Written by Daniela Navarro-Perez

Thanks to globalization and the diverse scholarship programs, now there are many more opportunities to know other countries under training and academic exchange; thus, more Latinx s can expand their professional and personal horizons.

Since childhood, we dream of traveling and knowing the world; in this early stage, we want to be astronauts, photographers, singers, veterinarians, among other professions related to discovering the environment surrounding us. As we grow and mature, we understand our reality, and our aspirations for the future are changing towards careers that ensure economic stability and personal satisfaction. Perhaps, due to current circumstances and personal realities, we can no longer travel, and those dreams remain pending on our bucket list. Additionally, living in that far corner of Latin America makes you think that you have no possibilities to travel and see the world.

Here we tell you the experience of five GeoLatinas who took on this challenge of knowing another country through undergraduate and graduate programs, achieving their dreams. (This blog is based on the webinar held on September 7th, 2020, by the Mentoring subcommittee (figure 1) – recording available on the pinned items of the #Mentoring channel on slack.)

 

Figure 1. Webinar promotion flyer.

Investigate about the scholarships at your fingertips and make use of your Networking

Visualize your goal, and the contribution of this experience to the career you want to build is paramount. The first thing you should do is organize, visualize and structure your search in three parts: pre (search information), during (What do I need to apply?), Post-application (I succeeded, What should I do ?; I did not succeed, keep trying). During the pre-application: look for the information, evaluate the scholarships to which you can apply, and mostly read the application guidelines. Many people are not admitted to the scholarship selection process for reasons related to (1) they do not comply with the required documents, or (2) their proposal is not clear, concrete or consistent with the scholarship’s objectives. In general, applications include an essay-type proposal to convince the evaluation committee about your eligibility and profile. In this writing, you must use your previous experiences, motivations, contributions and future career plans that clearly express why your profile is suitable for this scholarship. Emphasize that it makes you unique, stand out from the rest of the applicants, the objectives of the program you will take, and the rewards upon return.

Additionally, as part of the second phase, many scholarships request letters of recommendation and references. You will have to deliver between one to two letters of recommendation, and here comes the other advice. Use your network, contact and connect with those persons with whom you have worked, people who know your professional life, who know your strengths and weaknesses. Identify mentors and sponsors in your professional training. Possible sponsors could be your undergraduate professors, your undergraduate or graduate thesis supervisor, bosses or coworkers, among others.

Know the foreign language and that of your destination country

If you want to go to a foreign country with a language other than yours, there is another challenge to prove your level of that language, which is very common in English. When you are clear about your program’s destination country, you should also know what language accreditation tests you can take and what the minimum entry score is. For inglês, the best-known tests are the TOEFL e IELTS; for French, there are the official tests of the French Ministry of Education: DELF and DALF; and, for the German GOETHE-ZERTIFIKAT, DAF and DSH. The advice is to review the tests you can take and investigate their contents and formats, especially to see the differences between the writing and oral interviews. This will help you make your decisions regarding which test to take and start preparing for it; practicing the test’s format and structure is key.

Finally, as you have already defined the destination country, you should research it yourself. Mainly the documents necessary to enter the country, you must request all these requirements in time in case of a visa, the socioeconomic level where you would live, the citizens’ culture, the rules of security and order, among other areas of lifestyle. On the other hand, as part of the lifestyle, you should inform yourself about the seasons and the weather. * A useful advice, look on social networks for a group of Latinxs or your country who live in the city or country of destination. You can read about their experiences and specific advice that will be very useful.

 

Testimonials from our panelists

Figure 2. Panelists (in order from left to right) Angela, Andrea, Diana, Gabriela, and Santa.

Angela (@GeoAngelaTweets on Twitter) is a Venezuelan geophysicist who completed her Master’s and Doctorate postgraduate training at Nagoya University, Nagoya City, Japan. Thanks to the networking she did with her Japanese teacher, she learned about the open MEXT scholarship from the Japanese embassy (scholarship available in all countries that have diplomatic relations with Japan). With their support, she obtained the scholarship in 2010. Angela highlights that the result of her success to get the scholarship for the first time was due to her perseverance and detailed investigation of the application guideones, going through a selection process – documentation review, research proposal, English language test and interview.

Angela emphasizes: “Japanese culture is totally different, so you must be respectful with everyone’s personal space; it is important to be clear about your investigation plan and to have a supervisor in Japan already defined.” In general, Angela advises that “we are malleable and open to the available paths, you must have a positive attitude to the situations that arise, we will always find something that surprises you about this culture.”

