Joaquin Pacheco Criado ’23 regularly dedicates himself to helping others, so it comes as no surprise that he’s filling his summer schedule with two internships focused on aiding various communities. Interning for both MAB Learning Coach and Manna Project International, Pacheco Criado spends most of his days working to provide financial and education services to the public.
Pacheco Criado had previously served as a tutor for MAB, a small business that aims to connect young students with older students and adults to help them with academics and education more broadly. Based in Pacheco Criado’s hometown of Lima, Peru, MAB has worked with the Peruvian Ministry of Education to help students across the country continue their education amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Pacheco Criado returned to Lima as the pandemic hit, his former boss reached out and asked if he could prepare course materials. So, Pacheco Criado said he “researched the Peruvian national education curricula and read all the subjects that I had to do (civics and social studies for high school), then came up with a multiple-choice test and a worksheet for each lesson along with the solved paper for professors to use as a rubric.”
He also helped produce educational videos for social studies and civics lessons, in a makeshift recording studio at his boss’ home.
Intended Major: Economics
Hometown: Lima, Peru
High school: St. George’s College
For Manna Project International (MPI), Pacheco Criado develops loan projects for disadvantaged communities in Ecuador. He establishes the kind of aid people need, runs data analysis based on surveys, contacts potential borrowers and lenders and then offers specific loan packages. He said that he applied for the job to intern with a non-profit whose mission touched on his interests.
“I thought it was really interesting to connect with people with the same background that I’m from, like Latin America, where I kind of know their situation,” Pacheco Criado said. “It was a great opportunity to help people, that I knew needed the help and that I could do it from home.”
Pacheco Criado emphasized that his internships have shown him how capable he and other students are in making a positive impact. “As college students at Hamilton, we have so many opportunities to help other people just by using our skills ... I’m a third semester econ student and I’m making a loan project for a whole community,” he said.
On campus, Pacheco Criado assists others through his COOP Service Internship with the United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica, and with Herkimer-Oneida Organizations Active in Disaster. (HOOAD) As a COOP intern, he gains professional experience in nonprofit services and community leadership throughout his time at Hamilton.
Pacheco Criado anticipates ultimately using his interest in economics to benefit others. “I have no idea what part of econ I want to go into yet ... consulting or finance or government. What I do know is that want to work with people and help them out. I’d really like to be with a business, like a non-profit or something that does that,” he said.
