Bioengineering, Class of 2018
Immersion Trips
Gaining a New Perspective on Privilege
While serving as an Santa Clara University Global Fellow in Cochabamba, Bolivia, I had the opportunity to visit the Bolivian town of Uyuni, where a friend and I ventured out to try some local cuisine. As we climbed some stairs to reach a local eatery, we passed an elderly woman. Upon finding the restaurant closed, we returned to the staircase and saw that the elderly woman we’d seen moments before had fallen down the stairs and was now flat on the ground, unable to move.
My friend and I rushed down to help the woman and noticed people were gathering around but no one was helping. Confused, we rushed to her side, and, after several minutes, helped her to a sitting position. When I made eye contact with her to make sure she was okay, she immediately held out her hand and said, “Un Boliviano?” She then began asking for money.
This incident had a profound effect on me. While I always knew on some level that I was more fortunate than those in developing countries, I still didn’t always have everything I needed, and an education at a school like Santa Clara may have been out of reach for me if it weren’t for donors like you. But I didn’t fully grasp just how privileged I am in so many ways until this experience during my Global Fellowship.
Global Fellows is a program through the Leavey School of Business supported by the Santa Clara Fund, where selected students are given the opportunity to intern at a non-profit NGO in a developing country. During my placement in Cochabamba, Bolivia last summer I worked specifically with sustainable materials, recycled water, and architecture.
But this fellowship was about far more than work experience and sustainable construction. I learned important life skills, about injustices around the world, and about the beauty that each different culture and landscape holds.
Most importantly, I learned that privilege is the ability to have opportunity.
Whether it is the opportunity at wealth, education, or even access to clean water and abundant food, I have become aware of how lucky I am. I do not need to beg for money in order to survive. I am privileged; I have opportunity, while some people have none. I now know that it is my duty as a global citizen to witness as much as I can to help serve others in their journey to improve the society that we all live in.
Without the support of generous donors like you, I may never have had the opportunity to participate in such a life-changing program. So, thank you. Thank you to the Global Fellows program and to you for your support of this program through the Santa Clara Fund. It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Read about other Santa Clara students who were beneficiaries of your gift to the Santa Clara Fund.