Ingrid Morales, from Peru, and Lisandra Costa, from Cape Verde, have been students at PUCRS since 2014
Photo: Yasmin Dutra/AAII
Peruvian Ingrid Paola Peralta Morales, 24, and Cape Verdean Lisandra dos Reis Borges Costa, 21, arrived in Brazil in the summer of 2014. Both are on the Exchange Program for Undergraduate Students (PEC-G), which offers the youth of developing countries the possibility to have an undergraduate degree in Brazil, and have chosen to come to PUCRS.
The 7th semester Public Relations students joined Café com Memórias, which discusses the relevance and the future of the profession, in an event that brought together School of Communications (Famecos) alumni who are now in the market. “It’s been a learning opportunity. I am deeply in love with Famecos, as I listen to inspiring stories of how each professional found their place in the market exercising their talent and passion”, says Ingrid. “The guests wanted to know our opinion about the institution, the program and whether we were enjoying it. I mentioned how positive this experience has been to me and how much I love Famecos”, says Lisandra.
Ingrid, who is expected to graduate in 2017/2, intends to work in Peru, in the area of communications. “I’ve had the chance to do a summer internship there and I believe this market can be explored”, reports she. Lisandra is expected to finish the program in the first semester of 2018 and plans to put the knowledge she gained in the program in the job market in order to boost not only the economy but also social, political and cultural aspects of her country. “Later on, I might join the academia to pass on everything I know to the future generations of communicators and to bring the Public Relations teaching and practice to another level in Cape Verde”, claims she.
For both of them, being a student at PUCRS and living in Brazil has been such an enriching experience. “Knowing a new culture will always make you learn a lot. The University has provided me with the necessary assistance and orientation since the day I arrived, including the documents I needed to have and the adaptation per se. PUCRS and Famecos are my home. I have found a world and a family which make me enjoy every learning opportunity”, claims Ingrid.
Despite the cold, wind and humidity, which Ingrid jokes that she has not gotten used to, the adaptation process has been easy. For Lisandra, the language was an easy part of the process, since Cape Verde is a Portuguese-speaking country and the cultures are similar in many aspects. “Perhaps the weather has been the hardest challenge. We get a lot of rain and cold here in the South. I come from a country that is hot practically all year round”, claims she.
The Exchange Program for Undergraduate Students (PEC-G) serves developing countries with which Brazil has educational, cultural or scientific and technological agreements. In total, there are 59 participating countries, 25 of which are from Africa, 25 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 9 from Asia. PEC-G is run by the Division of Educational Issues under the Ministry of External Relations, and by the Ministry of Education in partnership with Higher Education institutions all over the country. Today, PUCRS is home to 15 PEC-G students, from Angola, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Colombia, Congo, Honduras, Peru, East Timor and Venezuela.
