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Scholar in the News
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Paulina Ponce de Leon Barido
"My experience in Afghanistan helped me realize that knowledge of the world's physical laws was not enough and that I needed to formalize my understanding of international relations and development theories. I structured my studies around an additional major in international relations that focused on development and social change."
- Alumni of: 2006 Graduate Scholarship Program
- Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico
- Four-year College or University: Wellesley College
- Graduate School: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Academic/Career Pursuits: Business, Education / Academia, Entrepreneur / Independent Business, International Economic Development, International NGO/Relations, Nonprofits, Public Policy, Writing / Journalism, Sustainability
- Other Interests: Film / Photography, Literature, Dance, Music
Biography
Paulina Ponce de Leon Barido leaves Wellesley with a sound foundation in physics and technology. She knows that is not enough if she wants to help alleviate global poverty. After honors work at Wellesley, she won a prestigious Watson Fellowship to look at how international organizations and NGOs use appropriate energy technologies to improve the lives of the poor. Using case studies in Peru, Sri Lanka, Dominican Republic, Mali and Madagascar, she was surprised and, at times, enraged, to find that many promising projects failed because too little attention was paid to sustaining them after the foreign experts left the scene.
In addition, Paulina came to believe that "that technology alone cannot successfully combat poverty." She came away from her field trips realizing "that economic empowerment is more critical to project success than I originally thought." She now has a greater appreciation for the role the private sector can play and the contributions it can make in furthering human development and in addressing sustainability issues.
Her intention is "to act as a bridge between science and policy making and between academic research and actual practice." She hopes to work in projects that secure poor people's access to sustainable and modern energy services, and to contribute to the global efforts of transforming our present energy system into a more sustainable one.
By 2006, Paulina had been away from Mexico for seven years. However, she has not forgotten her home country. Two years ago, she organized an internship with Mexico's Ministry of Governance for national and foreign students to work in projects for increasing transparency and the engagement of civil society. She also looks forward "to developing partnerships between MIT and Mexican institutions."
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