El Universal (June 6, 2020).- At age 18, Dafne Almazán Anaya became the youngest Mexican to graduate from a postgraduate course at Harvard University.
She was recognized as the youngest psychologist of the world when she concluded her graduate course at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies in 2017. In May 2020, she concluded a postgraduate course in Mathematics Instruction, making history once more.
The young genius chose this field because she believes that memorization is often privileged as a study technique over examination or analysis.
Students grow and leave without learning, without understanding. That’s a problem we have in Mexico. I chose my master’s degree to learn strategies and apply them here, ”she says.
The road to Harvard
Harvard is one of the most recognized universities in the world due to its academic excellence and its impact on technological, political, and social innovations in the United States.
Established in 1636, Harvard is the oldest higher education institution in the U.S. Based on Cambridge and in Boston, Massachusetts it has over 20,000 students.
Earning her place at Harvard was not easy. Despite being brilliant, Dafne Almazán had to present her case as a minor; she talked to the director of the postgraduate course and with other directors. After examining her cases, they allowed her to apply. She presented all due exams, was interviewed, presented her CV, and was finally accepted.
Despite being the youngest one in her group, Dafne got along with her classmates OK. She learned from her professors and subjects and asserts that she loved the syllabus for it applies to any country.
The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted her in-class classes but she concluded the course remotely.
Dafne Almazán Anaya urges Mexicans to follow their dreams with effort and commitment. “I think that everyone has some kind of talent. The most important thing is to find it, exploit it, and use it to keep growing. Moreover, making efforts, studying, and acknowledging the support from all those around you: your family, friends, teachers. It’s all teamwork, ”she says.
Despite having to live in the U.S., it was a great academic experience; she missed Mexican food, her family, and the culture of the country where she was born.
In 2013, Dafne was chosen for that year’s edition of Forbes ’Mexico’s 50 most powerful women. “It was quite shocking for me. My current objective is to pay back to society. To do so with my knowledge, with what I learned at Harvard. I want to return to Mexico and use it to improve education, ”she says.
With her master’s degree, Dafne Almazán has also broken the glass ceiling, “It is often thought that women cannot develop in fields such as Mathematics or Robotics. Women must study what they like, what they are really passionate about, ”she says.
Her goal is to obtain a Ph.D. degree in Special Education for Gifted Children. Meanwhile, she will begin a new graduate course, this time in Music, and she will continue practicing taekwondo, languages, and reading.
At 18 years old, Dafne Almazán concluded a master’s degree at Harvard University, becoming the youngest woman to do so, but her academic experience goes beyond that. Besides speaking English, French, Chinese, Latin, and Spanish, she has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Education by the ITESM; she is a Law major at the Latin American University and is currently finishing a Ph.D. in Education.
