That’s how he defined it Davinson Córdoba, a young man from Huila who recently graduated, who achieved, thanks to his academic perseverance, the total financial remission of his professional studies. He assured that to fulfill the dream and leave Palermo, to face the world, the support of his family was transcendental.
Newspaper of Huila, Huila
By: Gloria Camargo
The dream of being a professional in Colombia for many young people only becomes an ideal, because due to various difficulties, both economic and social, they cannot access higher education.
Data provided by Dane establish that at the national level only three out of 10 Colombians have gone through a higher education institution, a figure that decreases considerably in rural areas, where only 8% of people have had access to this type of education. of Education.
For this reason, the support provided by various entities is more relevant to ensure that more young people in the department of Huila can access higher education and consolidate their objectives of being professionals and generating development in the region.
effort and discipline
Thus begins the story of Davinson Leardo Córdoba Oviedo, a young man from the municipality of Palermo, who managed to graduate as a civil engineer from the Surcolombiana University, after obtaining one of the best scores in the state tests, achieving a university average above 4.5 and the forgiveness of your credits.
Córdoba Oviedo successfully obtained his degree and a month later the professional card, which is why today he is working in the Department’s Secretariat of Roads and Infrastructure.
This dream come true was possible thanks to its excellent Icfes results, today known as the Saber 11 Test, which was taken into account by the Excellence Plan of the Jenaro Díaz Jordán Fund administered by the Departmental Education Secretariat.
“When I finished my high school at the San Juan Bosco school in Palermo – Huila, I got a good performance in the state tests; The Jenaro Díaz Fund produced a list of students with good ICFES results from all over Huila, and at the end of that year, 2015, I realized that I was a beneficiary of the Excellence Plan, ”he said.
It should be remembered that this young man obtained an Icfes score of 390, which is why he applied to the Excellence Plan of that Jenaro Díaz Jordán Educational Loan Fund, which is for the people of Huila.
“I passed a letter of acceptance of the credit once I entered Usco in 2016 to study civil engineering,” said the 23-year-old, born in Neiva, but with a few years of life in Palermo.
Condonation
“In the 5 years of my professional career, the fund accompanied me all the time with the contributions to be able to study. About 600,000 pesos for the semester, but they gave me honors at the Surcolombiana University because of my academic performance. The fund financed me and condoned close to 23 million pesos”, explained Córdoba.
Today an engineer, he also explained that his academic average at the university was 4.5, with which he was able to meet one of the requirements to achieve credit forgiveness.
“Another of the requirements was to provide unpaid social service in any public entity with the prior approval of the fund, or present a project that would serve the department. I chose to serve the Government of Huila. I made that request as soon as I graduated in October 2021, they approved it and I was able to provide my social service in the Departmental Government, ”says the young man.
In his provision of six months of social service in the Secretariat from December 2021 to July 2022. Once that time ended, the request for forgiveness of his credit passed.
During the month of October of last year, Davinson Leardo, through Resolution 1128 of October 18, 2022, signed by the Vice President of Funds in Icetex administration, Eduardo Elías Barcha, $22,429,933 of his educational loan was forgiven, a cost that was assumed by the Government of Huila through the Jenaro Díaz Jordán Fund.
The excellence
It should be noted that once the young man finished his internship at the Department, thanks to his academic performance and also for his good performance as an intern, he became part of the payroll.
“That was when the governor made the decision to support me and be able to continue linked to the departmental administration but this time with an engineer’s salary, now as a technical support professional in the Department of Roads.
In this way, I was employed by July 2022, I finished my contract in December of the same year, and in this year 2023, they called me again, ”said the young man.
It should be remembered that in Colombia, the average education between the ages of 15 and 24 has remained at 10.1 years in the last four years at the national level, but with regard to dispersed rural and populated centers, this average drops to 8.8 years.
The director of Dane, Piedad Urdinola, warned that although women have had greater access to higher education than men, they still face higher unemployment rates and lower participation in the labor market. This is due, according to Urdinola, to the burden of care that falls on women at home.
Reason for which Davinson indicated that the invitation for all those young people who are finishing their high school to motivate themselves and strive to take good State tests and apply to the Excellence Plan of the Jenaro Diaz Jordán fund.
“Every effort, every merit brings its reward. They supported me until the end and after that they are supporting me as a professional service delivery contractor.
Now as a professional linked to work, my responsibilities increased, but in the end I ended up doing the same activities. In my mind I look at how everything happened so quickly: I graduated from high school in 2015, at the age of 15; then I entered the university in 2016 at the age of 16, and finally I graduated as a professional civil engineer in the year 2021, at the age of 21 with all educational costs forgiven by a fund that rewards good students”, he comments.
Family support
“Brain”, is currently doing a specialization and helps his mother. For this reason, one of Davinson’s memories when he was studying high school at San Juan Bosco in Palermo, was when his classmates called him this way because of his constant dedication to his studies and his desire to learn.
He also stressed that his family played an important role in the decision to study engineering.
“I am the third of 4 siblings and all of them, including my parents who are separated today, at the time helped me lean towards civil engineering, because I really like mathematics”, says the young man.
“My mom lives in the municipality of Palermo; she is a housewife and my dad lives in Neiva. As children we all watch over our mother in terms of her maintenance. In this 2023 I started a specialization in ‘road geotechnics and pavements’ with the University of Santo Tomás de Tunja. My parents did not have enough resources for my undergraduate studies, ”she concluded.
