By Julia Parmley
In her work as co-founder of Movimiento Libertario, an organization devoted to influencing public opinion and engaging youth in public affairs, and as chief of staff for the constitutional affairs committee of the Ecuadorean National Congress, Daniela Chacon Arias saw firsthand the apathy many of her fellow Ecuadoreans have toward the government. She believes it’s critical to the future of her country that young people take an active role in politics and the government. So when Ms. Chacon Arias was ready to advocate for change in her country, she turned to The George Washington University.
Ms. Chacon Arias is starting her second semester as a master’s student in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. On a Fulbright scholarship from Ecuador’s capital city Quito, Ms. Chacon Arias says she set her sights on GW early on because the District is “the best place to study public affairs.”
“I really wanted to come here and liked the program,” she says. “When I found out I got in last March, I accepted immediately!”
Ms. Chacon Arias has a law degree from the University San Francisco de Quito and has experience in environmental law, but her passion is public affairs. Her dream, she says, is to start her own nonprofit in Ecuador for the growth of future political leaders. “I want to found an educative program to promote young people interested in public affairs, and to promote a deeper understanding of politics and democracy in order to contribute to the creation of a new generation of political leaders that will lead my country into a more just and equal society,” she explains.
Ms. Chacon Arias believes cultural and social differences are at least partially responsible for the lack of grassroots activism in her country, with much of it related to leadership instability and the economy. “In Ecuador, we’ve been throwing out presidents—the last three haven’t even finished their terms—but people are more concerned about getting a job and food for their families,” she says. “If they have a job and are receiving subsidies, they care more about going through the day than if the president dissolved congress. Our democratic values are not as strong as in other societies.”
As a supplement to her GW coursework, Ms. Chacon Arias is learning about nonprofit fundraising, management and program implementation as a volunteer with One Common Unity, a local nonprofit that aims to create and maintain sustainable communities through peace education, art and media. She was paired with the organization through the GW chapter of Net Impact, a student organization focused on business.
“It’s great to get involved and hopefully forge long-term relationships with these kinds of organizations,” says Ms. Chacon Arias. “What I’m learning at GW is the basics, and I will then apply them to my reality.”
Ms. Chacon Arias says she enjoys living in the United States and attending GW, although taking classes in English is sometimes challenging. “It takes me more time to read something, but I’ve been getting better every day and am feeling much more confident speaking and writing in English,” she says.
Thousands of miles from home, Ms. Chacon Arias has learned a few things about herself: she can cook, she can live apart from her family and she can make new friends.
“It’s really hard when you are surrounded by native English speakers because they relate to so many things in their shared experience and culture. It’s taken me awhile to understand many of their references,” she says. “But the people at GW have been great to me, so I am really lucky.”
Ms. Chacon Arias is the eldest child in a close-knit family of five, and she makes sure to video Skype with her family every Sunday. The hardest thing about being at GW is being away from her family, she says, but to follow her dreams she knows GW is the right place to be.
“One of the most rewarding parts of studying abroad is that it opens your mind to new ideas and visions of the world and to people who think differently than you,” she says. “And it’s interesting to see how language defines culture. It can be hard, but you learn a lot about yourself.”
“When I go back I will have a degree and a lot of things to accomplish and I will have to start from scratch,” she adds. “It’s scary, but a good scary. It’s a challenge, but I’ve always liked them.”