Maria Fernanda

I’ve always been curious and eager to grow. I taught myself English, started learning French, and balanced public school with daily dance and cooking classes. Each one has taught me something different—discipline, time management, creativity—but most of all, they’ve helped me understand the value of hard work.

With some classmates, I helped start Santos de la Juventud, a student group that encouraged young people to reflect, speak up, and take action to make the world more empathetic. That’s where I discovered how much I love inspiring others and using my voice to lead change.

I’ve been accepted to Anáhuac University in Mexico City to study Strategic Marketing, and I was awarded an 80% scholarship.

Story

Summer 2025

This summer was full of many mixed emotions. On July 3rd, I went to La Paz for the State Science expo contest, where we won Best Project in the Medicine and Health area and also earned a spot at the National competition in Tamaulipas. On July 5th was my graduation ceremony was held, and I received an award for having the second-highest GPA of my generation. On July 7th, I started an online math course, Monday to Friday, three hours a day, and at the beginning of Augus,t I set out on my journey for this new stage of my life, arriving in Mexico City on August 3rd and saying goodbye to the people I love who stayed in Cabo—though honestly, my excitement was much greater. On August 7th, I had my first day at university, which was the welcome event for new students. They gave us all the introductory information, and I was so happy; everything felt so exciting and new. I’ve now been in classes for two weeks, and I feel like this is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I’m very grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given—without MEF I wouldn’t be here today. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m sure the best is yet to come.

June 2025

June felt like a roller coaster, where everything happened, and I thought it would be more relaxing—but I was wrong.

First of all, I was welcomed to MEF!!! This was something really different and exciting for me. They welcomed the new ambassadors and explained how the program works. Honestly, I’m a bit nervous, but also excited for everything that’s coming.

At the beginning of June, I was planning and working on my summer project while still doing school projects. I was worried that my summer project wouldn’t go as expected, but luckily, everything turned out well.

In the middle of June, I had my last day of high school. I said goodbye to my classmates and teachers.

Even though school had finished academically, I still had to go with my teammates to finish our "Expociensas" project for the state-level competition, which will take place on July 2. This project wasn’t organized by the school, but we wanted to enter the contest.

The hardest part was my dance academy graduation. They organize a festival where we perform, and those of us who are graduating get a small spotlight. I worked so hard this last month to make everything perfect, and when it was over, I couldn’t hold back my tears. It was my last time dancing on stage with my friends, and with that, a stage of my life came to an end.