She arrived in Australia in 2014, one of 20,000 high-achieving students who applied to study at one of the world's top 100 universities.
Rafael Correa's government had revolutionized education in the country. This revolution began with the creation of the Millennium Schools, where Ecuadorian students attended classes in schools with extensive infrastructure, including laboratories, internet rooms, libraries, and even school breakfasts and transportation.
But he also created four revolutionary universities: one dedicated to science and technology called YACHAY, in the province of Imbabura; another for teacher training in the province of Cañar; a third in the Amazon focused on natural sciences and ecology; and a final one in Guayaquil dedicated to the arts.
Many of the students who opted for scholarships, which they had to repay with up to eight years of paid work in Ecuador, considered the possibility of returning as professors for the newly established universities, Millennium Schools, and technical institutes. When she arrived in Australia, she experienced a shock, as she had to live in rented rooms, but the tenants she shared the apartments with, or the landlords, were people with many prejudices against Latin Americans.
At the university, the teaching system was completely different; students could choose whether or not to attend classes, as the lectures were recorded and sent to the students.
Among her classmates were very wealthy people from their home countries, especially from Russia and China, or from Arab countries, who arrived not only as different, but also as poor, since they lived a life of extravagance, renting apartments for themselves in downtown Melbourne, while she had to live in rooms and apartments where they even denied her water to bathe, because they said that water was the most expensive thing in Australia. She also had to live with young Japanese people who suffered from a strange psychological trauma that kept them locked in their rooms, never to come out, or even with Europeans and Spaniards, who believed that Latinos were the worst people in the world.
She studied to be an environmental consultant and did an internship at the Ecuadorian embassy in Australia, which allowed her to connect with people from the UN. Most importantly, she met the Ecuadorian ambassador to Australia, who explained the workings of international relations. However, the most significant outcome was that she and the ambassador negotiated the possibility for Ecuadorian students to live and work for a year in Australia through Work and Holiday visas. Since then, the foundation in Ecuador where she is president has promoted this opportunity for Ecuadorian students, especially since Australians have access to these visas in many countries.
On her graduation day, which her mother attended from Ecuador, and her sister and brother-in-law from Denmark, one of the teachers, who had autism, caused her some difficulties. Ultimately, she was able to join her graduating class.
To fulfill the terms of her scholarship, she returned to Ecuador, but the government changed, and Lenin Moreno eliminated the program. Even worse, he created a wave of unemployment because, in order to receive IMF funds, the government had to downsize, which meant reducing the number of doctors, teachers, government projects, and so on. For almost a year, she looked for work, but like the thousands of returning scholarship recipients, she was unemployed; many ended up working at hot dog stands. Tired of searching for a job and of being part of that wave of thousands of students who returned from studying at the top 100 universities and were forced to remain in Ecuador for twice the time it took to obtain their degrees, she turned the scholarship recipients against Correa and his successor, Lenin Moreno, because they had been led into a trap and condemned to be beggars in their own country.
She returned to Australia. Returning to Australia, primarily as a temporary worker in restaurants, allowed her to afford a room that cost $1,600 a month in a shared apartment. She had to save as much as possible on food, which was a significant expense in Australia, until she managed to get a job with an Indian company involved in human trafficking. She fought her way out of that job and then found work with a government agency that valued her studies at the University of Melbourne and recognized her abilities. She also worked remotely as president of an environmental foundation in her home country.
During the pandemic, the situation in Australia became critical; jobs were scarce, but it was even worse back home. Tired of romantic disappointments and living only to work, she met a young Australian man. Today, they face the world together, and she can work in her field of study.
