PorColombia: A Lifetime Experience

October 23, 2009

By Carlos Macías

When freshmen go to their first PorColombia (PC) meeting, they don’t know what to expect. They may think PC is a social club, like a party central, others just want to connect with people that share their cultural identity. Others may just be looking for a future novio, novia, or something in between. But once they get a taste of the potential to grow, the opportunities to learn from, and the people to share with, they feel excited and waste no time in becoming active members.

As their college career advances, PC members see first hand the results of their hard work, and their passion for Colombia starts transforming into action. And make no mistake, living your college years surrounded by amazing peers and accomplishing so much in your academic, social, cultural, and philanthropic life is something that gets embedded in your memory and stamped on your heart. To prove these assertions, we got a hold of a handful of PC alumni and asked them to briefly summarize what PorColombia means to them.

Community Service

For Carolina Gallego, who graduated from New York University (NYU) with a degree in Biology, PorColombia is one of the most important milestones in her life so far. But being an active member of NYU’s PC chapter, and eventually its president from 2008 to 2009, awakened in Carolina the strong commitment to help the Colombian community in the United States change its negative image in front of the world’s eyes. “PC opened the doors to a different world for me, a new world that helped me grow as an individual and as a leader as well,” Carolina says. But her experience in the organization gave her even more. “For me, PC is more than a student group, it is a family and it will always be present in my life.”

The Pioneers

This 2009-2010 academic year marks the fifth anniversary of PC. The idea of creating the organization came out after a handful of adventurous and dedicated college students went to the first Colombian Student Congress in the Spring of 2004 held in Yale University. “PC started with a spark of passion between college students that one day decided to put indifference aside, and started sharing the image of Colombia that each of us carry in our hearts, to talk with candor about its problems, and looking for solutions even if we live thousands of miles away,” says Federico Guzman, a graduate from George Washington University (GWU).

After the congress and elaborating on the idea of creating a student-run organization, on February 25, 2005, PorColombia was born. Since then, it has transformed itself into a maturing collective with 8 university chapters and more than 200 members. “In a nutshell, PorColombia conjugates talented individuals and their fervent desire to help Colombia grow prosperous and successful” says Jose Felipe Andrade-Sinning, former PC National president from 2006 until 2008. Andrade-Sinning and Guzman belong to that group of visionaries that started chapters at GWU and Baruch College respectively, laying the foundations that enable us today to keep growing.

Native Fervor

Those who have met Laura Palau can tell you that she is a proud ambassador of anything Colombian. After graduating from NYU in 2008, Laura moved to Los Angeles following a career opportunity but she never broke her ties with us. “PC is a living, breathing piece of Colombia’s beating global heart. I remember when PC started as a small group of college students who had one thing in common: We loved Colombia and we’re dying to celebrate it, to celebrate us, and where we came from. The group did it right: Fervor came by default, then the constitution, and then momentum! Hence: “De la pasión a la acción!”

Moreover, we just want to leave you with what NYU’s alumni Joanna Arredondo feels about PC:

Porque PorColombia? Why PorColombia?

Por Amistad                                                     For Friendship

Por Solidaridad                                                For Solidarity

Por La Familia                                                 For Family

Por La Juventud                                              For our Youth

Por La Justicia                                                 For Justice

Por La Pobreza                                                Against Poverty

Por la Fortaleza                                               For Strength

Por el Fututro                                                   For our Future

Por El Amor                                                     For Love

Por La Paz                                                      For Peace

POR COLOMBIA!                                           FOR COLOMBIA!