Hey there, thanks for your interest in my story. I'm just a regular person from Cordoba, Argentina, who had a bit of an adventure after high school. Growing up in Cordoba, I was always into art and design. Rarely excelled at math and physics courses, on the contrary, I was not good at them at all. Drawing, painting, and making friends were my things during those teenage years. However, after high school, I had this amazing opportunity to join a six-month exchange program in Sleepy Hollow, NY, with the company EF.
During this exchange, I decided to dive into digital design where I studied Photoshop primarily, but also had English language courses structured to pass the EFCELT exam at the end of the program. Sleepy Hollow became this awesome melting pot of cultures and friendships from all over the world, I got to experience firsthand different cultures, languages, and making friends which till today I feel proud and grateful to stay in touch with. It was my first time away from family and my own culture for so long. Tanking the 1-hour train to New York City on weekends was a wild ride, but leaving behind everything I knew was a bit tough at that age to be honest. Lots of questions popped out in my head, lots of learning and growth. Eventually, I made some amazing connections, turning that initial loneliness into shared stories and backgrounds, these people became my support network during those months. The experience really opened up my mind and changed the way I saw things.
Back in Argentina, things took a turn. My family and I chatted about the idea of me getting a bachelor's degree in the U.S. Till today I am very grateful for this opportunity, and I mainly have my mother to thank to. She always encouraged me to follow my dreams and supported me with the means to do so, even though we are very different, she always respected my own passions and beliefs.
Fast forward a bit, and I found myself in Miami, enrolling in an Industrial Design program. The choice of Miami wasn't random; my parents had friends there, making it a bit less daunting for them to have me living alone abroad. I set up camp in Fort Lauderdale, living in a shared dorm not too far from campus. I got along pretty well with my roommates and the condo outdoors there were beautiful with a lake in the middle, so it was a very peaceful place to be. There I enjoyed endless sunsets reading by the lake while feeding the local ducks that acted more like friendly dogs than ducks.
Being an international student was a mix of excitement and challenges. The F1 VISA comes with a lot of limitations for students, such as checking in regularly with your institution's International Students Office, keeping your passport valid (finding your country consulate in the city you live and staying in touch with them helps a lot), maintaining full time enrollment at all times, getting your I-20 signed every 6 months, obtaining special permission to work if you wish to work on campus (only available option for F1 students), etc. And this is why I have a designated International Students tab on my website where you can find resources.
However, during my industrial design career we learned from art classes to mastering design software, such as SolidWorks, which personally it was a bit tricky, but also pretty entertaining (and time consuming haha). The machine shop on campus was my go-to spot, where I learnt to safely use all equipment there and honestly was one of the best experiences, spent countless hours tinkering on prototypes with various materials and making beautiful friendships that helped me push through long hours of work easily.
Just when I got comfy, a curveball came my way. On my third year there, my campus went under investigation for financial fraud and suddenly closed, so in a lapse of 6 months almost all professors and students left/transfer and the school was not like it used to be. The question was — transfer or switch careers? For industrial designers there was no other university in Miami or Ft Lauderdale offering that degree path, so for us (who didn't have the chance to move to other states) it meant pretty much change careers. It was a difficult time for everyone there.
That marked the end of one chapter and the start of another. Join me in the next part of my journey as I navigate how did I figure out what comes next, facing uncertainties, and gearing up for a fresh new start.
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