Humans of CIRES: Samuel Sandoval
2026 RECCS intern studying connection between cheatgrass and wildfire
Spotlight
Samuel Sandoval is a 2026 intern with the Research Experience for Community College Students (RECCS) program, led by the CIRES Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation (CEEE). This summer, Sandoval is studying the connection between cheatgrass growth and wildfire burn severity with support from his mentor Emily Nagamoto. He has spent the past couple of weeks hiking in the mountains collecting data. Growing up, Sandoval wanted to be a musician and travel the world — now, at Aims Community College, he is studying mathematics so that he can understand the world around him.
Sandoval's first time going skydiving. "It was both a terrifying and incredibly peaceful experience!"
Humans of CIRES Q&A
What are you studying with the RECCS program?
Working in the Future of Working Landscapes Lab researching the correlation between wildfire burn severity and the growth of cheatgrass in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
What brought you to CIRES?
My curiosity. I was excited to see where I could apply my course work knowledge to understand the larger problems in the world with research!
If you could only eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A slice of pepperoni pizza from Cosmos.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
My dream was to become a musician and tour the world. Now, I'm studying mathematics to understand it.
