When I started at Florida International's University in 2018, I knew that I was in an environment that embraced inclusivity and diversion. The Global Learning Classes that I took on since the beginning of 2018 had sparked curiosity to take a step further outside the classroom, and learn from a global perspective. I was able to develop my own understandings of connections between Psychology, Research, and how they relate across through many cultures. With the help of funding from the Gilman Scholarship, I accept an opportunity that was presented to me, to study a semester in Mysore India and examine Psychological issues that tackle India's healthcare system today.

        As I dove deeper into learning about International issues and having conversations with these women on their experiences, I learned that despite certain disparities that you may see across the globe, all people from different religions, race, or sociodemographic seek one thing- Universal Justice. To have the same access to an education, healthcare and be treated fairly by a trusted system. The semester I returned abroad, I focused on ways I could shed light not what my peers and I had witnessed abroad. It was here, that I decided to taken a cross-sectional analysis based on that data collected in Mysore. The results from our project gave me revelation and a sense of direction that I ultimately wanted to look further into international relations and resulted me in joining the Global Medallion program. 

      I joined the Global Medallion Program at FIU after my Professor, Dr Stephens, had mentioned that its a great program designed for students who were interested in global awareness, perspective, and engagement. Of the numerous events that I was exposed to due to the program, a couple of them stood out to me. My very first event, was at the FIU Law school, and was a conversation regarding Capital punishment by International European consulars.  The talk was a fascinating event and I learned about the perspectives from Consulars that came from Spain, Netherlands, France, and Germany. The mission of this event was to have a conversation regarding the death penalty and how Europeans nation view that why it should be taken from a more rehabilitative approach. I was fortunate to sit in on the  talk and I was able to apply what I had learned in my Judicial Process course, on how the Courts system works.  

        The events I took most part in were the roundtable meetings held every Tuesday at FIU. My peers and I were exposed to different topics every week that ranged from food insecurity, Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations association, and an attorney who came to speak to us students from the Americans for Immigrant Justice non-profit. My most notable one, would have been the special guest speakers from ISH Rights. Two women, who started an organization on devoting to educating people across the globe on the Articles within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These women do this by walking a 15 day hike through the Walk of Saint James and putting plaques that resemble the different rights under the declaration. I was fortunate enough to visit these women on the roundtable meeting on the other campus location, and greatly enough, this was a small group and allowed for a more one on one discussion. I pitched to these ladies that in my parent's home country, Peru, the Inca trail is also a highly visited trail that attracts  millions of people each year. The people from these villages and the visitors that hike this trail could also benefit from being educated on human rights as well. Their conversation was a fruitful one for me and I'm elated that this last  roundtable meeting meshed perfectly with my International protection of human rights course. 

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