Northern Essex Community College journalism student Daniela Valdivia-Terres has always had a love of traveling and adventure. But she says she never imagined when she started community college where it would take her.

Student Daniela Valdivia-Terres shared how a NECC Foundation Scholarship is allowing her to study at The Hague, Netherlands, this summer.

Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Valdivia-Terres started her own successful travel agency there. She ran her business for four years before moving to the United States with her husband in 2015. She won a small business grant that year, which she used to start Vibra Tours USA, a travel agency in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She specialized in crafting full-day tours and getaways to destinations around New England for Spanish speakers.

Valdivia-Terres took a break from the tourism business in 2017 when she became pregnant with her daughter. Unable to spend 12 hours a day on her feet leading tours, she enrolled in a free, four-month NECC program called the Basics of Business. “It was such a great experience as every faculty member I encountered was so knowledgeable and student-focused. They ignited my desire to achieve a degree and convinced me I could pursue the American dream through my studies.”

When the pandemic further sidelined Valdivia-Terres’s travel business, she pivoted to create her own digital marketing agency. “Over the course of my life, I have had many interactions with people which demonstrated the importance of communication, language, and the way we speak to each other,” she explained.

She used this knowledge, along with skills learned from online tutorials, to help other local businesses with social media, but soon realized she needed more structured classes. So, she contacted Business Professor Sheila Muller, who she first met in the Business Basics course, enrolled at Northern Essex, and quickly became a leader both inside and outside of the classroom.

Daniela Valdivia-Terres and NECC President Lane Glenn

“I had this misconception of community college. People were saying you go to a community college, and it’ll be easy. Once I started, that perception went away,” she remembered. “The professors are very experienced, and they can challenge students. I like to be challenged.”

She is the Campus Life Editor for the student newspaper, the NECC Observer, and a member of the honors society Phi Theta Kappa. She has won several writing and journalism awards and received the “PACE Citizenship Award.”

The Pathways to Academic & Career Excellence (PACE) program helps connect first-generation college students with a variety of services, including scholarships and transfer opportunities. Valdivia-Terres said PACE Director Kristen Arnold, along with Journalism Professor Mary Jo Shafer, encouraged her to apply for the highly selective Council for Opportunity: Keith Sherin Global Leaders Program. Just 20 low-income or first-generation undergraduate students from the United States are selected for the program to study at The Hague, Netherlands, each summer.

“I thought it was out of my league. Come on, 20 spots nationwide! Many people would apply who hadn’t traveled overseas – I thought I wouldn’t qualify.”

But a few weeks later, she got the good news that she had been selected.  Valdivia-Terres will be the only student from Massachusetts, and one of just two from all of New England, heading to The Hague University of Applied Sciences for three weeks. Their group will connect with students from around the world to study courses based on the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The classes focus on solving global issues by connecting the public and private sectors.

Valdivia-Terres said her excitement was heightened even further when she learned that a scholarship from the NECC Foundation would cover her tuition for the program.

“I am very thankful for this opportunity to study in Europe. The possibility to learn in a county as one of their citizens. International students mingled with students from all over Europe. I can’t wait for that. This is something that I never expected! Regardless of age, take it from someone who is 46 and very well-lived; we are all here [at NECC] because we want to pursue a dream.”

Learn more about the PACE program and the NECC Foundation by visiting the NECC website.