A Discussion with Joseling Murillo López, Marketing Student and Coordinator of the Young Researchers Program, Central American University, Managua, Nicaragua
With: Joseling Murillo López Berkley Center Profile
August 7, 2014
Background: As part
of the Education and Social Justice Project, in August 2014 undergraduate
student Gianna Maita interviewed Joseling Murillo López, a student at Central American University (Universidad Centroamericana, UCA). In this interview, she
discusses her involvement in the Young Researchers Program (Jóvenes Investigadores) and her Jesuit education at UCA. She also shares her thoughts on the social responsibility of the
university and social justice.
Would you like to begin by introducing
yourself?
My name is Joseling Murillo, and I am the coordinator of the program Jóvenes Investigadores. This year, I began [this job] in the program; before, I participated in some projects of the program. One was the REDNICA project…it was my first time participating in research here at the UCA. It was a wonderful experience because we became conscious of the reality that many people live in. Sometimes we ignore the work that these people do, but we got to see how important they are, because they are people who are helping the environment in one way or another. This is also a form of survival for them. They pick up materials to see which they can reuse and sell to support their families. I had the opportunity to go to the island of Ometepe and to Juigalpa, and the truth is that they are different realities.
On the island of Ometepe…they are organized by committees, and the majority of the members are women. Something that really caught my attention is that they were not there for money; they told me that they wanted to clean the island. It was not important for them to gain [something] that day but instead to clean the island, because they know that pollution is deteriorating our environment. These people have an initiative to clean up even though not all of them were part of the security team. Some only used gloves and were exposed [to the trash], and some sustained injuries. Another problem is with transportation—there almost isn’t any transportation! This is very difficult; they must walk many kilometers to get to the landfill and then after to get to all of the materials… We visited their homes to see the conditions they are living in and how many people live in their homes. They were not as exposed to waste as they were in Juigalpa.
What are your responsibilities as the coordinator of the program?
I am working on the same research [as when I was a participant] because they are interviewing people who are presidents of recycling programs and who are in REDNICA.
…Right now the program is also working on a conference for youth to be part of the program that is also for students of the university, but with the economic sciences and business faculties. Last week I had the opportunity to visit with the program’s committee and visit classrooms to invite students to participate with the research they have done in some of their classes… The conference is an opportunity to exhibit their work supported by professors. The congress is also a competition; it is different.
How is your experience as the coordinator of this program connected to your Jesuit education at the UCA?
Jóvenes Investigadores has helped me very much with my degree. I am in Marketing, in my third year, and we have to research the market. I am putting into practice what I have learned in the classroom. And it is related to my Jesuit education because through the research we see what life is like with jobs in the field and the reality of what is happening in our country. And it does not just form our education in a theoretical way…we become conscious of the situation. As Marketing students, we have the most contact with people, so we learn about how we must relate to people and see how to fulfill their needs.
After these experiences, how do you think about the needs of your country?
I did not ignore them [before], but it is very different to see or to hear what the people who are living that experience say, because you realize what is really happening.
What motivates you to work at Jóvenes Investigadores?
Firstly, it is for my major. At the beginning, I did not like the research class for my major, but after [doing the program,] it was different because I began to like what I was doing in class.
…There are classes now where I am also receiving assignments to do research, and now it is easier for me. And it’s also an opportunity to truly be in a job in the field, in the REDNICA research. Now, it is easier to apply the methods, like surveys and interviews. And I like it! When the professor [Kathy Murillo] told me that she would like me to be the coordinator, it was like I wanted to and I didn’t want to. After, I told my parents and [they said] that if they are offering me the opportunity, why not take advantage of it?
…If you really like the work that you are studying, look for ways to divide your time between your classes and doing the work.
There is a buzzword that the university often uses, “the social responsibility of the university.” What do you believe is the social responsibility of the UCA?
For me the social responsibility of the university is in students supporting [society] in their extracurricular activities that are in the university, but not only a single time because social responsibility is to do it and to do it continually… If you aren’t doing it constantly, it is not social responsibility; it is philanthropy. If you are doing social responsibility, you are doing it constantly… I believe that the university is truly fulfilling its social responsibility because it is continually carrying out its activities. Not only do they benefit; we benefit as students—and if we can, we make it benefit others as well.
Campus Ministry also has projects that are part of the social responsibility of the university. For example, it is involving students; some visit the asylum or teach classes on weekends. These are also part of social responsibility…I had the opportunity to go to one of Campus Ministry’s programs. It was an English class, and the teacher needed help. The place where the students had class is the size of this [small] office, so they are in small rooms. In one, I remember that there were second and third graders, and they were divided by nothing more than rows, so the middle of the classroom, second, and here, third.
How would you link social responsibility to social justice?
