What Happens when the Lights Go out?

Articles December 30, 2013 Leave a comment

A couple weeks ago, because of the work I do in communications, I visited a public school in a marginal urban sector of a city on the coast of my country.

I had the opportunity to have a brief time of sharing with a group of little boys and girls, about 30 of them. They were all friendly and playful. Some had mischievous looks about them and others a look of total innocence. But there were a few who couldn’t hide deep anguish and their faces reflected frustration, annoyance and sadness in spite of their young age. When our work and interaction with these little ones finished, on a more informal note I decided to ask them, “What do we celebrate at Christmas?” Can you imagine their answers? Well, here are a few:

– “It’s a party time!”
– “Santa comes at Christmas!”
– “Christmas is happiness!”
– “We get gifts!”
– “It’s Santa Claus’ party!”

When I was about to give up waiting for another kind of answer, one little girl shyly raised her hand and said, “We celebrate the Baby Jesus at Christmas.”

And now as the year is almost at its end, our city is clad in lights and expensive decorations. People are out shopping, preparing big dinners, hiding gifts under the Christmas tree and telling the little ones they must be good so Santa Claus will bring them Christmas presents.

Now it’s not a bad thing to dress up for a party, to share special food with family and friends or to take part in a wholesome celebration –there’s nothing really bad about any of that.  What is really sad is that during this special time of the year, “everybody gets crazy,” as I heard someone say. Traffic is terrible, stores stay open long hours and it seems they aren’t able to accommodate so many people, and social obligations pile up. It seems that all the stress of an entire year accumulates into just two days while people search for the “right gift” for each obligation.

Sadly enough, these little children only about 7 years old that I had the opportunity to meet just recently are the clear reflection of our society. For them, Christmas is a time of lights, decorations, gifts and a fantastic story that with a little luck might come true for them.

Only one in a group of thirty seemed to have a slight idea of the true meaning of Christmas. One in thirty seemed to understand that the “best gift” a person can give a loved one –or even themselves- is “Jesus,” who more than two thousand years ago came to this world as a sweet baby. Yes, Emmanuel  -God with us- came with the only purpose of giving His life as a sacrifice for humankind, for those of us who have faith to believe at least three important things:

– That we are sinners. That there is not even one righteous person in this world.
– That we can do absolutely nothing for ourselves to cleanse our sin. Not even the best works can wipe away the smallest or most hidden sin we have.
– That only the precious blood of Jesus Christ poured out in sacrifice on the cross can cleanse us of all evil and all sin.

This is possible if we have faith to open our heart to Jesus, the only true God, and invite Him to be the Savior and Lord of our lives.

When the lights go out after the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations and all the nonsense begins to return to normal and people have to begin to worry about the oversized debts they have acquired during this season and get back to the normal stress of daily life, there is one light that will stay on throughout the year. Just one single light that will shine in the darkness. Just one single light that will glow in the darkness of society’s stress, suffering, fear, weariness, hatred, frustration and loneliness. Just one single light… That light has been, is and will be Jesus Christ, who said of Himself,

“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”  (John 8:12)

Do you want to walk in the light in 2014? I urge you to do so, to choose to walk in the light. Choose to turn off the artificial lights of vain celebrations and trivialities and decide for Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. Putting Jesus in charge of your life is the best and most important decision you can make. When you decide for Christ, His light will wash the darkness from your life and the radiance of the all-powerful God will light your path during this New Year.

May Jesus Christ, the Giver of Life and the Light of the World shine on you during 2014!

Towards Excellence recommends the following link if you want to know more about Jesus, the Light of the World:  http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/

Exclusive Interview with Nick Vujicic

Interviews November 24, 2013 Comments: 3

Nick was born in 1982 in Melbourne, Australia, without arms and legs. There was no medical explanation or warning.

Today, Nick travels around the world, sharing his story with millions of people and inspiring to diverse groups from young people to professionals.

Watch this exclusive interview with Nick!

A Passionate Radio Host expresses her Heart for Jesus over the Air

Interviews October 13, 2013 Comments: 3

“We will be accountable at the judgment seat in front of God for what we did and what we didn’t do…Seek ye first the kingdom of God and wisdom will be granted unto you.”

