1. PiLA Newsletter December 2013
Laila Parada-Worby works with the Rio Lead-
ership Institute’s (ILRIO) partner, Fundação
Estudar. She oversees the Prep Program,
which helps talented Brazilian students apply
to U.S. colleges and universities. Her work
includes materials development, communica-
tion with mentors and mentees, coordination
with schools, planning and scheduling out-
reach trips, making presentations at local
schools about the experience of studying in
U.S. colleges, and communicating with do-
nors. Other responsibilities include writing,
producing and teaching an online course for Prep Program participants, and developing new student
services. Laila also has been engaged in mentor recruitment and training. Of 34 current Prep Program
participants, 29 have been accepted to overseas institutions including Stanford, Cal Tech, MIT and
Harvard. A record six Brazilian applicants have been admitted to the latter, three of whom came
through Fundação Estudar’s Prep Program.
Background: A Washington, D.C. native, Laila Parada-Worby graduated from Harvard College (2012), concentrating in history
and literature with a focus on Latin America, a secondary field in government and a Portuguese language citation.
Laila Parada‐Worby (front, center‐le )
Support Princeton in Latin America
Dear Friends of PiLA,
This issue summarizes the activities of a handful of our over 30 fellows currently serving across the region. As 2013 winds down,
we call on you to make a tax‐deductible gift to support PiLA’s mission. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, PiLA depends on
the generosity of valued individuals—like you—who share our commitment to positively impact life throughout the region.
With your support, in 2014 PiLA will continue to place fellows in year‐long service posts across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Please join the many generous parties that have contributed to PiLA’s critical work to match talented and motivated recent college
graduates with NGOs that are grappling with the myriad cultural, social, economic and political issues that impact the lives of people
across the region. Your help is essential to make our work possible. Please share with family and friends!
To make your gift today, mail a check payable to Princeton in Latin America, 194 Nassau Street, Suite 211, Princeton, NJ
08542–7003, or donate via PayPal: www.princeton.edu/~pila/support/index.htm. Your gift—at any level—is critical to the con‐
tinued success and growth of PiLA’s work. We thank you in advance for your commitment and generosity of spirit.
PRINCETON IN LATIN AMERICA
2013–14 Fellows Report from the Field
A Year of Service—The Difference of a Lifetime
Like Princeton in La n America on Facebook |:| www.princeton.edu/~pila/ |:| pila@princeton.edu
Laila Parada-Worby, FUNDAÇãO ESTUDAR. BRAZIL
2. PiLA Newsletter December 2013
2Princeton in Latin America, 194 Nassau St. Suite 211, Princeton, NJ 08542–7003
Mai Nguyen works with Unidad Académica Campesina
in Carmen Pampa, Bolivia (UAC-CP), which provides
higher education to young, mostly rural Bolivians with
talent and ambition but few economic resources.
These young people typically become agents of
change in their own communities. As External Rela-
tions Coordinator, Mai is responsible for fundraising,
donor cultivation and relations, monitoring funded
projects, maintaining UAC-CP’s social media pres-
ence, and managing alumni relations. Mai has col-
laborated in developing a systemized method to plan
and monitor costs and expenditures of a campus or-
ganic garden extension project, and to create an online campaign to furnish a new on-campus day-
care program to enable students who are parents to pursue their studies. Mai’s close engagement with
locals has enabled her to make friends and enjoy an active social life in an intimate rural community.
Background: A Hanoi native, Mai Nguyen graduated from Vassar College (2013) with a dual degree in international studies and
economics.
