A Glance Into My World
CAROLINA ECHEVERRI VALLE
ABOUT ME
Carolina Echeverri Valle is a senior pursuing a double degree; a Bachelors of Arts in International Relations and a Bachelors of Science in PRAAC (Public Relations, Advertisement and Applied Communications) at Florida International University (FIU). She's also working towards a minor in Political Science and a certificate in Human Rights and Political Transition. As an eager and passionate individual, she has had a variety of involvements throughout her collegiate experience. She was part of the first graduation class of the Millennium Fellowship, served as co-president of UNICEF at FIU and Youth Representative for UNICEF Unite. Likewise, she was a Peer Mentor and Peer Advisor at FIU, as well as Vice President of Education and Director of Diversity and Inclusion of Alpha Omicron Pi. She worked in the Ministry of Education of the Spanish Consulate, the German American Business Chamber of Commerce in South Florida, Hillel at FIU, CARTA in Washington DC, and currently works in Like Live Bella Childhood Cancer Foundation. She plans to further her education with a masters in Human Resources (HR) at Georgetown University, and plans to work in the HR area of a non-profit.
GLOBAL LEARNING COURSES
A Glimpse Into My Coursework
2018
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
A study of human trafficking, what it means, what it entails, ways to prevent it and ways to help those who have been a part of it.  It was eye opening to see how large of a problem this is in South Florida.
2019
INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Throughout this course, we learnt about the history of human rights, which countries have ratified them and which haven't. In addition, we learnt about the entities that protect them around the world.
2020
LGBT AND BEYOND
Focused on learning about the LGBT movements, its history, the prejudice, as well as the progress that has come about in this topic around the world.
GLOBAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Activities
2019
INTERNSHIP AT GERMAN AMERICAN BUSINESS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN SOUTH FLORIDA
I worked on creating fundraisers and events that attracted Europeans in South Florida. These included galas, tabling and attending events organized by other European chambers or consulates. This meant that we organized them from scratch, sent newsletters and visited the venues.
2019
MILLENIUM FELLOWSHIP
I was part of the first graduating class of the Millennium Fellowship at FIU. I worked on promoting women in STEM and medicine and to do so, I created an instagram page, I interviewed students on the topic and I sent out a survey. At the end of my fellowship, I made a presentation showing my findings.
2019-2020
UNICEF CO-PRESIDENT
As co-president, I worked together with the other president to make sure the club on campus had all the E-board positions filled out, made sure to communicate with UNICEF headquarters, made sure the meeting flowed and the activities were informative/fun.
2022
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION DEPUTY ELECTIONS COMMISSIONER FIU
As part of the elections board, I worked with the committee to make sure elections for SGA flowed well. We met up biweekly to discuss what's happening, led meetings to inform candidates about how it works, and we voted on political parties.
TUESDAY TIMES ROUNDTABLES
Topics
February 1, 2022
INTERSECTING -ISMS: A DISCUSSION OF RACISM, HETEROSEXISM, AND CISGENDERISM
We discussed the importance of understanding what racism, heterosexism and cisgenderism is and how we can implement inclusion and respect.
February 8, 2022
CIVIC LEADERSHIP AND THE #MIAMITECH MOVEMENT
We learned about civic leadership and how much technology is growing in the Miami community, as well as its importance.
February 15, 2022
DIFFERENT WAYS OF SEEING THE WORLD: WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BILINGUAL
We spoke about being bilingual, and how this can open your horizons on how you see the world and how we learn and live.
February 22, 2022
FOCUS GROUP ON GLOBAL LEARNING, AND DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND EQUITY
We had a focus group on Global Learning, and we discussed what we liked, learned and how we could improve the office in FIU.
GLOBAL LEARNING CAPSTONE
Ministry of Education of The Spanish Consulate
This was my first internship ever. As a first year, I had the opportunity to obtain this internship after applying through Handshake and going through an interview. I was in charge of the program that American student apply for to go to Spain and teach English. I would communicate with the prospective teacher and make sure they had all the documents and accepted/declined them into the program depending on different parameters. Apart from this, I tabled with my boss to promote it, and answered questions regarding it.
REFLECTION
Growing up, I lived in many places around the world. I was born in Boynton Beach, FL; then, I moved to Houston, TX where I lived for four years; following this, I went to Windermere, England where I lived for a year; finally, I lived in Bogotá, Colombia for first grade up to my graduation from high school. I went to an international school, which only has around 500 students, but over 40 nationalities not only within the student body but also the faculty and staff. When I was looking for universities to go to, I wanted somewhere that was diverse and welcoming to different cultures, nationalities, ethnicities, among others. Coming to FIU by myself and leaving my family behind was very difficult. However, coming into a city and university filled with a variety of people, perspectives, beliefs, etc I was able to feel more at home and learn and grow. FIU has helped me grow enormously when it comes to gaining a global perspective.
My first year, I took a religion class, where I was able to learn about the history, behaviors, practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, sanctified places, ethics, etc that each religion has. As someone who was raised Catholic, there’s many things that I didn’t understand about other religions, such as hijabs. Through this class, I was able to comprehend what it means and why women wear the hijab. Understanding the diversity and differences that we have with others is crucial in today’s globalized world. We can’t judge others or make assumptions without knowing. As someone who travels a lot, and who enjoys it, when we see or hear about something that we may not be familiar with and that we may be defensive about, it’s important to consider others’ opinions and beliefs.
I took a class on Human Trafficking. This class was one that I was looking forward to, as anti-Human Trafficking is something that I’m passionate about. After understanding that Miami is top 3 in the US for Human Trafficking and seeing how much it affects every part of the world, I noticed how interconnected we are. As we are in the XXI century, we live in a globalized and interconnected world. Human Trafficking has become an issue that affects every corner, business and person in the world. We’re all at risk and have to learn the signs of someone who’s being trafficked, because we encounter at least 2 people a day. This class helped me feel more globally aware.
This global enlightenment made me want to make a difference and mark in the world. I joined UNICEF at FIU and UNICEF UNITE Miami in order to help. Children all over the world are vulnerable to many problematics, such as lack of water or food, insecurity, being prone to wars or trafficking, etc. FIU helped inspire me to act hands on and advocate for children, bring awareness and become co-president of the club. I not only helped in Miami, but also in Colombia as I had been involved in it since high school and had learnt how it works in different countries and within different cultures. We brought in workers from UNICEF who taught us about local, global, international, and intercultural problem solving when it came to UNICEF’s work.
Despite the amount of growth and knowledge I gained at FIU, the one thing I learned the most is how much I can help and the difference I can make when I really want to. I want to keep on learning about my passions: helping children. With this comes getting involved, working and meeting people in the field. I currently work in Live Like Bella, a childhood cancer foundation and we most states in the US as well as over 20 countries around the world. FIU gave me the tools to excel as a professional and to help make the world a better place.
"The sky's the limit"