Student Ambassador returned home

After a year abroad, where he went to fulfill one of his biggest dreams, Duván José Guzmán Cubillos returned, now with even more dreams and aspirations than when he left. The 23-year-old Systems Engineering student at UCundinamarca was a beneficiary of the Internationalization program in January 2020.

The destination was Lazaro Cádenas, a seaside city located in the state of Michoacán in Mexico, where he was able to study for a year at the city's Technological Institute the subjects equivalent to the engineering degree he is pursuing at UCundinamarca.

Thanks to his persistence, his desire to travel, and his good academic performance, Duván received a positive response to the application he made to the Internationalization Office to be a beneficiary of this Student Ambassador program. “I applied in my third and fourth semesters, and only when I finished my fifth semester was my application approved. I met the requirements, which depended on my average, taking more than 50% of the credits for my degree, and having my father’s permission,” the young man explained.

He still remembers it as if it were yesterday, when the teacher Fabián Leal traveled to Ubaté to give him the good news: the University of Cundinamarca was sponsoring him to travel to Mexico and study for a semester, and would cover the costs of food, housing, and tuition at the selected university.

“They gave me the news and I wanted to cry with joy, but then I thought that the task was to convince my father to give me permission. He didn't really believe it, but I convinced him,” recalled Duván, who, from the moment he received the good news, began to complete all the necessary paperwork for the visa and permits required to spend a season in the Central American country.

Two semesters of internationalization

After arriving in Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, Duván began his studies and started meeting people, getting to know the city, and "opening his mind," as he puts it. However, something unexpected happened in the world that would change Duván's plans.

“Two months into my studies, the pandemic began and I had to stay locked in the apartment that had been designated for us. It was only five minutes from the Institute but I couldn't go,” said Guzmán Cubillos, who began to attend classes supported by ICTs. However, he had already made enough friends to have a network with which he did work and other things, from isolation.

Duván didn't travel alone; two classmates from Accounting and Business Administration at UCundinamarca were having the same experience as him. “There were three of us, living and sharing. When we arrived, we were so popular because it was the first time this institute had done an exchange program, so everyone wanted to meet us. We were very lucky.”.

After six months, the airports remained closed and his stay permit had expired. The Student Ambassador program would no longer cover his expenses; however, given the circumstances, the University of Cundinamarca extended his benefits and enrolled him for another semester.

“I don’t know what I would have done, but fortunately the University supported me and I was able to validate more subjects and stay not for a semester, but for a year,” said the Systems Engineering student.

Duván dreams of traveling again. He left friends in Mexico and considers it a very beautiful city worth returning to. “I always dreamed of traveling and seeing the world, of studying outside of Colombia, and I achieved that thanks to this program at UCundinamarca,” said the student, who also doesn't rule out the possibility of job offers.

This UCundinamarca Student Ambassador program allowed him to meet people, experience other things, participate in events, make friends, expand his mind, and undoubtedly each of these experiences will allow him to be an outstanding professional.

The student returned to Colombia a little over a month ago and has already started studying; he must finish his courses to receive his degree and become a Systems Engineer from the University of Cundinamarca.

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