Andrea (@geoandieie on Twitter) is a Venezuelan geophysicist and did her undergraduate specialization in the USA through an exchange program at her alma mater Universidad de Simón Bolívar, Venezuela. She manages to be accepted at the University of New Mexico (UNM), Albuquerque, New Mexico. Andrea tells us, “I learned about other cultures because I got to an international university… They asked me about Venezuela, and I asked my peers about their countries. We went on a field trip; I had the opportunity to see a variety of geological formations such as volcanoes, rivers, hydrocarbon deposits, among others“. Andrea did this program in her last year of undergraduate, so she had two options at UNM to do a thesis or an internship. She applied for different internships staying in Denver at EDCON-JR as a data processor for six months, where she later stayed working in the same company. Andrea advises us, “if they have the opportunity [to do an undergraduate or postgraduate program] it is something exciting to experience, as it can catapult you to the next steps of your career“, and she is a clear example of this, completing her master’s degree while she was still working in the same company. When she finished, she was promoted to geophysics.

Diana (@diana_liz_paleo on Twitter) is a paleontologist, CONICET researcher and professor at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Diana spoke about the range of calls in CONICET for Latinxs to study in Argentina and the importance of investigating the types of agreements between universities to seek adequate financing of interest to the applicant. Diana did her doctorate in Argentina and emphasized the importance of writing applications to include a research proposal. As part of GeoLatinas, Diana co-leads the Dry Runs and Peer Review initiative, whose objective is to review written pieces or presentations and provide feedback for their improvement.

Gabriela (@ggonzarismendi on Twitter) is a Venezuelan geochemist and did an exchange program at the University of Tromsø, Norway, during her master’s degree at the University of Alberta, Canada. Gabriela is a graduate of the Central University of Venezuela. After graduation, she studied English in the city of Edmonton, Canada. During that time, she was a volunteer in a research group, where she received information about scholarships and funding for graduate applications. Gabriela applied and was accepted to pursue her master’s degree; this university offers jobs as a research assistant and professor as a financing mechanism. Her exchange program called North to North is part of an agreement between Canada and Norway’s governments to stimulate the academic training of students residing in these Nordic countries. She wrote a research proposal, a letter explaining how this exchange would benefit the project and her professional development. She delivered undergraduate and postgraduate notes, letters of recommendation from her master’s evaluation committee, and a Head Department permit. She obtained the scholarship, and during the exchange, she took complementary courses.

Regarding how to achieve your final goal (e.g. professional and personal improvement), Gabriela optimistically advises us: “Proactivity is key; contact the people in charge, ask questions and investigate. Activate your ascending activating reticular system; this means thinking and focusing on what you really want to get… I want to do my exchange. Plan yourself, set clear goals and ask the following questions: where will I do it? How will I do it? What do I need? What are the resources I have? So you are predisposed to achieve and seek the necessary elements to achieve successfully your goal” (you can read more about the ascending activating lattice system aqui).

Santa (@_slperez on Twitter) is a Puerto Rican undergraduate student in geology and made her exchange through the National Student Exchange (NSE) program whose universities are affiliated with the USA and its territories such as the virgin islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. Santa carefully prepared her application to the University of Arizona, recognized for her research in planetary sciences. In the application process, Santa wrote an essay stating her reasons for doing the exchange. She delivered two letters of recommendation. She accredited her English level through the TOELF test. Santa mentioned her exchange experience: “You are going to meet people from all over the world, and that is something that I really loved about the exchange. The fact that you can have your international family is very nice … When you see how the rest [of the international peers] are educated or raised, you understand why they think and act in a different way than yours. And, I think that’s the true beauty of diversity“.

Concluding thoughts

Our panellists’ testimony shows reliably that doing an exchange program – undergraduate or graduate – not only enriches your CV but also contributes to your personal growth. With this experience type, you will grow personally by knowing the culture of the destination country and of your international peers; and professionally, you will learn with other teaching methodologies, you will meet professionals in the discipline you chose, you will be able to expand your network and continue building your career with a new perspective.

A range of opportunities is available for you to be trained as a professional abroad. It is essential, identifying potential challenges and elements that you must obtain, such as language, funding, suitable documentation, recommendations, among others. However, don’t let these challenges be an impediment to taking up this defy. The entire process of preparation and application for this type of scholarship will serve as a future experience for handling documentation, writing essays and interviews. Do not hesitate! If Angela, Andrea, Diana, Gabriela and Santa managed to obtain their professional improvement; Without a doubt, you can achieve it too, believe in yourself because everything is possible. Believe in you, just as your family believes in you, as I believe in you and remember that our GeoLatinas community supports you too!