Ashley Castillo is a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She grew up in the city of Boston where conservation was not a common topic. Senior year of high school, she moved to a new town where she was able to finally experience the outdoors in ways that she was not able to in the city. This encouraged her to create change in her community for the better. Castillo is an intern at the wildlife refuge in Hadley and hopes to gain experience in the conservation area to support her community.