MEET THERESA

HOMETOWN: ARACAJU, BRAZIL

PASSIONS: GLOBAL STUDIES, WOMEN’S ISSUES, BUILDING COMMUNITY

INNOVATIVE INITIATIVE: GLOBAL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE SCHOLAR

Theresa has a talent for not only living each of her passions, but for connecting them, and engendering enthusiasm and support for them among her peers. One of the first things Theresa did as a member of the Taft community was also the most enduring: She co-founded Taft’s Model UN Club; more than 60 students responded to the initial call. The group began attending Model UN events hosted by local universities. Theresa stood out immediately, earning Outstanding Delegate honors at Yale’s annual conference.

“Our experience at Yale and several other conferences were positive and encouraging,” notes Theresa. “So much so that we wanted to take on the challenge of hosting our own, in-house conference. It represented the culmination of our club’s fruitful first year.”

Billed as an “intro” or “beginners” conference designed to help Taft students understand how the United Nations and Model UNs work, the event was an enormous and highly successful undertaking. The UN Security Council topic, International Intervention to Ensure Women’s Human Rights, reflects another of Theresa’s passions: women’s rights across the globe. Theresa has used her platform as a Global Leadership Institute Scholar to explore gender equality in Somalia.

Since its founding, Taft MUN Club has hosted a number of conferences, including a multi-school event on Taft’s campus, and a virtual event co-hosted with a school in Tokyo, Japan, which brought together student delegates from 23 schools in four countries.

Theresa shares her passion and extraordinary leadership skills with a number of groups and organizations on campus, from Taft Girl Up, the Community Service Board, Debate Club, and Amnesty International, to Somos Taft, the Political Awareness Club, and Interact Club, the youth branch of Rotary Clubs International.

“Taft has allowed me to explore interests I never knew I had,” says Theresa. “Students and faculty are generally willing to help in any way they can, and it’s really motivating for young people who are trying to create positive change to know that they are not alone in their mission.”