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Brazilian Students Gain International Knowledge at MSU
Published: Tuesday, 12 Mar 2013
Over the past decade Brazil has experienced unprecedented economic growth and business expansion. To keep the momentum going and stoke the intellectual fire of its workforce, the Brazilian government has stepped up to provide 100,000 scholarships for its best students to study abroad at the world’s top universities. Five of these students attended Michigan State University in 2012 as part of the Science Without Borders (SWB) Program.
Roberta Melo-Couto, a junior studying chemical engineering, was not able to hand-select which U.S. university she would attend in the SWB program, but is pleased it turned out to be MSU. “As soon as I found out I was coming here, I researched and found out all about it. And I watched Sparty videos. It was awesome,” she said.
Attending an American University
Most university students in Brazil are commuters, and the classes, academic buildings and other facilities are smaller than at MSU. Living on campus has made a world of difference in her learning style and her social life. “I like living inside campus. Everyone is really big on sports here and the people love going to football and basketball games and cheering for MSU,” she said. She has made many friends she hopes to remain in touch with, and has learned that Americans eat more than just hamburgers. “You also have healthy foods, too,” she said.
More importantly, since coming to MSU, Melo-Couto has discovered that she wants to pursue biotechnology as a career. “This experience really has helped me figure out what I want to do when I graduate because, for Brazil, the biotech field is important. We purchase biodiesel and ethanol and use lots of clean energy resources so I think my knowledge of biotech can contribute to Brazil’s growing knowledge about the environment,” she said.
“I will, as a chemical engineer, help the lives of the people in Brazil. I think that is my duty,” said Melo-Couto.
Experiences Beyond the Classroom
Mateus Braga lives in Brazilia, Brazil, and is a computer science major who is also attending MSU as part of SWB. He, like Melo-Couto, is enjoying the on-campus lifestyle, emphasis on academics and access to research facilities. “The library is so useful here and I have access to newer books. This will help me do my research in the future,” he said.
Braga didn’t expect to meet people from anywhere besides the United States; however, MSU’s international campus has made it possible to form friendships with Europeans, Chinese, Filipinos and—even vegetarians. “My friends here are vegetarians, so that’s different because I’m not,” said Braga. “There are a lot of different ways to think and learn about one another’s culture. It is a great experience for me. We have the feeling we will see each other in the future.”
Braga spent 12 weeks in Atlanta this past summer on an internship with Norfolk Southern Corporation as part of SWB. He worked on software development as part of the company’s IT department, he said.
“When I go back, I will finish my degree and after I graduate, I will either start a company with my brothers or become a public servant in the capital. Either way, I will go back to Brazil and improve the security of the computer systems there,” he said. “I would say to other Brazil students, you should go after it (SWB). It is a great experience to study in the United States.”
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