In October 2023, USFUVG hosted a cocktail at the Organization of American States in Washington DC.
Over 130 guests attended, experiencing the moving remarks of UVG graduate Estuardo Bocel.
Estuardo was raised in Sololá, a town overlooking Lake Atitlán. His family is Kakchiquel, one of the
Indigenous Maya of the Guatemalan highlands He remembers his mother telling him about the
importance of education. She attended school only until the 3rd grade, which was more than his father,
who never went to school at all. Nonetheless, Estuardo’s dad learned how to write, read, and do basic
mathematics, and started his own grocery distribution business.
As a teenager, Estuardo attended school in the morning and helped his father in the afternoon. One day,
he returned to the office to find his mother crying. Thieves had shot his father, shattering his femur. He
needed surgery, and his recovery time was estimated at over a year.
Estuardo quit school and took over the business, now the sole provider for the family of six. He thought
he’d never return to his education. But his mother found a school he could attend on weekends. He did
well, and was invited to apply to UVG Altiplano, where did his final two years of high school. After
graduation he stayed on to pursue a college degree in Agroforestry.
His grandfather told Estuardo that he should abandon his studies because education was not useful for
Kakchiqueles. He wanted him to focus solely on providing for the family. Bucking tradition, Estuardo
stayed the course.
In 2012, he started volunteering at UVG’s Center for the Study of Lake Atitlán, which was founded in
response to the algae bloom that took place in the lake in 2009. Caused by pollution—mostly human
waste and fertilizer runoff– the algae adversely impacted the more than 350,000 people who rely on the
lake.
Estuardo worked at the lab for 11 years, ultimately becoming its manager. He is now pursuing a master’s
degree at University of Nevada in Ecology with a focus on limnology, the study of inland waters. His goal
is to put his knowledge to use not only helping Atitlán but also the many other lakes in Guatemala.
“If it wasn’t for UVG’s scholarship program and all the opportunities provided to me, I wouldn’t be
where I am today,” he says, “Now my grandpa is encouraging the younger generation to go to school. I
never thought I would be an example to follow, especially when I remember how hard it was to go
against my culture. Nothing makes me happier than when young people have higher education as one of
their goals.”
