IV CSC Recap: 5 Years and still Growing Strong

By Carlos Macias

The IV Colombian Student Conference (CSC) started for many of us a few months before April of 2010. For The George Washington University (GWU) chapter meant countless hours of defining logistics, securing attendance of panelists, and attracting sponsors. For PorColombia’s (PC) national executive board, it represented many teleconferences, designing our first promotional brochure, and the excitement to finally experience the fourth installment of our annual signature event. For our members living in the north as far as Toronto or in the south reaching Florida, it was the anticipation to finally meet in person their fellow PorColombians (some for the first time) and get impregnated with the “from passion to action” bug.

The day before the event, we all started our journey to Washington D.C. Some of us rented “church” vans and traveled in caravan, others drove almost 10 hours non-stop from Canada, many decided to hop on the express bus service serving the I-95 corridor, and a handful just took a plane to the Ronald Reagan Airport. Several photo albums have been posted in Facebook as a testament of these unforgettable road trips. But the real fun was awaiting for all of us in D.C. In the meantime, the conference staff was fine-tuning many last minute details to make the event a total success. And you know what? In all fairness, it was.

Meet PorColombia’s First Couple: Estefanía & Federico

February 9, 2010

By Carlos Macías

Estefanía Montoya and Federico Guzmán belong to the first crop of PorColombians who envisioned our organization as a rallying point to improve Colombia from abroad. They are also the first PorColombian couple to get married. While fabricating the building blocks of our organization they realized that they shared an overflowing passion for Colombia and also made one terrific professional team. As Valentine’s Day approaches, what a better chance to learn what inspired them to help create PorColombia and how this experience nurtured their relationship up to the point of tying the knot in late 2008.

We would love to say that Estefa and Fede (as their close friends call them) met in PC, then started dating and eventually became engaged because of their role as founding members. But their story pre-dates PC and even their college life. They met at the age of four in Bogotá; they received their first communion in the same ceremony, and knew each other since then. However, the love flare ignited in 2003 while attending The George Washington University in Washington D.C. (they created the present PC chapter at the university) They were both pursuing a degree in international relations. They now live in Barranquilla and own a West Highland white terrier named Caos.

The summer of 2005 was the pivotal moment when our group was conceived in an effort to fulfill “the deep-rooted necessity of all Colombians living abroad to help our country from afar,” says Fede. According to Estefa, “PC was intended as a vehicle for Colombian students living in the United States to help our own and improve our cultural identity.” Furthermore, PC was also created as a theater for real-life working experiences, an opportunity to gain a competitive edge when looking for jobs after graduation. “While learning how to run the organization just like any company, we wanted to experiment and learn from our mistakes in the process. We wanted to make the most and best mistakes possible,” Fede adds.

When we asked them about how they see PC almost five years after its creation, Estefa expressed her utter satisfaction given the sustained and exponential growth that PC has shown in the last year. Fede shares her emotion and feels pleased the slogan he created for PC “from passion to action,” has gone so far. “For me, PorColombia means brotherhood, duty, and responsibility,” Estefa adds.

Their passion inspired a new group to take their banners and carry on. “Estefanía and Federico forged many ties with other Colombian students early in the game that eventually helped PC to flourish,” says Sergio Guzmán, Fede’s younger brother and PC alumni. He refers to the second crop of PC leaders including José Felipe Andrade, Jeffrey Navarro, and our current President Marcela Sarmiento.

“I feel privileged to count myself as a personal friend of both of them and I can attest to their incredible love for this organization. They transform every challenge in their lives in opportunities, always striving for excellence,” writes Sarmiento in her blog. “I met them during my sophomore year in college and since then both have been an inspiration to me and probably to many more students,” Andrade says.

After graduation, Fede worked for the Inter-American Development Bank and now is the Strategic Planning Coordinator of the Barranquilla-based multinational Acerías de Colombia-Acesco. Estefa went to Mali in Western Africa in 2005 in a cultural interchange program “that completely changed my life,” Estefa says. “Since I left Africa, I only dream about going back, it is a mesmerizing land with amazing people and a history not far from being a fairy tale,” she adds with excitement. Now, Estefa works as a consultant for the International Planned Parenthood Federation while finishing her Masters in Public Health at the Universidad del Norte. As PC alumni, they are currently working with the national board in developing new partnerships with companies in Colombia and motivating new students to lead.

For the immediate future, Fede plans to get his MBA abroad and he is currently preparing to take his GMAT exam. Estefa will decide which route to take afterwards depending on where Fede gets accepted for his masters. Afterwards, they would love to venture into Africa again, wherever they can both find jobs. Having family remains low in their priority list, they will settle with Caos in the meantime.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Estefanía Montoya y Federico Guzmán dressed up for Barranquilla’s carnival.

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!