Elisa Martinez Salazar, MSc Social Justice and Community Action

'If you want to make a conscious type of impact in the world - wherever you are, in whichever field you choose and with the need to manage different responsibilities - this programme is for you!'

I have been doing volunteer work in my country (the Dominican Republic) in the field of education for many years now. Contributing in ways that might help others have greater access to resources and opportunity has always been important to me. My mother’s generation escaped poverty thanks to education. Her dream of becoming a Civil Engineer became a reality because her older siblings had access to quality, affordable, public education, which made it possible for them to financially support the entire family and help its youngest members follow their example.

'Passion wasn't enough'

I was passionate about volunteer work and knew that passion wasn’t enough to make a kind of impact that would place students at the center of the process of co-creating knowledge. One of the reasons that led me to choose this program was that it would give me the tools I needed to improve the quality of the volunteer work I do. Once classes began, I confirmed that I had made the right choice. I’ve completed the MSc and can confidently say that it only improved each and every semester, professors and staff continued to be as available and committed to my education and concerns as they were when I first contacted the school expressing interest in becoming a student, and each course introduced me to intelligent people from around the world that challenged me in fascinating ways.  I had prior experience with online learning and I must say that, by far, this has been the best one I’ve had. Each aspect of the digital learning experience/environment has been carefully thought of with the student in mind.  I was given all the opportunities this form of studying allows to not only connect with other students from around the world and with professors but to also maximize the benefits of studying at my own pace. I earned a master’s degree while having a full-time job, doing volunteer work and working on my artistic career (literature, music & films).

'I want to change my career path'

I also chose this program because I want to change my career path. Plan A is to make a living with my art. I believe it is a great tool for social justice efforts. The things I’ve learned have changed the way I approach the process of creating and have instilled in me a greater sense of responsibility to use my art and share my platform with those making social justice claims for their communities. Plan B is to keep a full-time job and move to the third sector and it is clear how this MSc will help with that. If you want to make a conscious type of impact in the world - wherever you are, in whichever field you choose and with the need to manage different responsibilities - this program is for you!