Isabel Silver Nogueira works in Rio de Janeiro with Saúde Criança, seeking to reduce re-hospitalization
of seriously ill low-income children by addressing the psychological, familial, social and economic
factors that contribute to the child’s illness. Isabel implements child and family education programs,
assists in fundraising initiatives, collaborates with communications efforts, and works directly with
children and their families at the hospital. She feels that her work has had the most meaningful impact
in relation to efforts in communications, fundraising and educational programs. Saúde Criança’s solid
organization makes it an especially effective NGO, a model that in Isabel’s view could be implemented
to positive effect in public hospitals elsewhere in Brazil. The communications department’s FUTURA
educational TV channel targets the economically underprivileged, presenting advice and materials that
can be applied to everyday life challenges. Isabel also contributes to programs addressing the partic-
ular concerns of teenagers with respect to education, family life, the labor market and socioeconomic
integration. FUTURA also addresses topics such as pedestrian safety, the influence of indigenous and
African cultures in Brazil, and the critical importance of early childhood education.
Isabel Silver Nogueira, SAÚDE CRIANÇA. BRAZIL
Mai Nguyen (third from right)
Mai Nguyen, UNIDAD ACADEMICA CAMPESINA. BOLIVIA
4. PiLA Newsletter December 2013
4Princeton in Latin America, 194 Nassau St. Suite 211, Princeton, NJ 08542–7003
Writing from Medellín, Bo Schlagel reports, “I work with 45 former child soldiers ages 14 to 18. They are
housed at Centro de Atención Especializada (CAE), overseen by the NGO Ciudad Don Bosco (CDB) in partner-
ship with Developing Minds Foundation (DM).” Bo took over the project from
2012 –13 PiLA Fellow Natalie Shoup (Princeton ’12), who earlier worked in Rio
de Janeiro with DM’s Cidade de Deus favela youth program.
Bo relates, “I collaborate with a CAE pedagogue to run weekly meetings
with youth leaders. We are creating an honor board, a committee system, group
T-shirts, and character-based leadership workshops, bringing in outside men-
tors, starting a Big Brother-Big Sister program, and writing a leadership group
pact or constitution. I recently took several groups of youth on weekend trips to downtown Medellín to visit the
Antioquía Museum, Gran Plaza Mall, Parque de las Luces, and the Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) library.
We’ll try to do something different each month. I also teach weekly computer classes to our youth on topics such
as MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, how to use Facebook responsi-
bly, and how to use email.”
“I am preparing a major report on
best practices in child soldier re-
integration. This entails relationship
building with traumatized youth,
participant observation, and analysis
of organizational practice. We envision this report as a blueprint for other or-
ganizations, governments and practitioners to
successfully reintegrate former child soldiers into society. Working with this
unique population has required time and patience to form relationships of trust.
One needs to understand that you cannot accomplish things quickly. Delayed
gratification is part of the process. My worldview has changed thanks to the
population I work with, and these youth are the best part of my work. Confronting
their stories, their spirit, and their hope for the future has completely changed
how I look at war and crime, and of course, it has made me question my own privilege and status.”
Background: Born and raised in rural Colorado, Bo Schlagel graduated from Brown University with honors in development
studies and a regional focus on Latin America. A generous gift from Brown University alumnus Bill Rhodes and a grant from
the Amy Adina Schulman Memorial Fund make Bo’s work possible. Anonymous photos courtesy of Developing Minds.
Robert “Bo” Schlagel, DEVELOPING MINDS. COLOMBIA
Agradecimientos: To Paula Restrepo, Xenia Tijeras Roca and Violeta Manzanares for this issue’s editing and layout, and to
Natalia Cámpora por su ánimo y apoyo sin precio. Special thanks to Arminio Fraga *85 for his continued generous support of PiLA. Col‐
lective thanks to the PiLA Board of Directors for unstinting commitment of talent, time and treasure to the challenge of realizing PiLA’s
mission to enhance civic capacity and humanitarian development throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Thanks to our Partner
Organizations, and to the countless PiLA Supporters and Friends, including our Fellows and Alumni. Photos courtesy of PiLA
Fellows and Partner Organizations. |::| S PiLA : www.princeton.edu/~pila/support/index.htm.
These youth are the best part of
my work. Confronting their
stories, their spirit, and their hope
for the future has completely
changed how I look at war and
crime, and has made me question
my own privilege and status.
