Having completed my Master’s degree in International Education Policy Analysis in August 2021, I can firmly affirm: being at the Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE) has provided me with the opportunity to gain the training and insight necessary to make substantial contributions to Brazilian public education.
My interest in public education is a result of a combination of past personal and professional experiences. When I was young, my dream was to become a great female CEO. For that to come true, I graduated in Business Administration at Fundação Getulio Vargas and decided to begin my career at Kearney, a global management consulting firm. A couple of years later, I took two months off and went to Costa Rica to work as a volunteer teacher. After getting to know amazing children from vulnerable areas, I decided to completely change my career path. I quit my job and started working at Ensina Brasil (part of the Teach for All network), with the intent to support the development of a strong network of leaders who could positively impact Brazilian public education system.
Now, my dream is to contribute to a country by creating more equitable access to opportunities and to ensure all children can fulfill their potential. For that to happen, I believe that we need to strengthen our public education system. That is why I decided to apply to the ICE/IEPA program and dedicate a year to study how to design and implement innovative public policies, and how to support the establishment of a promising government that tirelessly fights for equity and excellence in our schools. And it has proven to be a great decision. The innovative and interdisciplinary ecosystem at Stanford coupled with the research-oriented background of the Graduate School of Education provided me both the policy development hands-on experience and the education policy theories that I need to influence entire education systems’ beliefs.
My time at the Stanford GSE reaffirmed the relevance of being part of a strong network, formed by the inspiring people I met – including the amazing ICE/IEPA cohort. It also confirmed my vision of a program with a strong curriculum and a faculty that are global experts on many international education policy topics. Additionally, I would like to highlight the privilege of learning from and contributing to the work of several specialists in Brazilian education, such as Professors Martin Carnoy and Paulo Blikstein from the Lemann Center.
Attending the Stanford GSE was a critically important experience that enabled me to achieve my vision: national education systems that believe and work so that all children in Brazil and around the globe fulfill their potential.
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