Bogota or bust!

Over the course of the past 6 and ½ months at HGSE, I have learned about dozens of educational programs, enterprises and governance structures. Many of the examples I have studied are based in contexts about which I know very little—namely, Latin America and India. As a firm Africanist whose career will most likely evolve somewhere on the African continent, I have fairly consistently only sought out opportunities to learn more about the education systems and interventions in different African countries. However, my exposure to the innovative and diverse interventions occurring all over the world have inspired me to think about what is possible in education in completely new ways.

As such, I jumped at the opportunity to learn about the innovative and progressive ways that Colombia has improved its education system under the previous minister of education, our professor Cecilia Maria Velez. First of all, I knew that I would not likely get another chance to travel to a foreign country to study education with a former education minister. Second, it’s likely that my future opportunities to visit countries outside of the African context could possibly be limited to quick tourist visits and vacations. As much as I love a vacation, this trip provides a wonderful opportunity to dive into a deeper experience than simply seeing the beautiful highlights and enjoying the food (both of which are fantastic uses of time, by the way!) We will be meeting with government officials, school leaders, students, union bosses and more—the insights we will gain from them and the deep exposure to so many different facets of the educational system will certainly prove to be invaluable.

For those reasons and more, I feel excited and privileged to be on such a powerful and dynamic tour.

Samantha Williams