Faces of Na’atik: Angel
“It’s very cool to have conversations in English about my dreams and hear other people’s points of view.” Meet Angel, a 20-year-old university student from Felipe Carrillo Puerto who has been part of our Maya Youth Scholarship program for six years. The Maya Youth program allows students from low-income backgrounds to study at Na’atik at no cost. Angel is studying Computer Systems at the Tecnológico Nacional de Felipe Carrillo Puerto. For him, English isn’t just a school subject — it’s a bridge to his future in technology, engineering, and helping people.
Why did you start learning English?
I study English because it’s an interesting language. At my university, I need English to get my engineering certificate. Knowing English also creates opportunities to get jobs in different countries.
What has been the best thing about studying at Na’atik?
The best thing is that the teachers are from different countries — for example, England, the USA, Australia. It's very cool to meet people from different countries and learn about the language, the culture or other things.
My first teacher was Rachel from England. I still remember my first day because she had dyed hair. I’ve had Talicia from Mexico, Patrick from Texas, Sam from England, and Nick from England.
Have you always wanted to study at university?
Yes, I’ve always wanted to go to university. It’s interesting for me. I love to find solutions for the problems in the world. It's very cool to create things that help people with problems.
What do you want to do in the future?
While at university I can create big things. In my case, for a systems engineer, to know English is to understand programming, as it's always in English. And it's interesting to understand what you read, what you listen to, what you see. I can create interesting things
For example, my main dream is to create a robot, a big robot, maybe a human robot. Or do things for the people. For example, assistance for people with robotics.
Right now, I am working on an app for mental health, a psychology app for panic attacks. So, I can translate my ideas into other languages.
It’s very interesting to share my ideas and my dreams in English. Thanks to the things I do in Naatik. It's very cool to have a conversation with other people who tell me their opinion, their point of view.
What has your overall experience at Na’atik been like?
The people here are incredible. The teachers are intelligent, interesting, and kind. Studying here is relaxing. The library is very cool — we have a lot of books — and there are computers for research.
We also have workshops on different topics. My last one was about good and bad habits. We’ve also done workshops in art and music.
To learn more about Na’atik’s English language program for local and Indigenous students in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, visit our Impact Page. We are only able to provide this much needed program thanks to the support of generous donors and the funds raised from our award winning Maya and Spanish Immersion Program. If you would like to support our mission please consider donating today or take a look at our immersion programs and online class packages.