In September 2021, Diana Rivas Garcia (MIDP’24) embarked on her Fulbright journey in the city of Teziutlán, Mexico, located 500 kilometers from her hometown of Senguio. Having resided in Portland, Oregon, for more than a decade, Rivas Garcia made a significant move back to her birth country.
For the next nine months, she taught English at an engineering college and conducted field research on the local informal economy and its entrepreneurs. Her drive to embark on this research project originated from her upbringing in a hard-working, entrepreneurial family.
Rivas Garcia was provided an opportunity to combine her interests in development, economics and international relations — subjects she studied as an undergraduate at Lehigh University — and to share her learnings with community members.
“Despite my initial assumptions about limited financial literacy or access to credit, I discovered that individuals’ participation in the informal economy wasn’t necessarily a need-based strategy,” said Rivas Garcia. “Instead, I found that people were drawn in because they wanted to be their own boss or were inspired by others in the community who also owned their businesses.”
Rivas Garcia credits her experience as a Fulbright Grantee with helping her understand the importance of context and engagement with vulnerable communities.
“Now, instead of just looking at data, I also try to relate what I’m learning back to peoples’ stories and envision how policies will impact their lives,” she said.
Called to be a Hoya
Only three short months after completing her time in Mexico, Rivas Garcia enrolled in the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Master of International Development Policy (MIDP) program, citing its quantitative rigor and location in Washington, DC, as deciding factors in her decision to be a Hoya.
“I applied to several universities within and outside of the United States,” she said. “I followed my gut in choosing Georgetown.”
Rivas Garcia is the first in her family to earn an undergraduate or graduate degree and left a burgeoning career in finance behind to pursue a postgraduate education.