When he was still struggling to learn English as a teenager, Florida Gulf Coast University alumnus Andres Machado (2014, Political Science) could hardly have dreamed that one day he’d attend the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
But he will this fall, after receiving a full scholarship for graduate school at the University of Oxford in England. The Naples resident and native of Colombia will pursue a master’s degree in global governance and diplomacy in a highly selective program that accepts only 25 students each year from around the world. He was awarded the only fully funded scholarship available in the program for 2015-16.
“For a long time I couldn’t believe it,” Machado says. “I couldn’t comprehend how I could go from being 16 years old and not speaking English to now attending this prestigious university. It’s very motivational. It gives me the courage to tell other students no matter how old you are, or if you’re just learning the language, or you parents don’t have a lot of money – if you work very hard you will be able to go anyplace you want.”
Since graduating from FGCU, he has used his story to inspire young people in Collier County facing such obstacles to attending college. Machado, 25, moved to the United States from Colombia when he was 16 and having trouble learning English. After graduating from Barron Collier High School and with the help of FGCU Foundation scholarships, he became the first in his family to pursue a college degree, He graduated summa cum laude with a 3.9 GPA and an impressive portfolio of achievements in scholarship, service and leadership.
“Andres represents a shining example of the transformative effect of higher education,” FGCU President Wilson G. Bradshaw said. “His achievements as an individual and as a leader are testament to his passion for knowledge and service. We are proud to have him representing FGCU abroad, and his success reflects the university’s rising stature on the international academic stage.”
Machado was inducted into the university’s Hall of Fame, was named College of Arts and Sciences Student of the Year and earned awards from the Office of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement and Office of Research and Graduate Studies. He served as an Eagle Ambassador, Honors Program Mentor Director and Student Relations Director for Student Government.
Off campus, Machado was one of six individuals nationwide named to the Student Advisory Board for the American Democracy Project, a non-partisan initiative that seeks to create an intellectual and experiential understanding of civic engagement for undergraduates at 250 campuses. He interned with the Florida Immigration Coalition when it successfully fought for tuition equality for all Florida high school graduates regardless of immigration status. He also convinced the Embassy of Colombia in Washington, D.C., to give him a summer internship after repeated brush-offs.
“Persistence can make a big difference,” he says. “You’re not always going to get a yes the first time you ask. If you keep trying, it can happen.”
Machado’s persistence and his passion for higher education also earned him an FGCU scholarship to attend a summer 2014 program at the London School of Economics, his introduction to the English education system. When he applied to Oxford he was offered scholarships by two programs concurrently but opted for the global governance master’s in the Department of International Development.
“This is obviously testament to Andres’ outstanding capabilities. This is a huge accomplishment not just for him but for FGCU,” says Nicola Foote, professor of Latin American History and interim director of FGCU’s Honors Program. “It shows that FGCU is being recognized as a high-quality university that produces exceptional graduates and that prepares students for one of the most rigorous and challenging programs of graduate study in the world. Oxford accepts only about 15 percent of all graduate applicants, and most of those have graduated from other elite universities.”
After completing his master’s degree, Machado hopes to attend law school and eventually work in international relations or governance in the United States or Colombia.
In the meantime, he’s counseling high school students about college through Grace Place, a faith-based agency in Naples that provides pathways out of poverty by educating children and families. Sixteen of the students he mentored plan to attend college this fall, including six at FGCU.
“I don’t want my story to reflect only what I was able to do, but to show others they can follow a similar path,” he says. “When my parents were young, their parents had to choose between food and education. It’s a big deal to have this opportunity. Education changed my life.”