As a professor at Etec Carapicuíba, I'll admit something curious: I've often avoided speaking at my own school's tech weeks. I always felt that my students already knew me from class and that I could save those insights for our daily lessons.

This year, however, was different. I was given the freedom to speak about a topic I am passionate about but rarely get to dive into: the real possibility of our students studying outside of Brazil.

It's interesting that Centro Paula Souza (CPS) offers various exchange programs, and I personally know students who have had wonderful experiences through them. But what I wanted to highlight was a path our students almost never consider: applying directly for an undergraduate degree at an American university.

My talk focused on the United States for a clear reason: it's the country with the most universities (over 4,000!) and, crucially, the largest budgets for education. Many of these institutions have billion-dollar endowments that fund full scholarships.

At Etec, I constantly meet students with fluent English and immense academic and creative potential. Many of them, however, have no idea they are prime candidates for some of the best universities in the world.

Unfortunately, in general global rankings, Brazil's top university—USP, where I am proudly pursuing my Ph.D.—rarely places among the world's top 50. Meanwhile, many top-tier US universities not only promise to cover 100% of demonstrated financial need (including tuition and housing) but also offer a stipend (a payment for expenses). This makes the dream of studying there viable even for low-income students.

As a professor, I feel it's my duty to show them this path. After the talk, several very interested students approached me asking about the next steps. I am now trying to mentor them through this process.

I truly hope that in a year or two, I can write a new post here on the blog. But next time, it won't be to talk about the possibility, but to celebrate the achievements of my mentees and share which universities they are heading to. That will be an accomplishment I am very much looking forward to fulfilling.