From being a Council member to being an Alumni Intern: Rafael Bonilla shares his story and involvement with Bow Seat after the FBYC.

June 9, 2026

By Malika Gizzat, 2026 Bow Seat Alumni Advisor 

The Alumni Spotlight Series is a celebration of Bow Seat’s alumni as they continue to make waves in the world. This series aims to highlight their journeys, showcase their creative and environmental work, and inspire our Bow Seat community with stories of impact and growth. Readers can expect monthly insightful interviews, personal reflections, and updates on how these young changemakers are using art, advocacy, and innovation to shape a more sustainable future.

Can you introduce yourself (your name, environmental interests, connection to Bow Seat, and your general interests)?

I’m Rafael Bonilla, and I’m studying bioengineering at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology. My environmental interests include conservation (of course), contemplating the silliness of nature, and my future goal is to help fight climate change through bioengineering. All things STEM on the bio side tickle my fancy, basically. I’ve been with Bow Seat for a year and a half now, first as a Future Blue Youth Council (FBYC) member, and now as an intern. I concentrate on increasing Bow Seat’s outreach in Latin America, article writing, and helping out with making videos for social media. It’s a lot of fun. My general interests lean on the side of music and reading (although not as much as I’d want), chilling with friends, and lately I’ve found a new hobby called “worrying I killed my plants.”

What are the projects you were involved in during high school that helped you get into the Council? What projects did you work on during your term in the Council?

I think getting chosen for the FBYC had as much to do with the things I was involved with as the way I approached them. If I had to pick, the most influential projects were probably three: organizing my school’s first Model U.N. (MUN), a service trip to Galápagos, and painting murals. Although the service trip was flashy (reforestation, invasive species removal), I think organizing the first MUN at my school made me stand out. It showed teamwork, perseverance, organizational skills, creativity, adaptability… I’ll stop before I seem too cocky.

All of this to say, I feel the Bow Seat team cares more about your teamworking skills than the number of trophies to your name.

How did your experience with Bow Seat help you in college? What are some insights you can share about being a Council member?

My time on the FBYC helped mostly with organizational skills, at least until now. It’s likely that having been a Council member, and now an Alumni Intern, will help me with my CV, but that’s a little further down the road. However, the ability to organize my time, adapt quickly to new “jobs”, collaborate effectively with others, and more, have all helped me adapt to university.

Also, having something to work on outside of studying is a nice perk; it gives me a sort of active pause as opposed to feeding my brain with hours of slop on Instagram.

What recommendations would you give to the future Council members? To the applicants? To the ones that didn’t get into the council this year?

Let’s go one by one.

To the current and future members: Enjoy your time and appreciate the wonderful opportunity you have. Don’t stress out too much. It all works out in the end, but maybe a little different than you thought.

To the applicants: Apply. The only application that doesn’t stand the chance is the one that never gets sent. Other than that, be humble and know where your real strengths are. Trust me, you’re probably not that big a deal as compared to some of the people that you will share a Council seat with. That means, your real value is what makes you unique: the skills, vibes and energy you will bring to the table. To me, your skillset and friendliness are what matter. Your achievements only serve to show a glimpse of that, but can’t tell the whole story so don’t try to force them to do so; instead bring a smile to the interview, not a bragging list. We’re chill people that have fun, let that shine through in your interview.

To those who didn’t get in this year: It’s okay. You can try again next year. Don’t get discouraged, take it as an opportunity to grow and branch out. Same advice I gave to the FBYCs: it all works out in the end, so don’t stress out too much.

If you could return to Bow Seat, what would you like to change or do differently?

Get a little less frustrated over obstacles. They’re part of the journey, and that’s where the learning and happy accidents come from. Also, never say no to any opportunity. There were a few things I didn’t get involved in for reasons unknown, but I wish I had because I always had so much fun.

What advice would you give to young people interested in taking action for environmental issues (or currently working on environmental issues)?

Start. Even if it’s just to help a chicken cross the road without inadvertently getting to the other side, I don’t care. You just need to start somewhere. One thing leads to another and suddenly you find yourself somewhere unexpected. Also, don’t get discouraged. The fight for the environment often feels like swimming against a current. It’s okay to feel tired, and maybe even allow yourself a little hopelessness, but don’t let it consume you. Collectively, we do have the power to change things, so it’s important that we try.

You’re the Alumni Intern for Bow Seat. What tips would you give to all FBYC/Grantees who want to stay involved with Bow Seat after their term? What do you think made Bow Seat choose you for this role?

Reach out. For some reason, for the first few months on the FBYC I was under the impression that come December the Bow Seat overlords would swoop down and choose one lucky FBYC member to be an Alumni Intern. Unless I beat them to it, that’s not the case.

At some point I realized that I didn’t want my journey with Bow Seat to end just yet, so I emailed the team asking pretty please if I could stay for a little longer. They said yes, if I’m not mistaken.