A Discussion with Vinicio Granados, Assistant to the Director of Financial Resources, Rafael Landívar University, Guatemala City, Guatemala
With: Vinicio Granados Berkley Center Profile
June 11, 2015
Background: As part of the Education and Social Justice
Project, in June 2015 student Nicolas Lake interviewed Vinicio Granados, a
former student of Puente Belice High School and an assistant to the director of
financial resources at Rafael Landívar University (Universidad Rafael
Landívar). In this interview,
Granados discusses his time at Puente Belice, as well as the missions of both
the high school and Rafael Landívar University.
Can you tell me about your time in Puente
Belice High School?
I started there when I was 14 years old. I studied there in the mornings, and then when I wasn’t studying, I was working. We were able to take classes here in the university, and the high school gave me the opportunity to study here with a full scholarship without paying for matriculation or anything. I wasn’t able to graduate because I didn’t know English well enough. I still need to study that.
What do you do now?
I got the opportunity to start working in the university when my scholarship ended. So now I work in Werner Lopez’s office, on the university’s financial resources. I want everyone to know about the high school because it gave me a great opportunity. I wouldn’t be where I am now without the high school.
Are other students who went to high school with you also in the university now?
The university does provide a lot of opportunities, and there are some students who are here. There are also students who leave high school and go off and do something else, or aren’t able to find work. There are lots of students here who have cars and get to school that way, and the students at the high school don’t have that resource, so they’re limited. They were able to get to Puente Belice because they provided transportation, but that’s not so with the university.
What impact does justice have on the high school and its mission?
The founder of the high school, a Jesuit, certainly had it in mind. He wanted to help people who are marginalized and provide them the opportunity to keep studying past primary school. So the school was formed to assist those who can’t study past that level for whatever reason. As well, the high school seeks to train the whole person, which is what half the time students are studying and half the time they are working.
Do you think Rafael Landívar University has the same emphasis on justice in its mission?
It’s interesting, looking at the students at both schools. The university doesn’t make as much space for us, students of the high school. The university makes it difficult if you don’t have a scholarship and don’t have money; there aren’t opportunities for everyone like there could be. The high school does focus on those people that usually couldn’t attend the university.
Did your classes at the high school help you develop a capacity for critical analysis?
Yeah, for example there was a big focus on training the whole person through different topics. A student could be part-time, taking classes in the morning, and then working in the afternoon, and then at night doing something to support their community. There are a wide variety of activities and events, and they’re meant to challenge us and make us think.
What do you want to do in the future?
Have a stable salary, and maybe work here at the university, because that would give me the opportunity to work in the high school and teach classes at the high school. Maybe start a business.
I started there when I was 14 years old. I studied there in the mornings, and then when I wasn’t studying, I was working. We were able to take classes here in the university, and the high school gave me the opportunity to study here with a full scholarship without paying for matriculation or anything. I wasn’t able to graduate because I didn’t know English well enough. I still need to study that.
What do you do now?
I got the opportunity to start working in the university when my scholarship ended. So now I work in Werner Lopez’s office, on the university’s financial resources. I want everyone to know about the high school because it gave me a great opportunity. I wouldn’t be where I am now without the high school.
Are other students who went to high school with you also in the university now?
The university does provide a lot of opportunities, and there are some students who are here. There are also students who leave high school and go off and do something else, or aren’t able to find work. There are lots of students here who have cars and get to school that way, and the students at the high school don’t have that resource, so they’re limited. They were able to get to Puente Belice because they provided transportation, but that’s not so with the university.
What impact does justice have on the high school and its mission?
The founder of the high school, a Jesuit, certainly had it in mind. He wanted to help people who are marginalized and provide them the opportunity to keep studying past primary school. So the school was formed to assist those who can’t study past that level for whatever reason. As well, the high school seeks to train the whole person, which is what half the time students are studying and half the time they are working.
Do you think Rafael Landívar University has the same emphasis on justice in its mission?
It’s interesting, looking at the students at both schools. The university doesn’t make as much space for us, students of the high school. The university makes it difficult if you don’t have a scholarship and don’t have money; there aren’t opportunities for everyone like there could be. The high school does focus on those people that usually couldn’t attend the university.
Did your classes at the high school help you develop a capacity for critical analysis?
Yeah, for example there was a big focus on training the whole person through different topics. A student could be part-time, taking classes in the morning, and then working in the afternoon, and then at night doing something to support their community. There are a wide variety of activities and events, and they’re meant to challenge us and make us think.
What do you want to do in the future?
Have a stable salary, and maybe work here at the university, because that would give me the opportunity to work in the high school and teach classes at the high school. Maybe start a business.
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