E-mail: sergiochap01@student.elte.hu
¡Hola! I’m Sergio Chaparro Arenas, proudly from Latin America, Colombia. I describe myself as a revolutionary human being and warm-chest Latino. As a new International Ambassador, I want to help more students access opportunities at ELTE and experience life in Europe. Feel free to write me!
I’m the middle son; my parents and dog live in Bogotá; my brothers are in Virginia and Berlin. They are my inspiration. We try to reunite at the end of each year.
I’m pursuing a PhD in Philosophy at ELTE’s Trefort Campus in Budapest and live at Márton Áron Dormitory, where I feel part of the international community as a second family.
Currently, I’m serving as a PhD Student Representative and active member in the Doctoral Student Union (EDÖK) of the Faculty of Humanities (BTK), supporting students’ rights and well-being.
In my free time, I focus on running and some races, track my progress on Strava, explore the city’s cultural life, and occasionally travel with purpose. My foodie mood is vegetarian.
Beyond academia, I love music (especially Latina and rock), occasionally dancing, watching documentaries or films, sharing beers, or having conversations at the dorm, city pubs, or Könyvtár Klub.
"Enjoy your studies and this academic journey in Hungary and the EU, an unforgettable stage in your life."
WHAT STOOD OUT TO YOU ABOUT ELTE?
I felt attracted to ELTE (founded in 1653) for three basic reasons.
First, because it is a public university funded by the state with high‑quality standards in the EU, where you can see faces from all parts of the world and breathe an international atmosphere.
Second, because two renowned global philosophers of science and politics studied here: György Lukács and Imre Lakatos. It was a dream to move from reading these thinkers in Colombia to sitting in their rooms and touching the walls where they once worked. In fact, at the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University, one of its graduates won a Nobel Prize in Literature recently!
Third, and the most essential, because of the binational educational agreement between LATAM, my nation's sending partner, ICETEX institution, the Minister of Education, and the Colombian Embassy, with the Hungarian state and the program of Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship, its generosity and mutual benefits that precise to be stronger and improved annually.
WHAT MAKES STUDYING AT ELTE SO GREAT?
It's historic trajectory, where public figures and humanist professionals in natural sciences and social sciences, technologies and engineering, philosophy, arts, and culture, have left their mark and contributed positively to shape the world.
WHAT ARE / WERE YOUR CHALLENGES IN YOUR STUDY PROGRAM?
The challenges in my program and BTK faculty are common to all of us: the main one is our daily material living conditions, money issues and scholarship, part-time jobs mixed with supposed full-time studies, or difficulties of family financial support.
Working on three specialised journal papers, preparing for the midterm exams, fulfilling the second foreign language requirement (German, in my case), and developing complex skills. Finally, actively participating in academic conferences and team research.
HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THESE CHALLENGES?
I’ve tried to deal with these contradictions and challenges by building networking relationships, developing self‑responsibility, discipline, and daily schedule routines with semester goals. Also, by seeking help from my supervisor, professors, international coordinator, secretary, and administrative workers.
Of course, there are also the mutual support values and communicative actions from the students' international community, student representative EDÖK, and International Student Advisory Committee (ISAC), University Students’ Union (HÖK), my classmates, family, and friends!
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE ELTE IN THREE WORDS?
Public heritage, contemporary and progressive.
HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR DEGREE WILL HELP YOU IN YOUR LIFE AND CAREER?
I’m convinced that philosophy, the humanities, and the social sciences are relevant and must be deeply reformed and updated to address the challenges of a contemporary world and its civilizational crisis.
My PhD degree could help me pursue an academic career and better salary aspirations. Work as a postdoctoral researcher, be a qualified university professor, and serve as an advisor for public institutions and private initiatives of Europe connected with LATAM.
It could also allow me and other personal trajectories of graduates to maintain civic engagement and worldwide sensibility in favor of enhancing real democracy, a new metabolic civilization, and integral rights for all humankind and sentient species.
Above all, why not? The PhD path could support my strategic project to build a meaningful life and love.
DO YOU HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDENTS AT ELTE?
Socialize as much as possible. Be passionate about your career and fight for your dreams. Do exercise regularly with achievable goals. Patiently build a core and network of supportive friends. Enjoy your studies and this academic journey in Hungary and the EU, an unforgettable stage in your life.