I am a 53 Brazilian woman who has lived in the US since 2001. My journey as a PhD student in the International Education Policy Program at the University of Maryland - College Park has been a self-discovery and an opportunity to rethink my goals as an educator, a woman, mother, and a lover of life. I feel that my main current vision is to promote cooperation and solidarity anywhere I go. Through human-to-human and human-to-nature connections, we can tap into deep relationships and find a brighter future for us and our planet.