On Thursday, June 6, director of Information and Risks of the School of Administration and former director of Accounting at the prestigious university of Medellín, Leonardo Sánchez Garridowill have a meeting with tutors from grade 11 pilos of the Seedbed for U of Quibdó Scholarships (national program of the Color Foundation of Colombia), which will aspire to several quality universities in the capital of Antioquia.
The purpose of the talk, in the IEFEM Hall of Mirrors, from four to six in the afternoon, is to help prepare parents in their fundamental role for the double transit that their children will take in a few months. : from school to university, and from an intermediate city to a big city.
This orientation meeting with caregivers comes after the mock admission and scholarship award interviews held on May 23 in Quibdó, with the participation of delegates from the EAFIT and CES universities, and the Colfuturo and Lumni funds.
And it is part of the process of Seedbed for U of Quibdó Scholarshipswhich in its second cycle began in March 2022, with outstanding students from more than 15 schools in the city, and which has had the logistical support of the Municipal Education Secretariat.
In tenth grade, in October 2023, 65 Semillero pilos visited six universities in Medellín: EAFIT, CES, Universidad de Antioquia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Pontificia Universidad Bolivariana and Universidad de Medellín, so that they have first-hand information about the transition to higher education.
Leonardo Sánchez, a Chocoan at EAFIT
Public Accountant, graduate in Colombian Taxes and IFRS, specialist in International Financial Reporting Standards IFRS-IFRS. Master of Business Administration-MBA and Master of Science in Administration, from EAFIT University. PhD student in Administration.
He is currently the director of the Information and Risk area of the EAFIT University School of Administration. He was head of the Department and the Public Accounting program at EAFIT University for 18 years.
Vice President of the Andean area of the Latin American Association of Faculties and School of Accounting and Administration –ALAFEC. Former president of the Central Board of Accountants of Colombia.
Business advisor and member of the board of directors, where he works on issues of business accountability, financial statements, Colombian taxes, analysis and financial strategy.
In addition to being an outstanding leader in the area of public accounting in the country, with a 25-year career at EAFIT, he is above all a Chocoano who has distinguished himself over time by facilitating study opportunities for his countrymen in Medellín, especially in Accounting at EAFIT.
Last October, Sanchez Garrido visited the Quibdó student delegation at the hotel, together with the vice-rector Antonio Copetefrom the same university, to tell you about his inspiring experience as a university student in Medellín in search of a future.
And on this occasion, on Thursday, June 6, he will share with the attendees his experience as a teacher and guide for many Chocoans in Medellín, seeking to ensure that the double transit of high school graduates proceeds without major setbacks.
The challenges of the caretaker of a pilo who wants to pursue his dreams
Although the goal is that tuition be resolved by admission to an accredited state university or by scholarship at a private university, that is, based on the student’s merit, and that the city contributes to the support through the Educational Fund created by Agreement of the Municipal Council 020 of 2023, the reality is that the entire process is complex and students need, in an essential way, the guidance and support of their parents.
Guardians are like managers who must take care of multiple aspects of their children’s plans.
Among the dimensions that a student assistant must handle are:
- The financial planning for the application fees to universities and accommodation in the new city.
- He monitoring the career choice process of the future high school graduate, with validation of vocational tests.
- The chronological planning of applications to the different universities, with control of the requirements of each university to aspire to scholarships, including the possibility of face-to-face interviews.
A pioneering class of high school graduates from Quibdó
Since the launch of the Semillero of the second cycle in March 2022, with the director of El Espectador, Fidel Canoas an eyewitness of honor, when they were in ninth grade, they have been making history in the city’s education as pioneers with:
- Wakanda Scientific and Technological Advancement Conference in Chocóa vibranium invention prototype competition (2022).
- First Quibdó Model United Nationson the premises of the Municipal Council, with a table chaired by the Universidad del Rosario, of Bogotá (2023).
- First intercollegiate city delegation visiting quality universities in Bogotá and Medellín (2023).
- Be an example for the approval of the Agreement 015/2023 of the Municipal Council, which “adopts the Model United Nations as a tool for educational quality in Quibdó, in tribute to Diego Luis Córdoba and Manuel Mosquera Garcés”.
- Student management with the Municipal Council for the approval of Agreement 020/2023, which creates the Solidarity Educational Fund to support the maintenance of Quibdó high school graduates in accredited universities.
- Launch of the “French Week in Colombia”with the French ambassador in Quibdó (2023).
- First Karl Popper Student Debate Modelon the Malecón de Quibdó, with a national and local jury (2024).
- First face-to-face simulation in Quibdó of admission interviews and granting of scholarships with EAFIT and CES universities in Medellín, and the Lumni fund in Bogotá, and interview preparation workshop with Colfuturo (2024).
The educational project of the U Scholarship Seedbed
The program of U Scholarship Seedbedsfrom the Fundación Color de Colombia, present in 30 municipalities in 11 departments, seeks, through a three-year process with students entering eighth grade, to develop a growth mentality, values of excellence and a vocation for service, character skills ( and socio-emotional), executive abilities and cognitive competencies for a university life project and social mobility that requires high results in standardized tests (starting with Saber 11, 365+ or passing the admission test of some public universities).
The program uses the strategy of early “meaningful learning experiences”, which strengthen personality, with training in cognitive and non-cognitive skills, seeking that after a long three-year process when they reach university they stand out naturally.
*Missionary tracer of this publication Color of Colombia Foundation: Strategic line 2: Quality and equity education. Program: U Scholarship Seedbeds, 2022-2026.
