Natalie Manrique is a recent graduate from the University of Florida and took part in the virtual exchange guided by Luis Mejia and Edgar Martinez Muñoz with Cali Colombia to collaboratively design a restaurant interior.
“I’m Colombian myself’, says Natalie, ‘so being originally from Cali meant it was a bit different for me as the inspiration to sign up to a virtual exchange was that I saw it as a great opportunity to collaborate with others who aren’t from where we are from. Of course, in this case, my curiosity spilled over into what it would be like to collaborate with students who’ve been taught by different professors and have a different curriculum.This turned out to be a very special opportunity and is something we will come across in the work force in the future anyway. I can say that getting exposure to this at this time was a big deciding factor for me.”
What do you remember about the virtual exchange?
“I remember how we had to research about Cali and talk to our peers and answer questions from them. These questions included about things we like, what do our families like and what do we enjoy doing to name a few. Things that take us past google and that create a need for you to interact with another person to find out. This was an important aspect, as we needed to understand these seemingly banal concepts in order to be able to design the interior with them in mind.”
What are some of the high points from this exchange?
“Definitely seeing what they came up with in terms of their design for a restaurant here in Gainesville. We don’t think too much about these everyday aspects of what we enjoy and what we do with our families. We very much take them for granted. But I learned to appreciate their importance when I saw the design projects they had done. This was so interesting for us to see what they came up with. And of course, seeing the students here in my class collaborate with the students over there was a big high point for me.”
You went to Cali with your family on a trip which occurred during this time. How did this virtual exchange help to prepare you for a physical meet up?
“I had already started building relationships before I travelled. The online collaboration helped prepare me for that as knew what to expect when I arrived in Cali. I knew the students before I met up with them physically. I am from Cali, so I reached out to them when I got there. Nothing beats meeting up in person. It was great and I talked to them and showed them my restaurant plan. This trip was independent as my family was going anyway so I can say this was an added bonus. Not only, but my cousin was part of the class there and she came to Gainesville to visit me and she met with Luis as I had met with Edgar and the class in Colombia.
If I had not taken part in the virtual exchange, I would never have thought to do this and to visit the university, the class and the students. My trip was such an enriching experience as I was able to take the VE outside and into the community.
We are still in touch even though the VE took place a few years ago. It was an invaluable experience that I will treasure. Building relationships is invaluable and the world is small, especially the design world, so I am very grateful for the opportunity that I was given.”
How have you changed since this virtual exchange collaboration in terms of future work?
“We will all need to work globally, so this was a good spring board for me to collborate across cultures. It’s an experience that inspired me to study abroad.
Last summer I went to Germany to study with the programme and I loved it. It was my first time in Germany and I found it very different. Everybody lives differently and everybody is correct in the way they are living and this is what I learned. I loved understanding this. You don’t understand unless you go and connect with others. Now I want to take what I learned from the exchange and apply it to more people and more countries. I will continue to travel in the future. I also did a recent collaboration where we did research on light for example. I collaborated with people from Egypt and so many other places. It was a fantastic opportunity.”
What are your main takeaways from the experience?
“It was a truly enriching experience. I learned that I like to learn and that I am a sponge for absorbing culture and ideas. What is in my own head is great – but learning from others is amazing…..and more than you can get from books alone. This was my biggest takeaway.
Furthermore, it changed my future ideas. I’ve already booked a trip back to Europe to continue to make connections and meet people. And when I was choosing my future work place, I knew I wanted somewhere where diversity is important and where not everyone looks the same and sounds the same….I also made it a point to visit the offices where I was interviewing and ask questions about whether they collaborate. After all, where you work is where you are going to grow in the next few years.”
Any more words of wisdom for your peers?
“Just say yes to any opportunity. You are going to graduate and when you get these opportunities it’s important to say ‘yes’ and learn outside of your bubble that you create at home. You learn about passions you never knew you had and interests you never knew existed. So say yes to it all! Be uncomfortable!
One of my most memorable situations was in Germany when I didn’t speak the language! You get so creative with how you communicate. It was the most fun I’ve ever had not being able to speak! We used our phones and hand gestures and we laughed and laughed together even though we had no idea what they were saying. We hung out with people who didn’t speak English and we had the best time. So, what I say is – Just do it!