Graham Fellows Global: Bringing Research and Brazilian Connections Back to York

Some skills only reveal their full potential when you take them somewhere new.

Collaboration is one of them. Give a student a project, a plane ticket, and a room full of people who see the world a little differently, and something remarkable happens: they come home with deep insights into themselves and ideas stronger than the ones they left with. 

That's the premise behind a new global partnership launched this summer by the Graham Fellows program at York College of Pennsylvania. The partner, the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), is a free public institution in Brazil that anchors the scientific, economic, and cultural life of a region of more than three million people. Ranked among the top 100 universities in Latin America and the top 1,000 worldwide, UFJF hosts a two-week international program organized around the UN Sustainable Development Goals each summer. 

This year, three Graham Center for Collaborative Innovation (GCCI) Fellows attended the program: Alexis Seymour ‘28 (Nursing), Dendera Hightower ‘28 (Marketing), and Sean Reilly ‘27 (Civil Engineering). Led by Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Yargo Teixeira Gomes de Melo, each Fellow arrived with a project they intended to advance. Partnered with UFJF faculty and students, they presented their work to an international audience and toured businesses and hospitals tied to their majors. As a result, they returned with more than what they came for: new research partnerships, a master's program invitation for one Fellow, and a standing charge to bring their projects back into YCP classrooms as student-led workshops.

Upon arrival on July 17th, they headed straight to Juiz de Fora to meet students from UFJF, pre-arranged through UFJF’s buddy program. Over the following two weeks, the Fellows worked on individual projects of their choice under the mentorship of UFJF faculty members and attended selected workshops offered by UFJF. The Global July program Alexis shadowed hospital staff at two different hospitals under the guidance of a nursing professor. Dendera’s involved working with a professor and Intercoop, a university extension initiative that’s been supporting worker cooperatives in Juiz de Fora since 1998 through a model called “solidarity economy”, to create a detailed marketing plan. Sean, meanwhile, consulted with a civil engineering professor on the differences in infrastructure and engineering education while working on a case study for a flood disaster that hit Juiz de Fora in February this year. 

For the students, one of the most important parts of the trip was ensuring they could fully engage with Brazil’s culture. One way they accomplished this was by spending their first weekend at Ibitipoca State Park, where students completed an eight-mile hike spanning two distinct biomes, the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest, complete with cave systems and waterfalls. They also engaged with the local culture through the world-renowned Minas Gerais cuisine, the Brazilian rhythms of Samba and Choro, the unique Brazilian martial arts and dance of Capoeira, and much more.

“Getting to travel to UFJF in Brazil allowed me to broaden my understanding of engineering, education, different economic challenges, a new culture, and so much more,” Sean explained. “This was an incredible experience that allowed me to grow as a student. I made countless memories that I will keep with me forever.”

For Professor Melo, the trip served as an incredible opportunity to share his culture with YCP. “It was a pleasure to be able to show a little bit of my home country and culture to the Graham Fellows. They were fantastic ambassadors for YCP in Brazil, and they have learned a great deal about their respective areas of interest in a completely new environment,” explained the professor. “I’m excited for the future of this partnership with UFJF, and what new things and ideas our students can create.”

Now that the students have returned, they are presenting their research to various YCP classes: Sean Reilly on September 14th to CVE300, Alexis Seymour on September 23rd to NUR448, and Dendera Hightower on September 8th and 9th to MKT102 and MKT103. 

By every measure, the pilot program was a huge success. Both the GCCI/Graham Fellows program and UFJF’s Directorate of International Relations have signaled interest in continuing, and potentially expanding, the partnership in the years ahead. With the positive reception that has been shown, more student research projects could find success from such cross-cultural experiences, opening the many possibilities to what students can achieve in a brand-new environment.