For the Love of Learning
“All the world is my school and all humanity is my teacher.”
The past two blog posts have focused on love - peacocks (as a representative of my romantic love and partnership with my husband) and leo season’s energy, especially this one. This next one continues the late July love.
HEAVEN = Alta Aqua Libreria, Venice’s famous bookstore on a canal (photographed during an Oct 23 visit)
Something else that I love? Learning. Always have. I was an early and avid reader, quite the nerd in K-12 and was valedictorian of my public high school. I spent a total of 7 formal years in post-secondary education, one degree of which I never used professionally. I would often answer, and I think it still rings true - that I’d not change the past. I’d still attend and graduate law school, knowing I’d never turn the J.D. into being a barred attorney. Since then, I’ve taken numerous continuing education courses related to yoga and fitness, participated in a year-long fellowship program early in my nonprofit career, and have dabbled with the idea of getting another formal degree.
Now, the learning continues:). Last Tuesday was my first day of a diploma program at the UPEACE Centre for Executive Education at the University for Peace, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1980, and located near San Jose, Costa Rica. I learned of the program much like I did for that fellowship back in 2014 - my wonderful husband was online and saw a Facebook post about the upcoming program’s application deadline. He encouraged me to apply for a scholarship offered for the program, which I did. I received a partial scholarship and now here we are.
The first course I enrolled in for the Diploma in Social Innovation is titled ,“Global Citizenship Education.” We will meet weekly on Tuesdays, last week being the first week of the course, for five weeks. The biggest early learning? There are so many amazing humans around the world interested in peace, connection, and human rights. I’ve been in many online international learning spaces in the past five years and most of the people have been from the Global North/West. This course has a refreshing mix of people actually from all of the continents, representing countries and peoples in very stable environments and those in active conflict or chaos. I’m inspired by everyone’s credentials, but more importantly the experiences they bring which are rooted in their histories, cultures, customs and languages and the vision for the world they have - the possibility for connection vs. separation, for bridges not walls.
I’m stoked! One of my early career dreams was to be an ambassador or diplomat. Then the dream was to become an international human rights attorney. Neither of those came to fruition. This 2025 version feels like the dream coming true, and in the way that the universe often does - in the time and way that is best for you. If you’re thinking, wait doesn’t she live in San Jose, Costa Rica now - was this planned? No, not by me. But I do think the universe had something to do with this relocation at this time. While most courses are live, virtual, there are a few on campus offerings, which I’m very interested in attending given my proximity!
Mural painted by New Orleans artist Brandon “B Mike” Odums of the famous Fannie Lou Hamer quote about our intertwined liberation.
I’ll be using the blog and the newsletter (plus a little social media) to share my experiences and learnings from the courses throughout this diploma program. I plan to take what I learn and apply it to Liberation 101 and all of my offerings. I’m leaning into the lion heart of this whole experience.
If you want to be the first to know about the Back to School cohort of Liberation 101, sign up here.
Liberation 101 Back to School 2025 Cohort Key Dates:
Aug 4, 2025 - Early Bird Registration Opens (15% off)
Aug 11, 2025 - Regular Registration Opens
*Sept 2, 2025 - Course Begins
Oct. 10, 2025 - Course Ends
*The Tuesday after Labor Day, let your learning commence!