With the example of research, [social justice] means the activities of the people who are recycling and that they understand the rights that they have as people. Social justice is to help, to respect, and to recognize the rights of all in society. With respect to social responsibility, I’m not sure how to relate them, but for me social responsibility has to do with being in contact with people. It is a source for being in contact not only with people but with organizations that can help the situations in which people are living… Social responsibility is like a source of social justice.
My name is Joseling Murillo, and I am the coordinator of the program Jóvenes Investigadores. This year, I began [this job] in the program; before, I participated in some projects of the program. One was the REDNICA project…it was my first time participating in research here at the UCA. It was a wonderful experience because we became conscious of the reality that many people live in. Sometimes we ignore the work that these people do, but we got to see how important they are, because they are people who are helping the environment in one way or another. This is also a form of survival for them. They pick up materials to see which they can reuse and sell to support their families. I had the opportunity to go to the island of Ometepe and to Juigalpa, and the truth is that they are different realities.
On the island of Ometepe…they are organized by committees, and the majority of the members are women. Something that really caught my attention is that they were not there for money; they told me that they wanted to clean the island. It was not important for them to gain [something] that day but instead to clean the island, because they know that pollution is deteriorating our environment. These people have an initiative to clean up even though not all of them were part of the security team. Some only used gloves and were exposed [to the trash], and some sustained injuries. Another problem is with transportation—there almost isn’t any transportation! This is very difficult; they must walk many kilometers to get to the landfill and then after to get to all of the materials… We visited their homes to see the conditions they are living in and how many people live in their homes. They were not as exposed to waste as they were in Juigalpa.
What are your responsibilities as the coordinator of the program?
I am working on the same research [as when I was a participant] because they are interviewing people who are presidents of recycling programs and who are in REDNICA.
…Right now the program is also working on a conference for youth to be part of the program that is also for students of the university, but with the economic sciences and business faculties. Last week I had the opportunity to visit with the program’s committee and visit classrooms to invite students to participate with the research they have done in some of their classes… The conference is an opportunity to exhibit their work supported by professors. The congress is also a competition; it is different.
How is your experience as the coordinator of this program connected to your Jesuit education at the UCA?
Jóvenes Investigadores has helped me very much with my degree. I am in Marketing, in my third year, and we have to research the market. I am putting into practice what I have learned in the classroom. And it is related to my Jesuit education because through the research we see what life is like with jobs in the field and the reality of what is happening in our country. And it does not just form our education in a theoretical way…we become conscious of the situation. As Marketing students, we have the most contact with people, so we learn about how we must relate to people and see how to fulfill their needs.
After these experiences, how do you think about the needs of your country?
I did not ignore them [before], but it is very different to see or to hear what the people who are living that experience say, because you realize what is really happening.
What motivates you to work at Jóvenes Investigadores?
Firstly, it is for my major. At the beginning, I did not like the research class for my major, but after [doing the program,] it was different because I began to like what I was doing in class.
…There are classes now where I am also receiving assignments to do research, and now it is easier for me. And it’s also an opportunity to truly be in a job in the field, in the REDNICA research. Now, it is easier to apply the methods, like surveys and interviews. And I like it! When the professor [Kathy Murillo] told me that she would like me to be the coordinator, it was like I wanted to and I didn’t want to. After, I told my parents and [they said] that if they are offering me the opportunity, why not take advantage of it?
…If you really like the work that you are studying, look for ways to divide your time between your classes and doing the work.
There is a buzzword that the university often uses, “the social responsibility of the university.” What do you believe is the social responsibility of the UCA?
For me the social responsibility of the university is in students supporting [society] in their extracurricular activities that are in the university, but not only a single time because social responsibility is to do it and to do it continually… If you aren’t doing it constantly, it is not social responsibility; it is philanthropy. If you are doing social responsibility, you are doing it constantly… I believe that the university is truly fulfilling its social responsibility because it is continually carrying out its activities. Not only do they benefit; we benefit as students—and if we can, we make it benefit others as well.
Campus Ministry also has projects that are part of the social responsibility of the university. For example, it is involving students; some visit the asylum or teach classes on weekends. These are also part of social responsibility…I had the opportunity to go to one of Campus Ministry’s programs. It was an English class, and the teacher needed help. The place where the students had class is the size of this [small] office, so they are in small rooms. In one, I remember that there were second and third graders, and they were divided by nothing more than rows, so the middle of the classroom, second, and here, third.
How would you link social responsibility to social justice?
With the example of research, [social justice] means the activities of the people who are recycling and that they understand the rights that they have as people. Social justice is to help, to respect, and to recognize the rights of all in society. With respect to social responsibility, I’m not sure how to relate them, but for me social responsibility has to do with being in contact with people. It is a source for being in contact not only with people but with organizations that can help the situations in which people are living… Social responsibility is like a source of social justice.
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