Current position and employer: Evaluation Specialist, USAID´s MEL Activity – Panagora Group
Hometown and Current City: Bogotá, Colombia
Why did you choose McCourt? After looking at different programs, the MIDP program at McCourt provided me with the best quantitative and analytical foundations I needed to work in international organizations that were focused on improving development outcomes around the World such as the World Bank, IFPRI, IPA, IADB, and more. Additionally, I had the privilege to interact with international development practitioners from those organizations and other countries from around the world, through the different events that took place in Washington, DC, as well as the opportunity to have personal coffees with several of them and learn firsthand from the best.
What was the best part of your experience? Besides being in an amazing city to attend different types of events, I really liked working with the World Bank’s Impact Evaluation Department DIME as my client for my capstone project, since it gave me a huge insight into the actual work I could do while still doing the masters. Also, I enjoyed the flexibility in the electives taken, were I was able to pursue an elective outside of McCourt on Education and Human Development where I put in practice the skills I had learned into a research paper. Lastly, I loved to work for IFPRI during the summer where I got to travel to Argentina.
What internships did you have during your time at McCourt? During my time at McCourt I completed a summer internship at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) , where I generated the formative research for the I for a future impact evaluation of Varkey’s Foundation School Leadership and Innovation Program PLIE, including survey design and the corresponding field work in Argentina composed of personal interviews and focus groups of the parties involved in the PLIE.
Student organization involvement while at McCourt: I was involved with the Latin American Policy Association – LAPA.
Undergraduate Degree and University: I graduated Cum Laude from both a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. In Political Science from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Hobbies / Interests: Besides cooking and trying new dishes, playing squash and jogging in the mornings, as a Latin American I love dancing. Additionally, I love to travel and see the world.