Impact stories

Growing up in the green, mountainous city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, one may be surprised to see other cities utterly devoid of nature. Growing up surrounded by nature and so near adventurous expeditions could also render one increasingly angry as they realize the destruction humans are having on the natural world. Growing up in

In the digital information and social media age, the barriers to industries have been lowered substantially, even allowing teenagers to become a part of historically professional fields. Pedro Borges stumbled upon a Facebook page about graphic design when he was just 12 years old, and the first domino of his professional life fell. What had

Energy radiated off Sol Petroni since she was a child – from her desire to constantly be physically active to her expressive face that would let you know exactly how she was feeling. Now 19, Sol continues to give off fiery energy like the Sun that her name denotes, but now she has converted it

Smiling through even the most difficult of topics, Victor Parra, 19, talked openly about his life in Catia, a barrio (informal urban settlement) in West Caracas, Venezuela, that is home to over 1.5 million people. Speaking openly about your background is one thing. Letting it define you is another. “Where you come from does not

Maria José Cardeño tells us about her experience at Latin American Leadership Academy: a journey of self-discovery, connection, and empowerment. Wanting to change something is not easy, especially when you are someone young trying to lead a transformation. Not only do you face a society that underestimates your abilities. You face inexperience, ignorance of many circumstances, an

Fernando Sierra, whose untimely death last week at 29, shocked us all. But his life was well lived, and CLB alum Cristina Botero shares with our community more about her best friend and why he’s a role model for us all. Fernando was born in Colombia and became an economist at Andes University. He was

Giacomo shares more about the project he developed at BLB 2018, Ramifica, and how the bootcamp experience has impacted his way of thinking. Ramifica, BLB Project At BLB 2018, I developed an education project, Ramifica, with 4 other participants. Our goal is to develop and apply a training course for teachers from public schools in

Lucas, CLB alumni, shares more about his post-Bootcamp experience below. Thanks to LALA, I was able to meet the founders of Low Carbon City, a company that fosters projects that confront climate change and other environmental issues. We got in touch during the Bootcamp, and I had the opportunity to talk about the urban forestry

Sthefany shares her BLB experience and how it allowed her to reflect and grow as a woman in STEM. I didn’t know what to expect once selected to BLB, but I was surely surprised by such an amazing experience. BLB made me think more about mental health. There, I learned how to meditate and be