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Nancy Turner, Host of “This is the Day” at       Moody Radio

NANCY TURNER

Nancy is host of the program This is the Day at Moody Radio in Chicago, Illinois (USA). She also hosts Music for Sunday and the Praise and Worship Channel streaming on the Internet.
Nancy was born in Mishawaka, Indiana but grew up in Michigan. She began her radio career at early age while she was in high school, producing and hosting a program on the local radio station. After graduating from high school, she pursued studies on broadcasting.
Nancy has worked at many stations in Michigan and Illinois. She has helped host the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon on WGN-TV, fund-raising efforts on WTTW-TV in Chicago and the Country Music Today program on local Chicago television.
Nancy has a college aged daughter, Molly. Nancy loves experiencing the outdoors as it reminds her of her unforgettable childhood.

Let me begin by asking you to introduce yourself so our readers can get to know you better. Who is Nancy Turner?

Well, I’m Nancy and I grew up in Michigan in the United States of America. I grew up in the country and lived in a place where I could run wild outdoors and play in the woods, in the creeks and all of that, and had no idea I would ever be used by God in a place like this. I don’t deserve it, but God’s grace has given me this opportunity to do this, and I’m thankful to Him, and every single day, every single day I say, “Lord Jesus, may You use me to bring people to you who would know your grace and your saving, saving love.

So you are a Christian?

Oh, yes, yes. But my turn to Christianity didn’t happen suddenly with a brilliant light of illumination. My time of becoming a Christian has been a gentle, long revealing of God in my life. I learned what it meant to be a Christian when I went to a big church here near Chicago called Willow Creek and I learned that what it meant to be a Christian was to be a Christ-follower. I think many of us don’t know that. We think we’re Christians because we know about the Bible and we believe in God, or we think we’re Christian because we go to church or we do nice things for people. But to be a follower of Jesus means that we give up ourselves. We give up who we are and we become wanting to serve Him and be like Him. We give up our agenda of what our life can be and relinquish it so that it becomes what He wants it to be. Does that make sense?

Yes, yes! And I think we will get back to this point a little later. Now could you tell us about your professional background?

Well, I started in radio when I was in high school in a local radio station. I was a Junior in high school. In 11th grade and 12th grade I worked at the local radio station where we produced our own program and did all that stuff. That’s where I first realized that I liked it, but it wasn’t until several years later after I graduated from high school that a gentleman who I was selling newspaper advertising to as a profession suggested that I go and speak to the local radio station, and so they interviewed me. I’d never had a professional job in radio, but they decided to let me sell advertising and gave me a one-hour program once a day, and that’s where it began for me. That was probably in 1969. So for that many years God has given me the opportunity to be in radio, but not always Christian radio.

So along that line, tell us a little bit about how you found your passion for media and why you decided to get involved in TV and radio, because I think you were also involved in TV, right?

Yes, I did some television. I’m basically a shy person and I don’t like to get up in front of people, so if you ask me to stand up and speak in front of a room of two people or two hundred, I will be equally as nervous about that. But to get up on television or to do radio where I will be seen by thousands and thousands of people or be heard by millions of people does not bother me. Somehow that is just God’s grace, I guess. I felt that God opened doors along the way when I didn’t even know Him and gave me the opportunity to grow sort of behind the scenes to bring me to a place where I would say, “I don’t want anything of my radio career to diminish God.” So as I was going along in my secular career, which was country music for many, many years, I still would say at the beginning of each of my programs, “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” And I thank God that the program directors at the secular stations were ok with that. I’m not sure that that would be ok these days, sadly, with the way Christianity is being treated. But even in the times that I worked in secular radio in country music, I would listen to Christian radio and just say, “God, I wish I could be there.” But I was earning a lot of money in secular radio –lots of money! To come to Christian radio meant very little money, but somehow that didn’t bother me, and I said, “God, if You will open the door, I will go.” So it took many years of me hoping and praying for that, and eventually one day I was granted an interview here at this radio station, Moody Radio WMBI in Chicago, that gave me the opportunity and they gave me the program to start one day a week. So here I am. I’m still doing it and I praise God for it.

You are currently involved in Christian radio production. Tell us how can radio production be a channel for the transformation of lives, either for Christian believers or even for followers of other religions or beliefs?

