Help vulnerable Argentine students finish college

To better understand the long-term impact of our scholarships, last year we began meeting with our graduates to get an update on their lives, both personally and professionally. We invited them to share, in their own words, how earning a higher education degree shaped their paths. So far, we have conducted more than 50 in-depth interviews within a growing community of over 250 young professionals.

What we heard was both moving and consistent: education did more than open doors. It transformed expectations, expanded horizons, and created real opportunities for social and economic mobility.

The two stories below follow different paths, but share a common foundation. Fernando and Mónica come from distinct backgrounds and chose very different professions, yet both were able to pursue higher education thanks to a scholarship and sustained guidance along the way. Most importantly, both journeys were made possible by donors like you, whose support turns potential into opportunity and helps build stable, meaningful futures.

Fernando 
BA in Literature, University of Buenos Aires (UBA) – Class of 2017

Born in the northern province of Entre Ríos, where his parents run a small neighborhood grocery store, Fernando moved to Buenos Aires as a teenager to attend university. Over time, he built an independent life with his partner and later relocated to Ushuaia to support her family’s tourism business.

Fernando graduated in 2017 with a BA in Literature from the University of Buenos Aires. While specializing in linguistics, he began teaching himself programming, drawn to the emerging field of natural language processing (NLP). That intersection between language and technology shaped his career.

Today, Fernando is an AI Tech Lead at ITTI, a U.S.-based company, where he leads a team focused on generative AI. He remains connected to academia, teaching courses on computational linguistics and programming for humanities students in Argentina and Spain.

Reflecting on his experience with Integrar, Fernando says:

“If I look back at that moment, Integrar was essential. It supported me both financially and emotionally. That combination, economic support and genuine human accompaniment, made a real difference.”

Mónica 
Nursing Technician and BA in Nursing, University of Morón – Class of 2012 & 2019

Mónica Vidal is 35 years old and lives in Villa Lugano with her partner, also a nurse, and their three children, ages 14, 7, and 2. She comes from a large family of eight siblings. Her mother worked as a domestic employee, and her father was a construction worker; both passed away several years ago. She was the first in her family to complete higher education.

She began her Nursing Technician degree in 2008 and graduated in 2012, later earning her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing in 2019. She later enrolled in a Master’s program in Health Services Management, which she hasn´t completed yet.

Since 2013, Mónica has worked in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Hospital de Quemados, specializing in treating burn patients. In 2025, after a competitive selection process, she also joined Hospital Garrahan, one of Argentina’s leading pediatric hospitals, in the Pediatric Intensive Care.

Reflecting on her journey, Mónica shares:

“Perseverance is something I learned a lot from you. I didn’t have parents or siblings who had gone to university, so that support made a huge difference. My tutor, Inés, helped me enormously.”

Their paths are different, but the impact is the same: when talent meets opportunity, and is sustained by trust and support, education becomes a powerful engine for social mobility, professional growth, and lasting change

Meet Gladys

Gladys is the youngest of a large family. She grew up in Villa 21-24 a low income neighborhood in Barracas, Buenos Aires. Her mother didn’t finish primary school, and the family has no contact with their father.

From an early age, Gladys knew she wanted a profession that would allow her to care for others. With that conviction, quiet determination, and the support of the Integrar Scholarship, she completed an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) in 2018. She soon found a good job, but she wanted more. Driven by her desire to learn, she added new qualifications and specialization courses. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing, then trained as a Surgical Instrument Specialist. Her next goal is a Master of Education. 

Today, Gladys is proud to work as a surgical nurse at the prestigious Clínica y Maternidad Suizo-Argentina, where she also leads her shift and supervises her team. She’s grateful for the stability and independence her work has given her. Before turning 30, she was able to move out of her family home, and together with her siblings, she now supports their mother, who is no longer able to work.

For Gladys, the scholarship was “an incentive to get started.” What she values most, she says, is “knowing that someone is supporting and accompanying you every step of the way.” She adds: “Beyond the financial support, having a mentor really made the difference.”

Three years ago, Gladys joined the Integrar volunteer team as a mentor to a nursing student. 

Health careers demand both skill and vocation.

Transforming talent and vocation into genuine opportunities for growth and development at both the individual and social levels has been Integrar´s objective since the very beginning. In a country and a world that is aging, professions related to the health sector offer a clear path to employment and a way to contribute directly to collective well-being. Through continuous training and specialization, they create lasting opportunities for professional and personal growth.

Through the University Scholarship Program, 51 young people from low-income backgrounds have transformed their vocation into a long-term life project. Today, eighteen of them are studying, and thirty-three have already graduated. Most have chosen an associate degree with strong employment opportunities, such as Nursing, Surgical Instrumentation, Radiology, or Physical Therapy, while nearly 40% are pursuing longer degrees like Medicine, Obstetrics, Nutrition, or Dentistry. In line with global trends, 88% of our scholarship holders in this area are women. 

Each graduate not only secures a stable career but also multiplies their impact, improving the quality of life for hundreds of people throughout their professional path.

Thanks to your support, the future is in good hands.