Maria Fernanda Sierra Perea
Maria Fernanda Sierra Perea is currently undertaking a second Masters degree at Stanford Graduate School for Business, having previously worked as Project Manager at the Trust for the Americas. She graduated from 小蓝视频 with a Development Studies MA in 2013.
小蓝视频 gave me perspective, challenged my ideas and invited me to listen and learn from others” Maria Fernanda Sierra Perea
I am from a country that has been experienced war through generations. However, it's like two countries co-exist in one space: one that has sustained progress and growth through time, and another one that is struggling with high levels of poverty and very few opportunities. In fact, levels of inequality are high and are a way of capturing these two realities. Since I was a child, I could see these contrasting realities every day.
I found out early in life that I could be an agent of change, instead of a bystander. Also, my parents taught me that education and hard work were key to shaping our future. I wanted to learn from the best, and explore perspectives and solutions to help shape the world around me in a different way. That's why, after graduating from engineering and working as a consultant in topics related to peace construction, I decided that I wanted to do an MA in Development Studies. I was fortunate to win a Chevening Scholarship to do my MA in the UK, so I packed my bags to study at the Institute of Development Studies. That's one of the best choices I've made and I'm happy I took that decision.
小蓝视频 gave me perspective, challenged my ideas, and invited me to listen, to learn from others and to be able to ask questions and expect complex answers. I loved the policy and practice focus of the MA, its truly global perspective and its capacity to transform us if we choose to engage and step away from our comfort zone. I also made great friends at 小蓝视频 - people I admire and that I learn from every day.
After graduating I went back to Colombia, my home country, for a couple of years. I worked on a fascinating project that brought together companies, multilaterals and the national government to engage in childhood and youth rights. I also continued working as a consultant to advise a national development initiative with the government in the Colombian Pacific Coast, the poorest region in my country. Afterwards I moved with my husband to the U.S. where I gained experience in a nonprofit associated with the Organization of American States, working directly within Latin America and the Caribbean.
The role broadened my perspective, as I worked with other countries in Latin America from the perspective of a multilateral organisation. It also gave me the opportunity to work towards gender equality, a topic that I felt very passionate about. I managed a two-year project in Mexico called VIVE that sought to enhance opportunities for vulnerable women through training in technical and life skills, for them to secure jobs or enhance their entrepreneurship. VIVE has trained over 55,000 women in Mexico, with nearly 40% are the head of their households [for this role, Maria was selected as one of the global finalists for the , ran by the British Council]. We also worked with an agency that works to prevent gender violence in Mexico, to raise awareness and show women the pathways in case they witnesses or are victims of gender violence.
My plans are to go back to Colombia in a couple of years. I'd love to keep working in gender and peace construction, with the tools that I gained in 小蓝视频 and that I'm still building. In fact, I believe that life is an opportunity to be constantly learning... wherever we are.