Berkley Center

Background: In his address to the first assembly of the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) in Bilbao, Spain, in 2018, Father Superior Arturo Sosa, S.J., emphasized the importance of “education for world citizenship.” Since 2022, the IAJU Global Citizenship Curriculum Project and the IAJU Global Citizenship Fellows Program have brought together thousands of students from the international network of Jesuit institutions to engage in dialogue and develop leadership skills as global citizens.

Project Manager Jane Fitzpatrick, who supports the IAJU Global Citizenship programs, connected with some of the Global Citizenship alumni ambassadors during the fall 2025 semester to talk about their experiences with the programs and what it means to be global citizens as students at Jesuit universities across the world.

Biography: Paola Murillo Jiménez is an undergraduate student at the Ponitificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. She is a member of the IAJU Global Citizenship Fellows Program 2023-2024 cohort and serves as an alumni ambassador for the IAJU Global Citizenship Curriculum Project during the fall 2025 semester.

Please share a little bit about yourself: Where are you from, where do you go to school, and what are you studying?

Hey! I am Paola Murillo Jiménez, a linguistics student from Quito, Ecuador. I am currently studying my last year of my undergraduate studies at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. I chose this major as a fresh-out-of-high-school 17-year-old because I felt like language is key to the understanding of pretty much everything, from human nature to how society is built and international dynamics and relations. I reckon there is not a single field of study that doesn’t ultimately rely on language to exist.

What was the name of the class you took that incorporated the IAJU Global Citizenship Curriculum Project? Who was your professor, and how did the global citizenship curriculum fit into your coursework?

The class was Foundations of Research, which I took in the second semester, about two and a half years ago. It was taught by Liliya Harutyunyan, who, at the time, was the coordinator of the global studies major. She definitely encouraged us (and still does) to fit globalization and global citizenship not only into our plans of study, but our fundamental understanding of the major. Research is a pretty fundamental aspect of linguistics and is what I have dedicated the past three years of my life to, so having a professor who understood and encouraged that global curiosity was a blessing.

What was it like participating in a Global Student Dialogue for that class? What did you take away from your first experience?

The Global Student Dialogues were the first time I interacted so one-on-one with people from countries very different from mine, which was fascinating! After we managed to get past the initial awkwardness, I remember my group bonding with a student from the Philippines over cultural similarities and a similar political climate. I also remember a Syrian student who shared about her life experiences and education access and remember thinking how extraordinary it was to hear about it, not from a news article or some documentary, but directly from the people who lived it.

How have the global citizenship programs impacted your understanding of the Jesuit network? Do you feel more connected with the global network now that you’ve participated in the programs?

Previous to the global citizenship programs, I was actually not familiar with the Jesuit network at all. Apart from the mandatory courses about ethics and religion, I find that the Jesuit ways in my college tend to be more subtle, more on the down low. I definitely feel a lot more connected to the network now and find that it has helped me navigate university life much better and understand the philosophy, mission, and values behind the institution I study at, as well as the political and cultural role it plays.

Why did you decide to stay involved with the IAJU Global Citizenship Curriculum Project by becoming an alumni ambassador?

The main reason was definitely gratitude to the program. The conversations, dialogues, workshops, and experiences this program has facilitated have been proven invaluable to the person I am today, both academically and as a citizen. I believe that many more students across the network deserve the opportunity to become a part of this fantastic project and benefit from it. Staying involved with the program is my way to help a little for that to keep happening.

With all of your experience in our programs so far, how would you define global citizenship?

I would say that defining global citizenship is a bit ambitious, but, in my opinion, it describes today’s undeniably interconnected reality, be it on the highest global level or on a more local community level. Global citizenship is how you navigate this world consciously of these dynamics and their effect on reality.

Going back to the Jesuit aspect of our work, which Jesuit value means the most to you, and how does it inspire you to act as a global citizen?

While every value has led me to reflect a lot since I learned about them in the program, I have to say the one that has stood out the most to me is cura personalis [care of the person]. The idea of nurturing the whole person has become more and more relevant recently, as it is quite easy to forget the complexity of ourselves as we get lost in the fast, overwhelming dissonance that our day-to-day can be. I do believe that it is a crucial value, as it allows for the better practice of all the others and I would like to incorporate it more to my personal life.

What message would you want to send to all the students across the Jesuit network about global citizenship?

In today’s world, global citizenship is a key lens to understand our increasingly complex, overwhelming, everchanging, and interconnected realities. Incorporating this lens to your field of study—whichever it may be—is the way to go. It opens your eyes to a lot of realities one might not have considered before, and to the fact that we really are not alone in this.

Thank you, Paola!