During her time as a student at EARTH, Patricia de Oliveira (Class of 2003, Brazil) wanted to connect with and learn more about the communities surrounding the Guácimo Campus. For her, becoming a professional had little meaning if she didn’t understand her surroundings, the needs of the people, and the dreams they had collectively built. Because of this, she decided to get involved in different community activities both on and off campus working primarily alongside women’s associations, sharing much of the knowledge she was gaining in her studies. “I have always loved volunteer work. EARTH gave me the opportunity to discover whether working with these kinds of organizations was truly what I wanted to do,” she shares.
During that time, Patricia also discovered a passion that continues to this day: entrepreneurship. She realized she was skilled with numbers, enjoyed leading projects, delegating tasks, allocating resources, proposing solutions, and using her creativity to turn ideas into real businesses. That was when she understood she wanted to dedicate herself to purpose-driven businesses — spaces that would allow her to support others while also creating financial sustainability. Through hard work and determination, that is exactly what she has done to this day.
After returning home following her graduation from EARTH, Patricia started a dairy farm. For five years, she dedicated herself to caring for her cows and improving their genetics in order to produce the highest-quality milk possible, which she sold to a cooperative in her region of Brazil. She was passionate about the business, but over time she felt called to pursue something different, leading her to make a complete shift in her career. She began teaching languages, another vocation she had discovered at EARTH while teaching Portuguese to faculty and staff members.
When the opportunity arose to purchase a school, she did not hesitate. She envisioned a space where she could create a multicultural, empathetic, and collaborative community. This marked the beginning of a new chapter that would eventually lead her to establish three language schools across different cities in her region. These schools go beyond teaching languages. For Patricia, learning another language is also a way to understand the world. That is why she has created spaces where students —and their families— can connect with different realities and cultures. Every year, she organizes the American Festival, an event inspired by the Feria América Tropical (later known as the Multicultural Fair) that EARTH hosted for many years. The American Festival brings communities together to celebrate cultural expression and raise funds for social projects in Guinea-Bissau and community programs in Uganda. In addition, Patricia makes monthly contributions to help sustain these initiatives over time. Her intention is not only to help, but also to encourage others to become involved in the process: helping children, youth, and families understand that the world is far broader than what they know and that they, too, can be part of meaningful change.
At the beginning of 2026, Patricia traveled to Uganda for the first time to visit one of the projects she supports. “I met people who have fled war, lost their families, and lived through violence. The visit helped me understand the importance of what we do and the need to expand this support,” she adds.
The project in Uganda focuses on communities living in highly vulnerable conditions, including children and people with albinism, who face significant discrimination. Through the collective efforts of Patricia and her students, they have been able to provide food, clothing, and safe spaces in contexts where even access to water is limited. Inspired by this experience, Patricia began supporting the construction of a water well in the community they support, in collaboration with local partners and with the guidance and support of fellow EARTH graduates.
Looking ahead, Patricia hopes to continue strengthening her schools so they can operate more independently, allowing her to dedicate more time to social initiatives. She dreams of bringing more people into these missions to help build a world where everyone —regardless of their circumstances— can live with dignity.
