Into the World

Robert Valencia '05 currently works at the United Nations global headquarters in New York City.

By Martin Haro ‘05

Like thousands of Golden Panthers, Robert Valencia ‘05 began his freshman year in 2001 expecting nothing but the best, but that fall would bring an event that definitely steered his commitment to his chosen track of study.

“When Sept. 11 happened I reaffirmed that my duty was to learn more about what was going on around the world and the fast-paced globalization we were experiencing,” he said.

Valencia took his time at FIU as a serious opportunity to learn everything he could and pursued a bachelor of arts in international relations and a bachelor of science in print journalism.

He graduated in 2005 with a minor in French and another in geography and with a certificate in Latin American studies.

“Until now, my time at FIU is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.”

Today, though, at 24 years old, the Bogotá, Colombia, native lives in New York City where he is keeping just as busy as he did in his undergraduate years in South Florida.

He is working toward a master’s degree at Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y., which he hopes to receive next May. Earlier this fall, he began an internship with the UN Chronicle, a quarterly publication from the United Nations, at the organization’s global headquarters in the Big Apple.

This is on top of his work as an associate editor of “TV Latina,” the Latino supplement of World Screen, a television business trade magazine.

“I hope to learn a little more about the internal functions of the United Nations and meet new students who come from many different backgrounds and areas of expertise,” he said before beginning his internship. “I believe that as the world changes it is everybody’s obligation to be abreast of what’s happening in what is called the ‘global village.”

Valencia says he wants to pursue further work within the United Nations and that little by little he is becoming convinced he may have what it takes to make this happen.

“I applied to the internship last spring after someone from the UN spoke at Iona College,” he said. “After the lecture I spoke to him and he encouraged me to do so, since I come from the international relations program at FIU, which is pretty well known thanks to the Model UN team, and my knowledge of foreign languages.”

(Valencia speaks Spanish, English and French, which he began studying in middle school and complemented with a two-month stint at the Université Catholique de l’Ouest in Angers, France, through the FIU Study Abroad Program, in 2003.)

“I knew it was going to be very hard and very competitive and though I didn’t get the internship I applied for, I ended up getting the internship with the UN Chronicle early in October.”

He either wants to continue down the road of communication for the organization or, having been a volunteer for the American Red Cross’ Greater Miami and the Keys Chapter, take this past experience and explore opportunities in the area of world relief.

| back |