in Indigenous cultural tourism, contributed to the SFS Center for Rainforest Studies’ ongoing Five-Year Research Plan by addressing the sustainability and resilience of the region’s ecological and human communities. Sean’s research found that indigenous tourism has the potential to strengthen Aboriginal communities and help them to overcome welfare dependency, but must be implemented intelligently to prevent cultural modification. His SFS advisor, Dr. Justus Kithiia, noted that Sean “demonstrated a high level ability to synthesize and communicate research findings to different audiences,” including Aboriginal tourism operators who can use the information to strike a balance between preserving cultural integrity and maintaining economic stability.

Each year, The School for Field Studies honors its most exceptional students with Distinguished Student Researcher Awards for their important contributions in environmental research. SFS semester students engage in undergraduate research guided by SFS faculty on projects related to each Center’s Five-Year Research Plan (5YRP). Outcomes of these Directed Research (DR) projects provide information and recommendations to community members and other stakeholders on critical, local environmental issues. Read more