Plenty of superheroes hide their true identities from the world. 

New York City doesn’t know that Spider-Man is Peter Parker, and Gotham doesn’t know that Batman is Bruce Wayne (my formal apologies to Peter and Bruce for outing them). This idea that superheroes can be living alongside you and me, without us even knowing, is an idea that the world of comics has been exploring since its conception. 

However, at Moravian, there’s one exceptional member of the community whose identity isn’t a secret, and her accomplishments speak louder than words.

That person is Cielo Disla.

Cielo, a junior in the Class of 2025 who is studying biology and secondary education, goes above and beyond the call of duty as a student, leader, and, above all, a person. Cielo’s story of success continues forward with great success, being engaged in research and a bounty of different organizations. However, every story has to have a beginning.

Cielo’s story begins in the Dominican Republic where she was born and lived until the age of 9, when Cielo, her mother, and some of her siblings moved to Bethlehem, PA, in search of the opportunity that the United States has to offer. 

As a new arrival, Cielo had to face the challenges of life in the States, acclimating to American culture and going through the public school system while learning to speak English. To surmount  the language barrier, Cielo relied on the support of her teachers, who not only helped her to adjust and succeed here but also sparked in her a desire to advocate for other students who may be struggling.

Other than her teachers, Cielo also found great inspiration and support from her mother, who made many decisions in the best interest of her children, the most significant being the move to the U.S. in search of a better education and more opportunity for her children. 

To this day, Cielo retains a strong connection with her extended family back in the Dominican Republic, keeping in contact with and visiting her siblings, father, and grandmother whenever the opportunity arises. 

Through her hard work, Cielo gained admission to Moravian and began to  pursue some of her long-time passions: biology and education.

Being surrounded by the diverse nature in the Dominican Republic as a child instilled in her an appreciation for the natural world. It also inspired her to want to teach others to love that world. Less clear to her was how to go about doing that. 

The stars seemed to align during her first semester at Moravian when she learned about Dr. Daniel Proud’s research with Opiliones arachnids (more commonly known as Harvestmen or Daddy Long Legs) in a first-year bioscience seminar. Hearing about Proud’s research in the neotropics, Cielo wondered if he’d ever worked in the Dominican Republic. 

Although Proud wasn’t working specifically where she hoped, Cielo wanted to work with him in researching evolutionary and biogeographical mechanisms that generate biodiversity and genetic evolution in Opiliones.

In the summer of 2022, Cielo completed a S.O.A.R. project with Moravian to research Opiliones in extracting genetic data from DNA samples, being one of the first to do this within the field of Opiliones in the Caribbean Islands. 

Through her efforts, Cielo and Proud uncovered an entirely undescribed genus of harvestmen in which they found two undescribed species and another species that was improperly grouped with another genus. 

The genus name Borikenia comes from the native name for Puerto Rico, which is Borikén. One of the species’ names was decided to be yuizana, which stems from the name of one of the leaders of a native Caribbean tribe from Puerto Rico, called the Tainos. So, this species became known as Borikenia yuizana. The other still has yet to be named. 

Both Cielo and Proud are working on concluding this single piece of their research, as a manuscript is slated for completion and peer review soon. 

Cielo has presented her work both inside the United States and out. In March 2023, she traveled to Uruguay to present her research at the International Congress of Arachnology. Here, not only was she able to get word out about her discoveries to researchers in the field, but she was also able to network with people from around the world who all have the same interests within arachnology.

 Her journeys didn’t end in Uruguay, though, as she was able to present her research again in June at Cornell University for the American Arachnological Society. 

Cielo’s research, however, isn’t the only piece of the puzzle that makes her unique. In showing the world what she is capable of, Cielo has inspired others to engage in research and to pursue their passions, because they see how much joy it has brought her. She also powerfully represents the importance of Dominican women in research. In short, Cielo herself is her superpower.

At Moravian, Cielo takes full advantage of her college experience while stepping out of her comfort zone. She is a strong proponent for inclusion on campus, as seen in her involvement with The Latinx Student Union and First Generation Student Union. 

She is also a First-Year Resident Advisor in Bernhardt Hall, an Orientation Leader, the Senator of DEI for the United Student Government, a HUB Desk Manager, and a mentor to the Ubuntu Program. 

In her free time, Cielo spends time with her close friends. She also reads, appreciates poetry, and dances to express herself and  destress from the craziness of life.

Despite her victories thus far, Cielo admits that she struggles with self-doubt. Always striving to be her best tends to be draining, and negativity inevitably gnaws at her self-esteem. However, this never keeps her down, thanks to the support of her close family and friends.

Cielo has plenty of people to thank for the joy that her experiences have brought her. On campus, she is thankful that Dr. Proud welcomed her into his lab as one of Moravian’s Opiliones Opilihomies. She’s also appreciative of Dr. Natasha Woods, who helps her feel heard and represented on campus as well. 

Back home in Bethlehem, Cielo is infinitely grateful for her mother. In seeing the sacrifices that her mother has made for her and to thrive educationally in the way that her mother has always encouraged her to do, Cielo’s thrilled to be the inspiration she’s always wanted to be. 

From her time in the Dominican Republic, learning to love nature as she grew up, to breaking out of her shell and taking the world by storm at Moravian, Cielo is nothing short of how super a person can be. In continuing her goal toward being a teacher who can support everyone and hopefully pursuing one her life’s dreams of opening a school back in her home country, free of charge and to give others the same opportunities she had, Cielo moves forward with the qualities that makes her unlike anyone else.