Brazil - Juliana Maria da Silva

Juliana Maria da Silva
Brazil

The road from Brazil to Mississippi is an intricate and complicated path, but one paved with blessings. So says Juliana Maria da Silva. Juliana counts among her blessings a chance meeting with David Beckley, president of United Methodist-related Rust College in Holly Springs, Miss.

It all began when she was a 17-year-old volunteer at the World Methodist Conference in Rio de Janeiro, translating, greeting delegates, and directing them to workshops and meetings. It was there she met the Rev. Chestina Archibald, a United Methodist conference delegate who subsequently introduced her to Beckley and helped Juliana’s dream for education take flight.

In 2001, she graduated summa cum laude from Rust; and in 2003, she received a master’s degree in public communication from American University in Washington, D.C. Currently, Juliana is a doctoral student in communication and culture at Howard University also in Washington, D.C.