A True Global Citizen
By Michelle Grambley

Laura Baracaldo has lived a fascinating life. She grew up in Bogota, Colombia, arguably one of the most dangerous places in the world. Her family has experienced the violence of the area first hand, losing one of their own to a vicious and thoughtless murder. Growing up in the shadow of a society so very much in conflict could easily have steered her young life in a negative direction; she used her experiences, and some sage advice from her mother, as a catalyst for change. If you ask her, she will say that her determined effort at all tasks and "can-do" spirit are largely inspired by her mother. She believes, as her mother told her, that her job in this world is to make things better and that she can do exactly that with the tools that she is garnering here at URI.

Laura travelled here with virtually nothing but a fierce passion for learning about and spreading the message of non-violence and violence prevention. She gave up everything she had in Bogota, including her family, to come here and study what she saw as a better way for her country as well as all people. She worked with our system to legally obtain a student visa and fought to be accepted into a competitive summer internship for non-violence. She believes whole-heartedly that working in the community, teaching and speaking out about violence prevention, is the way to force a change and that no amount of sacrifice is too great. Her statement that "it doesn't matter what you give up when there is a purpose in life" is both inspiring and an affirmation of her determination.

Her vision is to see changes made in all the violence-worn areas of the world, especially changes to how people and cultures deal with violence prevention, resolution and peace. Part of that process, she knows, is breaking the stereotypes associated with different cultures and reevaluating the value (or lack of value) that people in certain culture place on themselves. Through her work in the Center for Non-violence here on campus, she has learned new ways of understanding diversity that she can pass on to others, including the synergistic learning utilized through communication. She feels that we all should be open to learning from each other; with our different perspectives and backgrounds we can look at problems from multiple angles to come up with commonly acceptable solutions. She has taken much of what she has learned in this manner at URI and applied it to her efforts in the Central Falls school district where she is able to spread her message while broadening people's views. She feels that educating young Latinos and their parents on violence prevention is a step towards changing deeply imbedded cultural views that accept violence as a way of life.

People like Laura are shining examples of what things could be like. To the students and parents that she interfaces with, she is a beacon of hope. She is an acknowledgement that anything is possible and that there is no barrier to what can be achieved with hard work and determination. Those students can see themselves in her and realize that they can step outside their cycle of violence and rise to any heights. They can go to High School, College and even Graduate School or beyond. It doesn't matter what background they come from, there are options. She shows us that one's passion can be turned toward enrichment, understanding and growth instead of towards violence and anger.

To the people here at the Graduate School, she is a great example of how to open your mind and be richer for the experience. We can learn as much from the students that we support and teach in the graduate programs as they learn from us, if we are willing. Every meeting is an opportunity to expand your understanding of the world, your mind and heart, to become a true global citizen.

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