Nearing the end of any collegiate journey is typically a joyous time for most students. After years of juggling classes, working on projects and studying for exams, the end goal 鈥� a degree and chance at a better future 鈥� is within sight.
However in 2016, when clinical psychology major Jennifer Martinez de Pinillos was planning to graduate from Arturo Michelena University of Venezuela鈥檚 Carabobo State, she instead had to prepare to uproot her entire life and family to a foreign country.
鈥淲hen you grow up in a country, you never expect to leave. Because of [circumstances] you have to leave everything, even your dreams.鈥�
de Pinillos, along with her parents and younger brother and sister, are a just a few of the 3 million emigrants from Venezuela who have fled their native country due to worsening economic, social and political conditions. During the past two years, hyperinflation in the nation, which is now estimated to be more than 1 million percent, has made it difficult for citizens to get food, medicine and other essential items. A cup of coffee there now costs 2.5 million bolivars.
鈥淲hen you grow up in a country, you never expect to leave. Because of [circumstances] you have to leave everything, even your dreams. I was about to graduate there and I had my plan for life,鈥� de Pinillos says.
Finding New Purpose
That plan was to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in her country鈥檚 capital of Caracas and to work for the U.S. embassy in Venezuela. But just like de Pinnilos鈥� life, her dream has changed entirely. Soon to graduate with her bachelor鈥檚 in clinical psychology from 麻豆原创, she now plans to return to the university to pursue her master鈥檚 in nonprofit management. de Pinillos says she hopes to one day own her own nonprofit shelter and help provide essentials for those in need.
鈥淚 want to be able to give all those things to people so they can dream again.鈥�
鈥淚 know from the Venezuelan and American perspectives if you don鈥檛 have the basics you cannot dream. You can鈥檛 expect to go to college if you don鈥檛 have food, if you don鈥檛 have anything to wear. I want to be able to give all those things to people so they can dream again,鈥� de Pinillos says.
Since coming to Florida, she has already put this focus to use by helping those back in Venezuela. de Pinillos and her family periodically send boxes of clothing, medical supplies and other necessities to the church they attended, along with nearby orphanages. In the two years they鈥檝e been here, they鈥檝e sent 20 boxes of donated items from friends, community members and themselves to those in need.
鈥淢y desire to help came from [living in] Venezuela. By helping Venezuelans from here, I discovered there are communities in the U.S. that are helping [elsewhere,]鈥� she says.
Life in Venezuela
Although her mom, Aury Garanton, says her daughter was always looking for ways to help others, remembering conditions in Venezuela helps de Pinillos keep her focus on her home country. Her family lived in Valencia, an industrial city that is considered an economic hub. Her mother was a medical translator who would often travel to the United States for work, and her dad was a real estate agent. Although her family was better off in some ways than many other families, it was the violence surrounding university protests in the nation that caused them to move.
鈥淚n 2015 there were more protests so my mom and dad started to say we couldn鈥檛 stay anymore,鈥� de Pinillos says.
鈥淭here were times we couldn鈥檛 go out of our house for a week. It was stressful because … you don鈥檛 really know what鈥檚 going on.鈥�
In the year before that, Geraldine Moreno, a fellow classmate, was assassinated by National Guardsmen outside her home for protesting. The school that de Pinillos鈥� brother attended was at the center of the university movement opposing the government.
鈥淭here were times we couldn鈥檛 go out of our house for a week,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was stressful because the government doesn鈥檛 allow for transmissions of the protests on television, so you don鈥檛 really know what鈥檚 going on.鈥�
During these times, de Pinillos and her family, along with other Venezuelans, would experience guarimbas, or blockades. Citizens would use trees, tires and whatever other items they could find to block the roads to prevent colectivos, armed pro-government groups that attack protestors, from raiding homes and harassing people.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard leaving your family, friends and everything you鈥檝e built for years. But life is about what is ahead. You can build anywhere you can go,鈥� her mother says.
Building a Future
During that building process, it鈥檚 been challenging for de Pinillos to adapt to the culture of her new home, she says. But by watching the TV show 贵谤颈别苍诲蝉听to get familiar with the American sense of humor and making friends in her classes, she鈥檚 overcome this.
When she first came to 麻豆原创 in Fall 2017, she struggled with adjusting to the education system in the United States. In Venezuela, bachelor鈥檚 degree programs typically take five years to complete. Universities there determine every course students must take in that time, with no general education classes or choices for electives like in the United States.
鈥淢y journey at 麻豆原创 has allowed me to encounter myself and know who I really am, what I really want and what I am capable of doing,鈥�
Karen Cox, director of 麻豆原创鈥檚 , met de Pinillos at orientation and has stayed connected with her since to ensure her success. Cox says her department鈥檚 willingness to work with transfer students allowed her to substitute many of de Pinillos鈥� previous courses to fulfill 麻豆原创鈥檚 graduation requirements.
鈥淚t was just the look on her face at orientation that told me this student had some special needs, and I needed to find out what they were so I could help. She is a great communicator and shared her history and her future goals with me quickly,鈥� Cox says. 鈥淗er focused ambition allowed me to guide her to the 麻豆原创 resources she needed, without any time wasted.鈥�
de Pinillos plans to carry that ambition forward into her graduate studies and pursuits after graduation to help better the world, but she credits her experience at 麻豆原创 for providing the foundation on which she鈥檚 been able to build her new dream.
鈥淲hen I came [to Florida] my concern was, 鈥榃hat am I going to do?鈥�, [but] my journey at 麻豆原创 has allowed me to encounter myself and know who I really am, what I really want and what I am capable of doing,鈥� de Pinillos says.