Radio is amazing, because it comes into your home wherever you are, and you can privately take in the message. You can bring it into your heart as God would have it, as you listen. So I think the music and the words that I can say or any speaker can say on the radio is a private moment with somebody, whether they’re in their kitchen or their automobile or their home or their workplace or they’re walking with a device that they can listen to in their ear, it’s a conversation that is private. And I believe that can lead to so much transformation. I’ve had so much e-mail and regular mail from people who have said, “I heard that song and it really changed my perspective. I heard that guest you had on and what they had to say changed the way I looked at life and suddenly I found hope.” There have even been people who through many years here at Moody Radio  -you could learn about that from many other people who have worked here much longer than me- where people have been contemplating suicide and have stopped that process because they heard a message of hope for their life.

Marriages have been saved because people have heard that Christ can restore their marriage if they will trust in Him instead of trusting in their own way to save their marriage. Christ can actually come between two people who are finding it difficult to relate and communicate and to know each other. Christ can get in the middle supernaturally, if I can use that word. The Holy Spirit can change people’s hearts, when people commit to Christ, He’s in between the two people, and then all the conflict goes through Him first before it comes back and they can resolve their problems in their marriage and in their relationships.

Now, for you and me, Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life is the God who can positively transform the life of every single human being who is willing to be changed and molded. But for those who are probably reading about Him for the first time now, who is this God, who is this Jesus that has such power? What would you say to them?

I would say all truth comes from God. All truth! And if you want to know what truth is, seek it. You’re a smart person. You who are reading this are wise, right? You’re smart, you would check things out. The person who’s reading this right now, you would say, “Ok, I don’t fall for just anything. I’m smart. I check things out.” So if that is you, and you’re a person who wants to know truth and not labor under delusion, not labor under the false teaching of any kind, not be led astray or be following some kind of teaching that you never checked out, you would check it out! Well, check out Scripture! Go to the Bible. Read it. In fact, if you really want to find truth, say, “God, if You are real; God, if You exist; God, if you care about me; God, if these claims in this Bible are true, would You reveal it to me?” Now if you can do that with an open heart and with a mind that says, “I am seeking, reveal Yourself to me,” God will. It may not be right away, but it will happen, because He longs for you to know Him and to know His joy and to know His contentment and to live your life in a way that will give you what you seek. What do you seek? You seek to know peace and you seek to know love and to know that you are unconditionally loved and that your life has a meaning, a reason, a purpose. There’s a reason for your life. You want to at the end of your life know no regrets. I lived a good life, but what was the purpose of it? What did any of it matter? Check out what the Bible has to say. Let God into your heart. Ask Him. Just say, “God, if You’re real, show Yourself to me.” I’ve heard this story many times, and I know the answer. The answer is always, “God does,” and your life will be changed forever, and you’ll never regret that you made that step.

I’m sure you have experienced many anecdotes as radio producer and host, or you have learned many great lessons that have impacted your life dramatically. Could you share with us any of those?

Many. Literally, on my program, almost every night I have one or two books I must read by fantastic authors. I’ve met speakers, I’ve met children, I’ve met missionaries, I’ve met people who just live an ordinary life, but their lives speak God! Their lives are the ones that show Christ’s hands and feet, that He’s real, because they live it out. So if I were to pick one, I mean it would be very hard for me to pick one.

But, what I want to share with you is the reality of when we walk through the hard times of our lives, and we all will, because that is the place where God reaches us. That is where the real fruit comes when we walk through difficult times. Recently, I’ve been reading a book that I love. It’s called Night Shift and the author’s name is Dave Shive. It’s an old book, and it was given to me by a friend who knew that I was walking through a difficult time. When you think about the workers who trudge into the dark place of the night shift, and maybe you yourself today are in one of those times where you are praying to God but He doesn’t give you what you’re seeking, you want out of this terrible situation. You want it to change. You want out of the desperateness of the situation, and you pray. And you might pray for days and months and years, and yet God does not change the situation, but what He’s doing is changing you. He’s changing you; He’s changing me. He changed me in my night shift. There are seasons of it. There’s rotation of the shift. You’ll go back into the night shift again and He’ll teach you more and He’ll say, “Let go. With your little grubby hand, let go of what you’re hanging onto, because what you’re hanging onto is something that’s taking you away from Me. Let go of that idol. Let go of that thing that you think is going to make your life wonderful. Let go! Let Me have it and I’m going to take you to places that you cannot imagine in your wildest imagination! I’m going to take you there, but you have to let go.” And then in that night shift, you’re praying and then eventually He says, “You’re ready. I’m going to take you out into the light, and you have a message now.” You didn’t have the message before. You have a message now. Bring that message that you learned in the night shift, bring it to the day shift where there is sunlight. But then there’s going to come a time again. You need a new message. He’s going to send you back, but He’s going to take you there, and you’re going to know it and you’re going to be faithful during it, and you’re going to come out with another wonderful message. So this is what I’m learning now about the hard periods of life.

