At the end of 2025, the ACS Student Communities and Global Engagement team opened a grant application for Faculty Advisors to support collaborative initiatives between ACS International Student Chapters, Domestic Student Chapters, and Global Student Organizations. My proposal, entitled “Building Collaborations Between Costa Rica, Brazil, and Puerto Rico Through the ACS International Student Chapters“, was one of the five selected out of more than 80 applications.

Thanks to this grant, I had the opportunity to visit and interact with the ACS International Student Chapter (ISC) from Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC) in Brazil, and with the Student Chapters of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) at Río Piedras and Aguadilla.

During the visit to Brazil, I had the chance to meet their student members and discuss travel and academic opportunities available through other Student Chapters in Latin America. We held a round table where we exchanged ideas about joint projects and the needs we share as ACS ISC. I also met their Faculty Advisor, Prof. Wladiana Matos, with whom I had fruitful discussions about past and future collaborations. Finally, I met Prof. Maria C. Oliveira, ACS Councilor for Zone 1 and Coordinator of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Office at UFC. It was a great opportunity to see how their ISC connects with entrepreneurial projects to support the professional development of their student members.

The idea behind including Puerto Rico in the proposal was to connect with Domestic Student Chapters, which would give us a broader perspective on how a chapter in the U.S. operates. The connection also made sense given the cultural and geographic ties between Latin America and Puerto Rico. Furthermore, the Student Chapters I visited have a long history of success — the one at Río Piedras was founded almost 40 years ago, and the one in Aguadilla, 30 years ago. During the visit, I met with their Faculty Advisors, Dr. Ingrid Montes, Dr. Carlos Nieves, and Dr. Brenda Ramos, and it was a great opportunity to learn how they work, about their ongoing projects, and about possible collaborations. Finally, I was able to meet with student members on both campuses, Río Piedras and Aguadilla.

On both trips, I had the opportunity to meet the Head of the International Affairs Office at UFC and UPR. The idea is to prepare and sign a Memorandum of Understanding between our institutions, which will provide a legal framework for the projects currently underway between our ISCs.

In total, I was able to connect with over 100 student members, 5 Faculty Advisors, and 3 International Affairs Offices. I am confident that more projects will come to support our student members in their academic and professional development.

I would like to thank the ACS Student Communities and Global Engagement team for their support in making this project possible, and for their continued commitment to strengthening connections among different ACS Student Groups.