Mauricio was a terminal manager in the oil and gas industry in El Salvador when he left with wife Flor and his then six-year-old daughter Tamara in July 2017 to study at AMC.

His dedication in overcoming many cultural barriers, including the completion of the course in his second language, has been recently rewarded with a job in Tasmania with one of the world’s top ten shipping lines.

He is equally as delighted with the opportunities for his wife and daughter.

El Salvador is a Central American country which despite being just one-third the size of Tasmania has a population of more than 6.3 million people and resultant crime and social problems.

The crime rate was such that Flor chose to give up work as a communications specialist to ensure her daughter’s safety at home.

“Time has proven that we made the right decision when coming to Tasmania, here my daughter is free-er,” he said.

“It (Tasmania) is a very peaceful place, it is not overcrowded like our country and it is a good place for families with kids.

“She (Tamara) can walk to school in which was unimaginable in our country.”

“She can walk in the street and go and play with her friends. “

“My motivation is to provide a better life for her (Tamara)”.

A trained chemical engineer, Mauricio, was working as an operations supervisor at El Salvador’s only oil refinery before coming to Tasmania.

“After two years I was promoted to terminal manager where I was in charge of the whole supply chain the maritime and logistics area,” he said.

“I was involved in unloading of oil tankers and in charge of transportation and supply chains and so that is why I wanted to study those subjects at AMC.

“In my research I found that AMC had the best facilities in the Southern Hemisphere.

“I wanted to study maritime law and maritime logistics after some bad experiences in my previous job and I found this beautiful combination here at AMC.”

He said the knowledge gained in his degree would have been very helpful in his previous position as Terminal Manager in charge of fuel supply chain.

“It is a very complete program so I could work not only in ports but also industries for instance with their own supply chain, logistics or procurement department,” he said.

The family initially contemplated a move to Canada, because of its proximity to El Salvador.

However, after a reconnaissance trip they found the weather too cold compared with the tropical climate in their home country.

They chose the comparative warmth of Tasmania.

“We went from 32 degrees to minus two in Tasmania,” he said. “It was difficult to acclimatize the first few days, but little by little we succeeded”.

Mauricio, whose first language is Spanish, enjoyed the Maritime and Logistics Management Master’s degree including units on maritime law, maritime policy, financial decision making, commercial ship management and economic units, among others.

“But it is not easy to study a Master’s degree in a different language and to write assignments of 3,000 words in another tongue,” he said.

“In the first semester I was struggling with many things at the same time, in addition to the studies," he said.

"There was resettlement, the climate, the culture, driving on the opposite side of the road, my daughter's new school, to name a few." 

Coming together as a family had been very useful.

"We have learned to help each other with love and to manage the nostalgia factor together," he said.

"My university goal would not have ended this way without my family. 

Tamara has been an enthusiastic dancer since coming to Tasmania doing tap and jazz dancing.

Recently she was part of a winning team in the Launceston Competitions.

Mauricio said the family had improved their English speaking because of a lack of Spanish speakers in Launceston.

He said that the family hoped Tamara could study at a university like UTAS.

“With our example we try to teach our daughter the practical way to set and achieve important goals, based on effort and dedication," he said.

Finally, but not least, Mauricio and his family are very grateful to UTAS, “We have received necessary help and information in a timely manner. The University is my second big family.”

Published on: 23 Aug 2019