Maria Eduarda Barbosa, a medical student in Brazil, tells in her own words how MIT OpenCourseWare changed the trajectory of her life.
In this inaugural episode of the Open Learners podcast, hosts Emmanuel Kasigazi and Michael Jordan Pilgreen interview Maria Eduarda Barbosa, a medical student located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Maria tells in her own words how MIT OpenCourseWare changed the trajectory of her life, particularly how she might never have achieved her full potential if one of her teachers had not recognized her abilities and urged her to pursue more challenging studies. Googling “Calculus introductory course,” Maria discovered one of Prof. Gilbert Strang’s videos on MIT OpenCourseWare, and it opened a vision of new horizons for her. She became a near-daily user of MIT OpenCourseWare, and the experience transformed her intellectual life, inspiring her to become passionate about her own education and to share that passion with others around her. Maria describes how the experience has not only awakened her curiosity and self-motivation, but also given her a better attitude about the gaps in her existing knowledge. Now, she says, she doesn’t think, “Oh, I'm lost because I'm stupid”; instead she thinks, “I'm lost because I haven't learned this yet.”
The Open Learners podcast is produced by Alexis Haut.
Relevant Resources:
Prof. Andrew Lo (MIT faculty page)
15.401 Finance Theory I on MIT OpenCourseWare
Prof. Gilbert Strang (MIT faculty page)
RES.18-005 Highlights of Calculus (including “The Big Picture of Calculus”) on MIT OpenCourseWare
Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions
Share Your Open Learning Story
To share your own open learning story with Michael and Emmanuel, send them an email at open_learners_pod@mit.edu.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: What was that moment when you knew that OCW are the people who, you know?
MARIA BARBOSA: You watch five minutes of Gilbert Strang, it is impossible not to be impressed!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Welcome to Open Learners.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: A podcast that tells the stories of learners all over the world who use MIT's OpenCourseWare.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: I'm Emmanuel Olimi Kasigazi, an Open learner myself, from Kampala, Uganda, in east Africa.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: And I'm Michael Jordan Pilgreen, an Open learner from Memphis, Tennessee.
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EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Hi, Michael.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: Hey, Emmanuel.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: How you doing?
MICHAEL PILGREEN: I'm doing great, man. I can't believe we're here.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Yeah can't believe we're actually recording this. This is something we've been talking about for a while now, I think over 13, 14 months. Do you remember the first conversation we had about starting this podcast? I do.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: I actually remember that conversation a lot. This was 16 months ago. I had reached out to you over LinkedIn. A story had been written about you in MIT News.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Yeah.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: We scheduled a call to connect. And the first thing I see once the camera finally comes on is just this dark room--
[LAUGHTER]
--with you sitting in the room. And later I figured out the power had been off in Kampala.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: I'd ridden from work that day. I came earlier home. I was preparing myself a little meal. So I was blasting music on my laptop, and I was consuming the laptop's battery. So I get on. I'm tethering from my phone. My battery's low.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: That first conversation became this idea about Open learners, making a global community of Open learners, and creating this podcast with MIT.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Surprisingly, they said yes.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: Yeah.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: And years later, here we are. But for our listeners who are unfamiliar, OpenCourseWare is an online publication of nearly all of MIT's courses and content. It's available to all learners all over the world. It's free.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: MIT OpenCourseWare is one of a collection of open educational resources at MIT Open Learning. And one thing that might be helpful to know is why we in particular wanted to start this podcast.
Just like the learners we will be featuring in each episode, we both have our own OpenCourseWare story. And Emmanuel, we should start with you. Maybe tell us a little bit about your story.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Yeah. Like I mentioned before, I'm from Uganda, a small country in east Africa. And I have been-- I'd been learning a lot of things online.
And then one day I really wanted to look into this AI thing. So on my journey, I'm looking to it. One day I'm on YouTube searching something, and I see a course on AI.
My first shock was which MIT is this? This can't be the MIT. Why would they give out knowledge for free? I check out the courses. In my skepticism, I first downloaded a psychology course. I watched the full course. I thought it would take me months. I watched it in a really short time because it was really, really interesting.
