Jhulia Salviano - MSc Public Health and Health Promotion

When the 27-year-old dons her cap and gown and walks across the stage at P&J Live it will mark the end of an important chapter in her life.

The uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in South America proved to be the inspirational spark for Jhulia who decided to study at RGU as she looked to build on the knowledge she picked up during her Brazilian qualification.

She applied for a scholarship from the British Council in 2021 and was one of six women in STEM subjects selected from Latin America to study at RGU’s Garthdee campus.

Jhulia said: “After seeing how Covid impacted the lives of people in my country, I realised that the connection between social inequalities and health outcomes are inextricably linked. That motivated to pursue a course that was less focused on numbers and more focused on knowledge that valued interdisciplinarity to the betterment of communities.

“When I saw the modules and the programme outline on RGU website I felt that it would be a good programme to provide me with a new set of knowledge and skills while also adding my previous knowledge from my social work degree in Brazil.”

Her time at RGU and in Aberdeen proved useful as she volunteered with different organisations in the city and worked in retail as she balanced her studies.  She also met her best friend as she made important connections at the School of Health Sciences, the wider University and in the city. 

Jhulia feels she may even be teaching a new generation of students one day but for now she is focused on a new job, new opportunities and enjoying her graduation day with her RGU classmates.

She added: “I moved to England to start a new job very recently, which is a new challenge and I have plans to use the knowledge I got from my time at RGU to develop even further on my new job and, who knows, in the future, I might be in academia teaching new students and looking back at my time as a student in RGU and seeing myself on their faces using my experiences and expertise in a kind of full circle situation

“I think each story is unique, and each situation will shape you in different ways. I went through so much during this last year, but I also grew so much. Studying at master’s level in a language which is not my own, in a country where I never been before and being away from my family, is all very difficult.

“But I feel I will never forget the sacrifices and rewards of my time at RGU. And today, my graduation represents so much for me and people who came from a very small countryside town in the heart of Brazil and always dreamt big as impossible as it seemed. I guess it was all worth it and there’s more to come.”