Finally, I listened to one of your programs and one of your guests, Bob Moeller, who said we are still accountable for how we live our lives as believers…and I would say for everyone in this world, how much does this have to do with living a fulfilled life, living a life towards excellence?

I’m so glad you mentioned that name, because I was going to say that name as somebody who has made a great difference in my life. Dr. and Pastor Bob Moeller. Yes, he said that, -and Dr. Erwin Lutzer from here at the Moody Bible Institute in fact wrote a book about this as well- that we will be accountable at the judgment seat in front of God for what we did and what we didn’t do. So I guess the question that I would ask you to consider today is what is the motivation in your heart? God knows your heart. What is the motivation there? And out of that motivation, are you living out those acts that your heart is telling you are right through Christ? It’s not going to be like the person who creates a great beauty in this world but falls away to sin or the person who kills somebody. We’re not all going to be the same at the judgment seat. God is going to look at us and say, “Ok, you did come to me. You did ask forgiveness. I can accept you into Heaven.” But it’s not going to be the same as that person who lived a faithful and true life through the good motivation of their heart. We will be accountable for our lives to our Father God in Heaven. And so I would just encourage you today to take the step to read your Bible and ask God to meet you there and seek truth. Seek truth and God will honor that, and you will find the wisdom that God talks about in Scripture. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and wisdom will be granted unto you.” So God bless you!

To know more about “This is the Day” and Moody Radio click here

More than a Doctor, an Instrument of Change in the lives of People and Communities

Interviews September 1, 2013 Leave a comment

“I understand excellence as the passionate practice based on awareness   of the meaning of unconditional love that Jesus calls us  to experience                                    and put into practice.”

LET’S GET TO KNOW DR. EDUARDO CAMPAÑA –SURGEON, SERVANT LEADER, FACILITATOR AND BUILDER OF THE “ABUNDANT LIFE.”

Shortly before I entered the university, a very special experience was instrumental in my accepting the Christian faith. Since that time, I’ve been actively involved in a church that has tried to reach poor communities through nutrition, health and education, and I’ve participated in medical caravans in very remote and needy places. The experience of serving the community has definitely made an impact on my life and my vocation.

Dr. Eduardo Campaña

Dr. Eduardo Campaña

Although I specialized in general surgery, I felt called to work in other areas of health. I began to get training in such areas as educational psychodrama, group management and adult education, and I studied and developed a number of subjects related to emergencies, crisis intervention, integrated health care, HIV, sexuality and domestic violence. I’ve facilitated hundreds of training workshops in different countries in Latin America, and I’ve produced educational material that has been widely circulated.

I have two sons and a daughter. I’m married for the second time to a woman with whom I completely share my faith, vision and commitment to work.

I consider it an important achievement having been able to speak in churches about such issues as sexuality or violence that were never discussed in the past.

Dr. Campaña, in these more than 30 years that you have practiced medicine, what still stirs you so deeply that you’d not give it up under any circumstance?

More than medicine, I’d say its health because that’s a broader concept. The field of medicine is one aspect of health.

What inspires my vocation is that I firmly believe in people and in their capacity to learn and change independently of their religion, culture, sex, ethnic group, education or social class, and this conviction is what challenges and inspires me. I feel privileged to know I can be an instrument of change in the lives of persons and communities.

One thing I could never stop doing is interacting with groups and facilitating opportunities for learning and empowerment in churches and communities.

Thinking back about when you started out in your vocation until now, what do you think about the technological, the scientific and specifically the medical progress that has taken place in recent years?

