Our Students
Abubakar Bashiru
Abubakar Bashiru holds a bachelor's degree in Management Studies from the University of Cape Coast (Ghana). I come from a town called Apimanim N02 in the Western part of Ghana. I have a research interest in international development studies using Latin American countries as a case study and I'm hoping to specialize in this field for my Ph.D.
Quote '' Humility is no substitute for a good personality''
Adriana Camacho
Adriana Camacho is a second-year student at Ohio University's Latin American Studies master's program. Adriana comes from Guaranda, Ecuador, and has a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador. Maria is happy to be part of this interdisciplinary master’s program because it allows her to choose courses that fit the best for her academic interests; as a civil engineer, She is interested in deepening her knowledge in sustainable construction and project management, studies that she considers important for Ecuador's sustainable development.
Quote: You are enough just as you are
Anastasiia Sakharova
Anastasiia is a student in the Latin American Studies program at Ohio University. She is originally from Kyiv, Ukraine. She received her bachelor's degree in History from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. There, while focusing on American and European studies, she learned Spanish and developed an interest in Latin America. She has been volunteering for a summer community school project in Mexico and served as an intern in the inter-parliamentary liaison group with Colombia and Argentina. Anastasiia is willing to deepen her understanding of the history, politics, and economic development of countries of Latin America.
Quote: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” By Nelson Mandela
Daniela Avila
Daniela Ávila is a second-year graduate student in the LAS program at Ohio University. After she obtained her BA in International Relations and International Business in Ecuador, she was looking for experiences abroad that would generate a positive impact in her personal and professional life.
Here Daniela met amazing people, got professional experience in a new field, made friends from many countries around the world, moved houses three times, met the love of her life, discovered new places, and has joined different student clubs and organizations. Additionally, she taught Spanish to kids in a local public school, represented the LAS department in the Graduate Student Senate, taught a class on NTDs to eighty OU undergrad students, and obtained two graduate certificates on top of her master's degree. Daniela is currently developing her professional project in Indigenous Women and Social Movements in Ecuador.
Estefanny Magdiel Perez Duque
Estefanny Magdiel Pérez Duque is from Quito – Ecuador. Estefanny is a first-year grad student with a bachelor's degree in International Affairs and International Relations, and who studied at the Pontifical Catholic University in my hometown and chose LAS for its multidisciplinary program.
Estefanny’s has an interest in Political Science and International Politics.
Quote: I consider discipline to accomplish my goals. I always keep in mind that I am the only one who sets my mental limits.
Julio Beltran
Born in Quito, Ecuador. Julio is a second-year student of the LAS program at Ohio University. He holds a degree of multilingual bachelor’s in international business and exchanges. Julio has worked as a political analyst at the Ministry of Foreign Relations and Human Mobility of Ecuador. He also participated as an electoral observer with the OAS during the 2016 presidential elections in Haiti and the 2021 presidential elections in Peru. Julio also practices capoeira and his current research explores the practice and performance of this Afro-Brazilian martial art from a perspective of resistance, power, and marginalized practices.
Quote: “A padronização do movimento é a prisão do pensamento. Ser livre é se movimentar e pensar livremente”
“The standardization of movement is the prison of thought. To be free is to move and think freely" – Master Jaime de Mar
Juana Eslava-Bejarano
Juana Eslava-Bejarano is a second-year Colombian student pursuing a Master's degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies at Ohio University.
She studied Literature and Art History at Universidad de Los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia). Her fields of interest include gender studies, critical animal studies, and war and peace studies. Nowadays, she is the co-founder of the animalist art collective La Quinta Pata. Her most recent article, ¨The animal behind the animal: encounters and omissions of animals in a selection of literary and artistic works from Latin America¨, will be published by the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Quote: "If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men." Francis of Assisi
Kossi Missedja
Kossi Missedja is originally from Ghana. Kossi obtained his bachelor’s degree in Culture and Tourism in 2014 from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. After graduation, he had the opportunity to work in a district assembly in Ghana. Through the assembly, he met NGOs that were interested in addressing poverty through livelihood initiatives. Shortly after his experience at the district assembly, he moved into an academic research firm for three years.
Kossi's academic background, work, and social experiences had repositioned his interests in the areas of environment and sustainability, economic development, and critiquing development theories and policies. These interests are shaping his career path in the areas of Development Geography, Development Economics, Sustainable Food Systems, and Globalization Studies. Currently, Kossi’s research is focused on comparing cash transfers in Ghana and Ecuador (Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty and Bono de Desarrollo) to identify the strengths and weaknesses in both poverty alleviation programs.
Maria Angelica Valencia Tapia
Maria Angelica is from Ambato, Ecuador. Maria holds a degree in Human Nutrition and got a specialization degree in Development Projects. Currently, Maria is a first-year student of the Latin American Studies program at Ohio University and is interested in developing research in health promotion, food sovereignty, and gender studies.
Quote: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” — Maya Angelou
Paige Wilson
Paige is a second-year student in the Latin American Studies program, pursuing a dual master's degree with an MA in Spanish. She is from Columbus, Ohio, and received her Bachelor of Arts from Ohio University in 2019 where she majored in Spanish and Political Science and earned her TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate, European Studies certificate, and Latin American Studies certificate. Upon graduation, she worked at the Universidad Castilla-La Mancha in Ciudad Real, Spain as an English teaching assistant and instructor, before returning to Ohio University to pursue her master's. She loves to travel and learn new things about different cultures which is why she enjoys studying Latin American history, politics, literature, and culture.
Quote: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." Strength to Love (1963) Martin Luther King Jr.
Valeria Garrido
Valeria Garrido is a second-year graduate student in the Latin American Studies program at Ohio University. She was born and raised in Ecuador and holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the Pontifical Catholic University in Ecuador. Thanks to a collaboration between OU and PUCE, she came to Athens in August 2019. Since then, she has learned a great deal not only about Latin America from a variety of social and political approaches but also about herself.
Valeria is both thrilled and sad to be graduating this May. Having worked in research regarding traditional medicine perceptions in Ecuador has certainly helped her discover new interests. She is thankful that LAS has given her the tools to continue the new path.
Vinicius Mafra
Vinícius Mafra is from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and is currently a second-year Master’s candidate of the Latin American Studies Program at Ohio University. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and an MBA in International Business. At Ohio University, he has dedicated his studies to the topics of climate change and urbanization. The complex relationship between cities and nature and society and climate is his greatest interest as a researcher.
Under the LAS program, he had the opportunity to take courses about climate change, sustainability, and urbanization. Because of that, he has been developing his thesis research about flood risk reduction and governance in his hometown. His goal is to identify the actors, institutions, practices, and governance structures and how they impact risk reduction priorities in Belo Horizonte. Since 2020 he is a Portuguese Teaching Assistant and one of the Climate and Sustainability Ambassadors at Ohio University.
His research interests include climate change politics and policy, climate risk, urban climate change adaptation, climate scenario planning, and sustainable development.