Thanks to the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES), Andres Celin ‘11 will be studying abroad at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid this fall.

IES, a Chicago-based nonprofit established in 1950, annually funds 5,000 students to study abroad through more than 80 programs in 31 cities. Celin has been awarded the IES Cross Cultural and Comparative Studies Scholarship.

Celin, an intended anthropology and economics double major, will be studying Iberian culture, Spanish literature, and the European Union. As an international student from Colombia, he hopes to gain a deeper sense of his own origins.“Latin Americans may not be proud of their countries or governments, but when placed against anyone else in the world, we are extremely proud of our local and shared cultures,” he says.“This, however, is in most cases never without a deep conflict in our identities. In our language, dances, cooking, and worldviews, we have a bit of indigenous American, African, and European cultures, too.”

Currently, Celin is working at La Casa de Los Amigos, a Quaker hospitality and peace center in Mexico City, through Haverford's Center for Peace and Global Citizenship. At Haverford, he has held several leadership positions related to social justice, including Ambassador of Multicultural Awareness and classroom assistant at Build-a-Bridge, a women's shelter that offers dance classes to the children of domestic abuse victims.

Once he arrives in Madrid, Celin plans to volunteer with an organization that assists Latin American migrant workers and to travel as many European countries as possible. Celin says he is thrilled about the chance to study and travel abroad that the IES scholarship will provide since,“leaving my comfort zone,” he says,“and broadening my conception of human social norms and worldviews is one of the most beautiful opportunities I can get.”

—Nicole Gervasio BMC '10