In these 30 years or so, technology has undergone a vertiginous development in every field. Scientific advances in health make it possible to make more precise diagnoses and more effective treatments, and this has had a qualitative as well as a quantitative influence on health services. Nevertheless, I think there are two aspects we should talk about. One is that technological advancements are not available to every person. Health-related technology often serves capital but isn’t at the service of human beings. The other aspect is how the doctor-patient relationship has been lost. Now we are more related to machines than to persons.

Technological advances in general and very especially in the area of medicine have undoubtedly contributed in a positive way. However, it’s also undeniable and evident that hand in hand with technology, cases of medical malpractice are on the rise. Is it due to mediocrity or indifference? Why do you think this is happening?

It’s important to start with the premise that health is a fundamental human right. However, medicine has become a commodity, a source of financial gain and a business. So new technologies are at the service of profit and not of people. Pharmaceutical companies are constantly developing better medicine, but they can make it available only for people who have a certain level of purchasing power and their medicine is not accessible for most people. The medical vocation is part of this dynamic. A person asks, “Why should I study medicine?” And the answer is, “Being a doctor will give me status, money and social position. It will give me power and practically turn me into a ‘semi-god.’”

I think medical malpractice has to do with doctors not understanding their limitations, with their academic training and experience and also because of an uncontrollable desire to make money. A doctor may say, “Although I’m not prepared or trained to resolve a certain type of pathology, I can’t miss this opportunity to make some money.” That’s how many mistakes are made. I think the basis for best practices is to be aware of one’s limitations and capacities and be committed to service.

It also depends on other factors that have to do with infrastructure and the training of people involved in health services. However, a doctor also needs to work with people and health institutions that guarantee responsible services and offer the quality and care all people deserve.

Humanly speaking, what does “his life is in the hands of the doctors” mean? Isn’t that what many would people say?

We need to educate people to understand that it’s the person who is healed and the doctor is there to help, orient or guide towards that healing. A life is not just in the hands of the doctor; it’s also the responsibility of every person to fulfill all the indications and treatments and to take care of his or her own health. This expression could be applied correctly in cases of emergency when experience, expertise and knowledge could make a difference in a person’s life. I think being conscientious is still the best parameter for being a good doctor.

For doctors, their field of work is health and life itself. For other professionals, their areas of focus are different, so cases of malpractice can be different for different areas. Based on your experience, what practical advice would you give present and future colleagues or young professionals and new generations who will soon be inserted into these different fields so they won’t be part of mediocrity and indifference?

I think one of the most important aspects is academic training. Today it gives me great satisfaction to see that more is being required of people who want to study medicine, precisely because of the responsibility implied in this field of work. If people are better trained and prepared, they will be less likely to make mistakes.

On the other hand, as I said before, if the main goal of the medical profession is fame and fortune, then we are at the mercy of a loss of consciousness that could cause us to make mistakes and be negligent. When economic profit is more important than people, we become vulnerable and take risks.

Dr. Campaña, we know you profess the Christian faith. How has Jesus Christ, the God of Excellence inspired you to serve your community passionately through your profession?

Well, the figure of Jesus Christ is the model I admire and try to follow on a daily basis in order to serve passionately, lovingly and disinterestedly, always trying to give my best. Another important aspect is to never stop learning. Renewing the mind and understanding is what changes our attitudes and consequently, our lives.

I feel called to work for the building of the “abundant life” that Jesus came to bring us. I understand “abundant life” as the dignified life all of us have the right to because we were created in the image and likeness of God.

Finally, can Jesus Christ –the God of Excellence- guarantee His followers a life of excellence? What is needed for that?

I understand excellence as the passionate practice based on awareness of the meaning of unconditional love that Jesus calls us to experience and put into practice.

I think the promises and the call Jesus presents in His Word are the guarantee of excellence. I believe there’s a difference between believing “in God” and “believing God.” Believing and claiming God’s promises is what makes the difference.

Excellence is obtained through a continual learning process, through daily work and practice –it doesn’t happen overnight. Learning from mistakes is fundamental for achieving excellence. Another important aspect is the constant evaluation of our attitudes. Everything we do in our lives should be evaluated. We can always improve the way we do things, and we can accomplish that by looking at ourselves and looking at the things we do.  That will allow us to achieve excellence, and for me, that is wisdom.

