The Denises

(Above: Denise K and Denise G on float to a "salt lick" on the Tiputini River.)

We are known as  "The Denises,"  two Academic Advisors at the University of Michigan who share a passion for adventure, enjoy challenging ourselves, and seek any opportunity to inspire our students.  We are grateful that the Newnan Advising Center (in particular, Dean Esrold Nurse, Director Tim Dodd, and Associate Directors Carmela Brown and David Brawn, John Moss and Debbie Walls) supported our efforts to propose, plan, and take a group of 15 wonderful students deep into the Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Enormous thanks to all of our colleagues at Newnan who have shared kind words, support, and ideas as we planned and prepared for the trip.

Denise Guillot has spent many weeks at the Tiputini Biostation. She first traveled to Ecuador in 1999, while she was a Master's student.  It was an amazing experience that ultimately inspired her dissertation research on primate behavior and multiple visits to the Tiputini Biodiversity Station from 2003-2005.  In her opinion, the rainforest itself is an educational opportunity unlike any other.  It does not acquiesce to experimental design and it requires constant and creative problem solving.  Even the most knowledgeable researchers can be humbled by the ecological complexity and it takes perseverance to continue to work in this environment.  She has long felt there is no better place to learn about biology, our environment and ourselves than in the rainforest and she looks forward to the opportunity to share this mysterious and thrilling place with the students.  She received her PhD from Boston University in 2009.

Denise Kozikowski loves to travel and explore new cultures.  She has never been to Ecuador or the Amazon rainforest (so this will be a very new experience for her) but she is ready and excited!  She will be guiding the mindfulness and creativity component of the rainforest experience.  She received her PhD in 2004 from UCLA studying Folklore/Ethnomedicine and completed her mindfulness training with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli, and MBCT training with Zindel Segal and Susan Woods.   She enjoys teaching students how to remain calm and steady, especially when situations become difficult and often guides her meditation participants to embrace difficulty.  She will be taking this practice to a new level in the rainforest (think bugs, mud, sweat, rain).  

We are traveling with 15 amazing students and we are so lucky.  These students applied to participate in the GIEU program during their fall 2013 term and went through a rigorous selection process.  They are thoughtful, sensititve, open-minded, and ready for the challenges these next few weeks will bring.  We'll introduce you to each of them during our trip.