WSU Student Profiles: Mauricio Cifuentes

Huddling with his brothers and sisters in the family bathroom, Mauricio Cifuentes could hear the government planes encroaching on Casanare, the tiny Colombian village along the eastern border with Venezuela where his family lived. Rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the leftist insurgent group that continues to besiege rural Colombia, had raided the town’s police station and were fortifying the premises. Waiting in silence for the government troops to arrive, the family could only stay together and pray.

Retelling the story nearly a decade later, Cifuentes, a senior majoring in economics at Washington State University, said, “It was not easy, but I had my family there.” The echoes of bombs exploding still ring in his ears. “The attacks happened all the time,” Cifuentes added. “We lived only three blocks from the police station so we were always taking cover. It was scary.”

Every student at WSU has a story to tell. However, most of these stories are mundane and sound strikingly similar. Filled with events such as state championship games, proms and parties, the few aspects that change from story to story are the names. Only a few students experience the consequences of the real world and are forced to make tough decisions. For Cifuentes, lectures about political violence, the drug trade and military coups are not abstract discussions--they are reality.

Cifuentes’ journey to the United States is fraught with tales of perseverance and staggering displays of courage in the face of great personal obstacles.

Born during drug kingpin Pablo Escobar’s bloody reign of terror that enveloped Colombia at the end of the 1980s, Cifuentes tries to remember a different Colombia. A Colombia filled with memories of beautiful vistas and soccer games is how the young college student wishes to remember those years. Reminiscing about his childhood, Cifuentes said, “Things were simpler. I would play soccer until the sun was gone at the end of the day.”

Growing up in a large family, consisting of five brothers and four sisters, Cifuentes’ priorities revolved around his parents and siblings. Mauricio’s older brother Ismael Cifuentes said, “If we did not have food, we would all support each other.” These tight bonds helped him persevere when his father died of cancer in 2006. The young Cifuentes remains incredibly close to all of his siblings despite the fact that they are divided by continents, oceans, and numerous borders.

As a teenager, he became associated with the El Camino Fund, an organization that promotes economic development in the rural provinces of Colombia. After earning a scholarship in January 2005 to study English, Cifuentes traveled to the United States and enrolled at the Intensive American Language Center in Pullman, Wash..

Enamored by the rolling hills and the strong intellectual community in Pullman, Cifuentes decided to enroll at WSU as an undergraduate.

Whereas most college students admire movie stars and athletes, Cifuentes’ heroes are Colombian politicians, many of whom were assassinated for standing up against the corrupt government. Cifuentes said he admires politicians like Jorge Eliecer Gaitan and Luis Carlos Galan Sarmiento because they did not allow threats of violence to dictate their lives.

Cifuentes plans to fulfill his Optional Practical Training, which is a period of time for international students to gain work experience, and then pursue a graduate degree in economics either in the United States or England.

Cifuentes’ friend Qasim Hussaini said Cifuentes will be successful at whatever he decides to do. “Whether it as a politician or as a businessman, he is going to make a difference in this world,” Hussaini said.

Washington State University prides itself on being a world class research institute where students from across the globe can come and grow into future leaders. The university motto (“World Class. Face to Face.”) summons images of a diverse student body that is capable and willing to address the world’s problems. If this is the goal of WSU, then students such as Mauricio Cifuentes are the face of the university.