Global Perspective - Global Awareness - Global Engagement
There is always another side, another reality, and a bigger perspective. This is something that I learned by getting my Global Learning Medallion; I learned to see the world from a perspective that is inclusive, welcoming, and respectful. So now I try to think of everything from a very inclusive perspective, thinking about the global and big picture and understanding how everything I do can impact everyone else's life, either from an individual or global perspective.
Before coming to FIU as an international student, I had the privilege of living in a city 30 minutes away from Venezuela's capital, Caracas. I grew up in a country made by immigrants in which I could find different lifestyles, skin colors, and experiences. I remember that the bakery was owned by a Portuguese family, if I went to the shoe store, it was owned by an Arab, if I wanted to go to the market, it was the Chinese, which since I was, I was a kid I was inclined to expand my understanding of what it means to become a global citizen. In my first week in Miami, I had a strong culture shock. I began learning and growing as I adapted to this different world. Being in such a culturally diverse city, I had the opportunity to hear so many different points of view that I had never heard before. I realized maybe the way I have lived my life is not the same as other people's, which allowed me to open my heart and become eager to learn and listen to others. I quickly understood how little I knew about cultures other than my own. In my freshman year, I took a leap of faith and enrolled in a course called Diplomacy Lab with professor Brian Fonseca. This course was one of the best classes I have ever taken because we had to work on a project with people from different countries, such as Ecuador and Venezuela. Even though it was the same project, each country had its own expertise, allowing us to have the intersectionality of culture, backgrounds, and policies. This project made me realize that everything that happens in the world affects everyone else. I felt super alive working on this project because I feel that this allowed us to work on something directly related to diplomacy, where you need to work with people of different backgrounds. I loved all aspects of the project because I was learning about the Zika virus but also how communication, statistics, and policy can solve global problems. I like how, for the first time, I could express myself, and my voice was heard. From the videos of the presentation to the map of policies, I feel this has been a professional and creative research project. Being Venezuelan and working with people from South America helped me a lot in developing the project because it was my language and culture. Still, at the same time, I realized that time had passed. Many things change in the culture, for example, the perspective and the different opinions, and during that project helped me understand that understanding your partner has an impact on morale, motivation, satisfaction, and productivity of the final work. This global learning experience continued as a junior and senior when I had the opportunity to work in two human rights organizations that had a mission to spread democracy and freedom in the world through research, advocacy, and supporting frontline activists. The people I met here are passionate and eager to genuinely make the world a better place. Despite the immense amount of knowledge I have accumulated in my brief time at FIU, the most valuable thing I have realized is how little I truly know. This has given me a great desire to keep learning and expanding my base of understanding. With this comes a passion for helping people in a way. I am passionate that an honest voice is stronger than anything. Through passion and hard work, anyone can share their voice in politics; increasing educational, employment, and business opportunities for people can help promote laws and create awareness against violence, harassment, and discrimination. We all have a story to share, and our job is to make sure that all of us can be heard. I learned more about cultural respect and the inclusiveness of all individuals than I had ever thought possible. Through these experiences, I aim to understand and enroll in this journey to become a global citizen. I have learned to look at the bigger picture, that there is a bigger perspective, bigger reality, and another side. I learned to see the world from an inclusive perspective and a more respectful perspective because everyone has the same right to stand for their voice, and their experience is completely valid. Now I try to think of everything from a very inclusive perspective, thinking about the global and big picture and understanding how everything I do can impact everyone else's life, either from an individual or global perspective. I started to understand how there are aspects and problems that are not unique to the culture but that exist on a global scale and deserve to be treated global as so. It has taught me to be aware of global issues and how, through my walk, I can make a change. Lastly, each class, project, capstone, or experience has allowed me to connect with people and engage in conversations that are impacting the world and our role as global citizens to tackle them and make the world a better place. |
Honors Seminar VI: Washington SeminarAs a Hamilton Scholar at FIU in DC, I worked as a Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, where I created and funded a policy proposal called the "Aasha Hope Program." This policy proposal focuses on addressing domestic violence against women, specifícally present with women of South Asian heritage. My proposal works to grant women access to educational resources, shelter, a wage-earning job search engine, and childcare through NGO and community-based solutions. Simultaneously, I graduated from The Heritage Foundation's Spring 2021 cohort of The Young Leaders Program.
In the past 12-weeks, I had the opportunity to hear and learn from Heritage experts in domestic and international, economic, legal, social, and foreign policy such as China and North Korea. I also had the privilege to take part in leadership training, career exploration workshops, and job skills seminars as part of the young professional cohort. Also, I am honored to have been recognized as a Distinguished Graduate and now as a Heritage Foundation Fellow. At the same time taking one a week class called Washington Seminar which helped me give me the right tools to succeed in my fellowship and at the same time to understand how the decisions are made in DC. |
Honors Seminar VI: Diplomacy Lab + COILThe purpose of this research was to obtain data from three major fields: Medicine, Mass Media/ Communication, and International Relations to explore the repercussions, develop popular consciousness, and provide possible policy proposals to prevent further virus spread. In the end, we had the opportunity to connect our case study with the current Coronavirus. We are so grateful to Brian Fonseca and Cristina Rodriguez for guiding and helping us during our project
For the Coil Project, I had the rich experience of not only working on a project of immense global importance, as the COVID 19 Pandemic hit in the middle of the project; I was also able to work with a truly international team that was, as a group, truly diverse in background; both in our lived experience and in our different career and educational pursuits. This also marks the very interdisciplinary nature of this project. One of the greatest aspects that came from this experience was finding a mentor that is still providing me with much guidance, help and support. As a Venezuelan studying abroad, it touched my heart how people in my countries were struggling to studies or even do research that could affect their careers due to the Venezuelan political situation. It made me understand that i am so privileged and i have a new reason to keep fighting |
Honors Seminar VI: Diplomacy Lab + Department of StateAs a department of State Fellow we had the opportunity to produced a research report on “Pakistani Policy: Recruitment and Retention of Women in Law Enforcement”. We reported directly to a State Department representative in order to develop a focus with my research team and conducted an official briefing to State Department representatives, including a PowerPoint Presentation
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International Protection of Human Rights
The course is focused on the developmental concerns of the international community pertaining to the rights of individuals and groups along with the institutional mechanisms which have been set up for their protection. This course played a monumental role in me wanting to follow the path of human rights. From learning the history of Human Rights and the treaties and procedures that correspond with it, I felt a confirmation that I wanted to fight for those who don't have a voice and work with the UN Sustainable Development Goal which has become one of my main focuses.