Ariel's Story
August 2026
My name is Ariel González Velázquez. I´m the Macchi School Vice-principal and
Students´ Advisor. I attended the Macchi School (2005-2010) and obtained a B.A in
International Studies at Mount Saint Mary´s University.
I was born in Santa Rosa’i, a small rural community in the city of Tobatí, Paraguay,
home to roughly 300 people. Like many in our community, my parents had very limited access
to formal education and were only able to attend primary school through the second grade. As
farmers, their livelihood depended on the watermelon harvest and an annual income of about
$1,000, when the climate allowed. Yet despite these challenges, they taught my five siblings and me one of the most valuable lessons of our lives: education is the path to opportunity.
From the time we were seven years old, we helped with every task we could at home for
half of the day and attended school for the other half. We grew up understanding hard work,
sacrifice, and hope. In 2005, Team Tobatí opened the Macchi School with its very first group of
students. I was blessed to be one of the lucky fifteen seventh graders chosen to begin that
journey. Little did I know then that it would be the beginning of an incredible adventure—one
that would change my life forever.
At the Macchi School, I began learning English and discovered the power of education
beyond anything I had imagined. I studied day and night, determined to honor the opportunity I had been given. At the same time, I faced homesickness and the difficulty of living away from my family, because there was no daily bus from my community to the school. I stayed with a host family so I could continue my studies. It was not always easy, but every challenge became part of the foundation that shaped who I am today.
In 2010, we proudly became the first graduating class of the Macchi School, a true
masterpiece of Team Tobatí’s social work and vision. Soon after, Stephen Morgan, together with Team Tobatí and the Class of 1964 from Mount Saint Mary’s University, made it possible for the top two students to continue their education at that wonderful university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. I was one of them.
I graduated from Mount Saint Mary’s University with a Bachelor of Arts in International
Studies and met some of the most influential people in my life. Team Tobatí and the Macchi
School instilled in me strong values of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. The Mount
deepened my understanding of community, service, and the importance of giving back.
After graduating in 2015, I returned home, and the Macchi School welcomed me into a
new chapter of my life. I was hired as the school coordinator, and since then I have had the
privilege of working, learning, and helping other young people pursue their own goals and write their own stories. Sometimes words are not enough to express what this experience means. When we see the reality with our own eyes and live it ourselves, we realize how blessed we are—and how powerful it is to help open doors for others.
Aguyje che sy ha che ru. Gracias, Colegio Reinaldo Macchi. Thank you, Team Tobatí, Mount Saint Mary’s University, and the countless wonderful people who helped shape me into
the grateful and blessed person I am today. My story is only one example of what becomes
possible when hope, education, and generosity come together.