Ivete Frederico Maluleque loves nature, which is what drew her to work on natural resource management, particularly trees and the environment. “Before attending university, I heard that people could extract non-timber forest products like medicine and edible fruits from natural resources,” she recalls. This inspired her to study forestry science with the aim of sharing what she learned with communities. Though she grew up mainly in the urban areas, Maluleque went to the rural areas to spend holidays with her grandparents and later spent time on her parents’ farm. This early contact with agriculture contributed to her career choice.