Considered one of the most prestigious American universities in the world, Stanford is increasingly opening its doors to students from diverse backgrounds. Although challenging, students black brazilians are managing to occupy this space, founded in 1885.
There are still few of them, but they are united to change the idea that this is impossible for those who come from Brazil, or for those who have a peripheral origin and are not part of the profile imagined as a student at a traditional school.
This is the case of Francielle Santos, 31. She went to California just over a year ago to pursue a master’s degree in comparative international education and now works as a research assistant at Stanford.
Furthermore, she is part of a collective of black Brazilian studentswho come together to exchange experiences and also help those who wish to pursue one of the dozens of courses that the institution offers.
Now that she has finished her master’s degree, Francielle no longer lives on campus, but in a city neighboring Palo Alto, Oakland. It takes around 1h30 on public transport to the university to follow the classes of the professor she assists and the work done by the , a research and innovation center for Brazil within the university.
“It’s been an experience of ups and downs. I recognize and greatly value this opportunity, to have studied at one of the best universities in the world, to have had contact with people from all over the world who see that education matters. But, it’s still the United States, it’s Stanford, an extremely elitist place, with difficulties in permeating spaces and feeling 100% comfortable”, says Francielle to CNN.
From Baixada Fluminense, in Rio de Janeiro, Leandro Vieira, 29, occupied an even more traditional space within Stanford, the MBA course at the Graduate School of Business, which has existed since 1925. The MBA in the United States works differently from what is known here in Brazil, in that it is a latu sensu postgraduate course focused on a specific area.
“Here it works like a master’s degree where you spend two years full time covering all the main functions within the world of business. You will have to study subjects in operations, marketing, finance, strategy, technology, a range of things”, explains Leonardo.
He is still in the first quarter of the MBA, which involves these more general classes. The second year consists of electives, in which the student “makes their own adventure”, as the student himself defines.
“You can try everything you want and are curious to do. If you want to build a business, you will have the space, resources, people, mentors to make it happen. Other people want to pursue more traditional careers, go into investment banking, consulting, big tech. And for all of this, there is a career team that will be able to support you.”
Furthermore, Leonardo has the entire campus infrastructure at his disposal: “Classes take up a relatively small part of my week, I have a lot of free space to explore. The feeling I have is that for every hour of my day I need to make a decision between three, four things that are going on here”.
I can go to a show taking place at the theater or attend a dinner with the partner of an investment fund. I feel like the biggest challenge ends up being having to constantly remember why you’re here in the first place, and being very intentional about those decisions.
Leonardo Vieira, Brazilian Stanford MBA student
This freedom of time is totally different from the experience Leonardo had in Rio during his undergraduate studies. He grew up in Queimados and studied law in , in the south of the capital of Rio de Janeiro. A journey of almost 3 hours by public transport to get there and back. In Palo Alto, he lives in the student housing, one street away from the high school. business.
Before going to Stanford, Leonardo worked as a head of product at Ambev, where he took care of the operation of autonomous stores installed within condominiums.
Francielle grew up on the outskirts of Sertãozinho, in the interior of São Paulo. She has a degree in mathematics from and moved to the capital of São Paulo to work in education. “I worked at Instituto Canoa, which is a non-profit organization that trains math and science teachers with a pedagogy focused on equity.”
Before that, she worked as a teacher in Campo Grande, in Mato Grosso do Sul. It was there that she discovered what was possible at one of the most important universities in the world. “I built this dream as I gained access to information, spaces and an understanding of what was possible”remembers.
“In 2018, through a job opportunity in which I had contact with Stanford professors, one of the professors, already retired from the university, looked at me and said that I had to do my postgraduate studies here, she gave me a lot of support. That’s when I started looking to the people around me to understand what needed to be done, what the step-by-step process was,” he highlights.
First steps to studying at Stanford
The process for a graduate fellowship at Stanford usually involves the sending the academic record, taking tests, the certificate of letters of recommendation and a resume.
For Francielle, language was the main issue. “I prepared for a while, at least two years, delving deeper into my English studies. I needed a reference letter and it’s not very obvious how that happens, who to ask for. You have to submit a resume, but it has much more to do with positive impact. There were several simultaneous processes, but what I I had the most difficulty with English”.
There was also the financial issue. She highlights that proficiency tests are expensive and that all this preparation was a very emotionally demanding process: “I have a problem with self-sabotage, I kept dragging my feet, I never thought I was good enough to begin the registration process”, he says.
HAS CNNLeonardo also points to , required in the selection process for the MBA, as a “discouragement” that may arise for black Brazilian candidates.
“Everything in the test is very focused on how you solve mathematical problems, deal with numbers, how you interpret. Depending on the education you had access to, many people have this feeling that mathematics is still a big deal.”
The question of was precisely the topic of Francielle’s research in her master’s degree.
“For us not to discuss this in depth, especially when those who perform worst on tests are black children, is neglecting their future and that of the country as a whole. Whether it’s thinking, for example, about going to courses that generally pay better average salaries, but also about playing your role as a citizen”, comments the research assistant.
Connection and impact
Despite the difficulty she felt living in an elitist environment, Francielle managed to get closer to Black Communitymade up of black students from all corners of the world. This group, which promotes networkingfun and welcome for these students, served as inspiration for the development of a collective formed only by Brazilian black students.
“I think there were five of us at the beginning, who organized this Afro-Brazilian collective, thinking about the importance of coming together and welcoming each other, but also thinking about opportunities for other black students who come to study at Stanford.”
The collective has the idea of mobilizing resources so that more black people can occupy universities. “Our intention is to not only provide information, but to be a space for mentoring, planning, and mobilizing resources to make it possible for other black Brazilian people to come.”
Francielle also highlights the possibility of participating in events promoted by Stanford’s Lemann Center to receive information about scholarships — like the one that made it possible for her to go there.
More blacks in the gym
Her wish is to have more blacks and Brazilians from other regions of the country enriching academic spaces and debates about education in Brazil.
For a long time, with all due respect to all the knowledge that has ever been produced, much of the same was seen in some areas of knowledge production. And I think there is a power, an innovation when black students carry out their research, develop their projects, participate in class discussions.
Francielle Santos, master in comparative education from Stanford University
Leonardo, for example, is one of the first black Brazilians to attend Stanford’s MBA. “We had a black Brazilian before me, who just graduated and became a reference, someone with whom I could exchange ideas, and who somehow became this milestone that it was possible.” According to him, his class has 40% students from outside the United States.
“I hope to fulfill this role for the next generations and make this space increasingly diverse. The idea is to build, open space and ensure that more black Brazilians feel comfortable applying and believe that this space is also possible for them.”
While Leonardo is thinking about returning to Brazil to start his own business, Francielle still doesn’t know what next steps she will take, such as pursuing a doctorate there. However, it has already set a goal collaborate with the development of education in the country.
“What I know is that this experience has equipped me with more repertoire and more tools to continue advocating for the quality, equitable, democratic education that I dream of”, he emphasizes.
Leonardo also plans to build something that will have an impact on Brazil. “I’m open and deciding whether I want to start in the United States and go to Brazil, or start in Brazil immediately after the program. , I’m one of those people, and I’m thinking about how to build something in this space.”
“It changes a lot when we have black Brazilians coming abroad, to these big universities, to learn what is necessary and return to Brazil to make a difference”, reinforces Leonardo.
