BOSTON — Ricardo Pablo Pedro, a young man from the Chinanteca community (Oaxaca) who earned the National Youth Award in 2017, has received a doctorate in physical chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), fulfilling one of his greatest dreams.
But Ricardo Pedro is eager to continue with post-doctoral studies at MIT, where he arrived in 2012 to start preparing for his PhD, which he obtained at the end of May. In a phone interview with EL UNIVERSAL, the young scholar confessed that, once he has concluded his post-doctorate, he would like to become a professor at MIT, since the institution paid for his studies through a scholarship.
For the time being, Ricardo Pedro will spend the rest of the summer doing research at the MIT laboratory to finish all his pending projects. The young man, whose family lives in the community of La Mina, Tuxtepec, got his mother, Mrs. Concepción Pedro Hilario, to attend the graduation ceremony, where she proudly wore a huipil (a traditional indigenous garment) from the region of Cuenca.
Ricardo Pedro, whose classmates in Mexico City used to bully by calling him “El Huarachudo” (Sandal-wearing Indian), is now setting new goals for himself abroad.
“My life is no different at MIT. No awards are granted for good performance, you are expected to represent the institution honorably. Students earn awards and recognitions all the time, so there is nothing special about the fact that I’ve earned this PhD,” Ricardo stated.
Source: El Universal
