Student Spotlight on Luciana Vazquez ‘21

Luciana Vazquez is a senior at Franklin, double majoring in Social Justice and Sustainability and International Economics with Political Economy. She is originally from Paraguay, but throughout her childhood her father  traveled extensively for work, moving the whole family first to Senegal  and next to Mauritius. 

The international experience gave her a heart for  traveling, meeting new people, learning and discovering different  cultures and traditions. A postcard in her mailbox was her first

introduction to Franklin, and though it seemed random, Luciana was  intrigued to learn more. 

Her research convinced her that Franklin was  the right university for her and the fact it was in Switzerland gave her  parents a sense of security to let her daughter leave the nest on her  own.

At Franklin, Luciana discovered that the small university environment  allowed her to become more familiar and grow close relationships with  classmates and professors. Plus, the international component was a key  factor in student interaction and in making many new friends from  countries from all over the world. 

Whether in class, in the cafeteria or  other whereabouts of Franklin, the learning experience went beyond the classroom being constantly exposed to different cultures, languages,  traditions and backgrounds broadened her understanding of the world.

Luciana also credits Franklin for her self-discovery. Being all by  herself for the first time was a big step but enabled Luciana to learn  and understand more about herself while growing independently and  maturely. Being away from family is never easy, but she soon grew to realize that she was more than ready to live on her own and had a strong and resilient personality. 




Luciana enjoys her studies immensely and she pictures her post-Master’s degree future either working for an international company or a nonprofit, designing and strategizing programs and projects for developing countries. 

Going internationally is her big dream, but she can’t deny that she greatly aspires to return to her roots in Paraguay to someday promote sustainable development there  too.

Luciana is one of the three LLLS Program students assisting in the Taylor Institute goals of expansion, outreach and link building between Franklin’s undergraduate and graduate opportunities. 


Luciana was drawn to the  Taylor Institute because she wanted to take on the challenge of promoting, planning and growing the events and initiatives related to the institute. 

She furthermore hopes to provide insight, visibility and  work with a great variety of professionals from different disciplines to  glean knowledge on a wider range of different fields.