Alumni Stories
Francisco García Bedoy Uribe (Peru, 2014)
This month we caught up with Francisco Garcia Bedoy Uribe in Mexico. Francisco is pursuing his law degree at the Universidad Panamericana where he will graduate in 2020. Read on to learn more about Francisco…
What are you up to now?
I’m currently working in litigation at the Law Firm Gatt Corona & Abogados Asociados. In addition, I have been participating closely with a local NGO called Mar Adentro de México A.C. doing volunteer work and acting as a judge in their debate tournaments. I also write periodic articles for the American Bar Association Mexico Update Bulletin and sporadic articles at the local newspaper El Informador.
How did your SStS experience impact your future?
When I first had my interview with Mike, I was nothing more than a high school student thrilled by the possibility of doing service learning abroad. I never imagined I was embarking on a life changing adventure. Its impact has been such, that I now conceive service as a way of being helped. Through a variety of eye-opening experiences, I conquered my fear of heights at breathtaking locations and grasped a sense of the true meaning of things I used to take for granted. My experience with Students Shoulder to Shoulder gave me the confidence to reach the summit of Mexico’s highest peak at nearly 19,000 feet above sea level, but most importantly, it created in me an ever-lasting need to serve my community that culminated in my decision to peruse a Law degree in university.
What is your favorite memory from your SStS experience?
My favorite memory from my Students Shoulder to Shoulder experience was just working alongside the people of Munaychay. I was strongly moved to see how everybody at the orphanage was able to work together to achieve a common goal, regardless of the cultural barriers (it is important to take into consideration that we worked with people of five different nationalities that spoke four different languages: Spanish, English, German, and Quechua).