Dr. Campaña, Facilitador en temas de salud

Dr. Campaña facilitating a Holistic Health Workshop in Brisas del Mar, Colombia

Two Young Ecuadorian Women Get off to a Good Start in the World Of Robotic Research

Interviews August 12, 2013 Leave a comment

“In order not to be a part of mediocrity, it’s important to put our ideas and beliefs into practice in such a way as not to cause harm to our personal integrity or that of other persons in our midst.”

VERÓNICA AND TATIANA BENALCÁZAR

Veronica & Tatiana - World Champions in the Hardware Control Category of Infomatrix 2013

Tatiana & Verónica – World Champions in the Hardware Control Category of Infomatrix 2013

VERÓNICA: 28 years old. Diploma from Ambato High School with specialization in physics and mathematics. Studied Electronic Engineering at the Kennedy Campus of the Salesian Polytechnic University in Quito.

TATIANA: 25 years old. Diploma with a specialization in physics and mathematics from the Manuela Cañizares Experimental Education Unit in Quito, graduating as the Second National Honor Guard. Studied Electronic Engineering and Control at the National Polytechnic School in Quito. Enjoys fabric painting, ceramics and marzipan art as well as learning languages and contemplating nature.

As children, the Benalcázar sisters lived with their grandparents, Arturo Benalcázar and Rosa Gómez in Cotacachi in the province of Imbabura in the northern region of Ecuador.

Their parents, who are engineers, have always been an inspiration to them. Their mother, Ayda Vayas, is a Zootecnic Engineer and their father, Luis Benalcázar, has a Master of Engineering degree and works in the maintenance of ophthalmology equipment. Their grandparents were definitely a source of inspiration with their sewing workshop and the grandfather’s mechanic and carpentry workshops which were his hobby and where Verónica and Tatiana discovered their liking for design and were able to repair or even create their own toys.

They are very creative graphic designers, and they like to investigate and give life to their ideas. They are persevering and look for solutions to different problems by sharing their ideas. When life becomes difficult, they support each other, whether it is in a project or in any other situation.

Their free time is dedicated to painting, sewing, knitting, crafts, designing and building autonomous robots and studying mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology.

Their principal achievements are reflected in the international Infomatrix 2013 competition gold medal award, the Latin American Project Contest gold medal award, first place in 4 international robotic contests, and first place in 5 national robotic contests.

Verónica and Tatiana, tell us briefly about the creation of the first national prototype for ocular surgery which was the experiment that won you the world championship prize in the category of Hardware Control at Infomatrix 2013 in Bucharest, Romania.

It was our own idea (Tatiana and Verónica’s) to create our project with the objective of developing a very complex but practical project in order to show that we can develop technology in accord with the situation of our country and in this way leave a footprint so future generations can find financial support from public and private organizations since it has been very hard for us to get financial help from the competitions we have entered.

In order to enter the international Infomatrix 2013 event, we started with the idea of creating the Vitrectomy Prototype Project at the end of 2011 and worked nearly a year on the project. We presented it to the Scientific Technological Community in our continent and won the gold medal and the 2013 International Accreditation as representatives of Latin America in the Hardware Control Category, giving us the right to enter the 2013 Infomatrix 11th Edition held in Bucharest, Romania from May 16 to 20, 2013.

The Vitrectomy Prototype Project is used in eye surgery to clear vitreous opacities, remove blood, and treat infections and other diseases related to the jelly-like substance called vitreous that fills the ocular cavity.

With the software and hardware we have designed, we (Tatiana and Verónica) control the entry of saline solution through the cannula infusion into the ocular cavity, the intensity of the optical fiber light (endoilluminator probe) that illuminates the eye cavity, and the instrument that makes a very small cut (vitrector) and removes the vitreous.

We carried out research on the prototype for a year. We had to buy books on eye anatomy and vitrectomy surgery. We observed surgeries in operating rooms in order to understand the procedures and needs of ophthalmologists and be able to begin designing and creating the prototype with materials that would be easy to find while meeting ocular surgery requirements, so this was the first vitrectomy prototype produced in our country.

What has becoming world champions in the Hardware Control Category of Infomatrix 2013 meant for you?

It means that our efforts, work and dedication are reflected in this triumph for the entire country. It’s also the fulfillment of our dream to be able to show the world that we’re capable of carrying out technological innovation with the few resources that are available in our country.

