NYC Marathon runner raises funds for BECA
Veronica Cabezas, a friend of BECA, is from Chile. Currently she is completing an EdM in Leadership, Policy and Politics in Education at Teachers’ College of Columbia University in New York City. She has both a BA in Industrial Engineering and a Specialization Degree in Transport from the Catholic University of Chile.
Before coming to the U.S., Veronica worked in Puente Alto Municipal Government in Santiago, Chile as project analyst in the Mayor’s office. Her work included the analysis of different public policies, including the analysis and elaboration of educational budget. She has also consulted for various NGO and public sector institutions, including “Un Techo para Chile”, “Hogar de Cristo”, “Fundacion Ayuda y Esperanza” and the Chilean Ministry of Economy.
Her motivation in pursuing an educational Masters came from research into family policy and education, and as a consequence of her work experience where she saw the necessities of thousands of Chilean people, the role of education in income distribution and poverty problems and how in some cases, public policy programs have suffered from poor development and administration. Last summer Veronica worked as a consultant to the UNDP/Evaluation Office. It’s no surprise perhaps that this amazing woman has set herself yet another wonderful challenge that will directly benefit BECA’s educational efforts!
In her own words:
"I love sports and last year when I saw the thousands of runners doing their best effort in the NYC marathon, I said to myself ‘Next year I’m going to run it’. And now here I am, only days from running my first marathon. My goal is to make my best effort and to enjoy the experience as much as I can. I am a little bit slow so I cannot tell you too proudly my time goal, but I hope it is less than 5 hours. I will run with the Chilean flag painted on my t-shirt and with BECA’s work in my heart. This will be my strength and motivation to finish the marathon."