Tatiana:                                                                                                                                 We’re very happy and proud to have represented Latin America and Ecuador in this international event where the best projects in the world were presented. 45 countries and 249 projects participated.
We were the only representatives in this category from Latin America in the competition. We competed against the 10 finalists chosen from Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Malaysia, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine. This year, the silver medal was won by Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ukraine.
We were also very pleased because this year the judges awarded only one gold medal winner and it was for the research, creativity, difficulty, usefulness and originality of our Vitrectomy Prototype Project.

Verónica:
We’re very proud as Ecuadorians and even more as women to be able to represent our country in events of this type. The judges congratulated us for the Project, and they were surprised that with such low cost, easy-to-access materials and with the software and hardware we had designed and built, we had obtained such good results. We were the only two women competing in this category.

We know that you have achieved a number of national and international prizes and awards for all the creative and meticulous work you have carried out with robotic and other types of experiments since you were very young.  What you think has been the principal driving force that has inspired and encouraged you to explore and develop this interesting area of robotics and your inclination for research in general?

The driving force that inspires us to create, design, develop and investigate is the desire to fight to make our dreams come true on a daily basis. That is what enriches all of us in our personal, family and professional lives. It means not limiting our imagination, because we can make our ideas take shape in creations that demonstrate our skills, abilities and knowledge.

We understand that the family environment you grew up in contributed greatly to you being able to give free rein to your dreams and wishes and that now you’re focused on fulfilling them. Share with us briefly some of those unforgettable childhood experiences that have defined your lives in an extraordinary manner and have to some extent determined the successful future you are now beginning to experience.

We remember that we’d design and make clothes, shoes and accessories for our dolls and we’d play with Legos, puzzles, modeling clay and marzipan when we were very small. My sister and I would use the scraps of fabric my grandmother didn’t need or we’d take little pieces of wood and nails and use the tools from my grandfather’s hobby workshop to make toys or adapt those we had to fit our needs or do anything that popped into our minds at the moment.

Our parents gave us a hippopotamus that had a sound box inside that squeaked. We were curious about why it made that noise so we took it apart. Our parents were worried at first because they thought we had damaged the toy on purpose, but the next day we started putting it back together and tried to understand how it worked. When our parents and grandparents saw that it was working again, they were very happy that we were so creative and they encouraged us to continue creating things. This happened when Verónica was 6 and Tatiana was 3 years old.

You are both worthy representatives of young people and most certainly examples of Young People of Excellence. What does a person need to NOT participate in mediocrity? What do you need in order to live as a young person of excellence, to live as spiritually, mentally and physically healthy young people who have the energy needed to fight for their dreams and use them to serve their community?

In order not to participate in mediocrity, it’s important to maintain our identity and put our ideas and beliefs into practice in such a way as not to cause harm to our personal integrity or that of other persons in our midst. This means contributing to the growth of other people. It also means setting daily goals and carrying out our tasks the best we can.

In order to attain excellence, we need to be in harmony spiritually, mentally and physically. For this, we have to recognize our strengths and our weaknesses, believe in ourselves, think positively, give our best even in the worst circumstances, and learn to acknowledge our mistakes.

In our case, our family’s support and the fact they believe in us has helped us on countless occasions, especially when we would reach a point in a project when things weren’t turning out as we had expected. That was when they’d encourage us to continue working on the project.

What challenges have you faced in your academic world and in the beginning of your professional lives because you are women and have entered a field that has probably been mostly identified by and for men?

Our biggest challenge has been overcoming the machismo which has been evident in certain robotic competitions. We’ve had to prove that as women we are entirely capable of achieving great things.

It’s important for women who face great challenges in their lives to believe in themselves. They shouldn’t give up and should continue fighting for their dreams even when they seem unreachable.

You are the present, but you are also the future of our nation and our global community.  God has given you marvelous talents. What are your dreams and vision for the future? How do you plan to serve your community with your talents?

We’re going to continue preparing new projects aimed at helping people. One of our dreams is to study in another country and get a master’s degree in order to share our knowledge and put it into practice so we can contribute to the development of our country.

In conclusion, how would you define “excellence” in the daily lives of Verónica and Tatiana with respect to what is public as well as personal and private?

Excellence in everyday life means trying to be better persons every day. It’s setting goals, learning new things. It means investigating and designing new projects.
In public life, it means solving the problems existing in our society.
In our personal lives, it means being better daughters, sisters and friends.