So I told myself I should thank this professor. It's the least I could do. But some days later the director of OCW writes me back, and they're like, we'd like to do a story about you. I always tell the team that at first I thought they are trying to scam me or something. Like, why? What? What do you want from me?
But turns out it was a really great experience. They were real legit. The articles came out, and then I started now meeting the people in the background. Michael reached out. Then we got on calls with more people. And the journey has been amazing since. So Michael, what was your story like?
MICHAEL PILGREEN: Yeah, so during 2019 I graduated from undergrad. 2020 rolls around, and I'm getting ready for my first art show of about six to eight oil paintings, and the pandemic happens.
So within two months, I'm unemployed. And it doesn't look like art is going to be coming around soon. I was a public artist before that, doing murals and sculptures. And I knew I needed to make a change. I had heard people were still hiring in finance, and I knew technology was still hiring.
So I started looking for free resources online where I could learn finance and technology. I stumbled upon MIT's OpenCourseWare's YouTube, watched Andrew Lo's Finance Theory I course, and the rest is sort of history. That's just my story in a short form.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: So OCW changed our lives and connected us with learners from all over the world, which is amazing for me personally. And the point of this podcast is to share their stories, what led them to OCW, what their experiences with OCW was like, and how their lives have changed because of it over time, given the different backgrounds. We'll be speaking to learners from all over the world.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: So in each of the six episodes this season, we share a story of a learner from a different part of the world. Each learner will tell their story in their own words.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: So today we'll hear from Maria Eduarda Barbosa. She's from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: Emmanuel and I first met Maria last year towards the end of 2023. And the thing that really struck us about her story was the fact that there was this learner that was ambivalent about learning. She was probably smarter than the rest of the people in her school and her class, but she was just disengaged.
Through the power of MIT OpenCourseWare and her ability to learn new knowledge in English, she was able to transform her life in a way that many people aspire to but few people follow through on. But I think that's enough of us talking about Maria. Let's hear from Maria herself. Here is Maria Eduarda Barbosa from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
MARIA BARBOSA: [SPEAKING PORTUGUESE]
My name is Maria. I'm from Rio, Brazil, but I live in Sao Paulo, where I go to medical school in the University of Sao Paulo. So I'm going into my second year right now, and I'm 22.
I want to have a career in research. I've always wanted to teach, for as long as I can remember. I like to run. And last year I ran a half marathon for the first time.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: So you can probably tell just from that introduction that Maria is an enthusiastic person who is passionate about her own education. But according to her, it wasn't always that way.
MARIA BARBOSA: My father is in the military, so when I was 14, we were transferred for the first time. And that was very hard on me. And I went to this small school. So I went to this small school, and it was not challenging, so to speak.
At some point I realized I wouldn't-- I could not possibly fail, even if I did no homework because I would ace the test, and that would give me enough grade to pass. And so I wouldn't fail. I knew it.
There was this teacher who was the math teacher, and the physics teacher was also very helpful in that sense. And one of them came up to me and said, someone like you really should be studying. This was the first time when someone demonstrated he expected me to be more than what I already was.
And that was so special for me. And it was like, oh, what the hell am I doing with my life? And at that point, I was like, OK, I'm going to study something, Everyone says calculus is really hard. Let's see if I can learn it.
I googled calculus introductory course, and that led me to Professor Gilbert Strang, Calculus Big Picture, which is to this day one of my favorite classes of any topics ever.
And I was fascinated. I wasn't expecting to challenge myself, and sure I did. But I started to enjoy it a lot. And I was doing this while I was not at school. And things started changing for me pretty rapidly.
[SOFT MUSIC]
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: I could relate to that. So I understand her view of not feeling challenged enough. And then you meet these other people who are teaching you the same thing but in a more amazing way. And for the first time ever, it makes sense. So I can relate to that.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: I was also an unconventional learner that struggled to stay engaged in traditional schooling. So I definitely relate to that journey but also the idea that when you first see Gilbert Strang, it kind of makes you start thinking about education and learning these complex topics such as calculus and linear algebra more user friendly and just inspiring you to learn more about these complex topics.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Hey, Michael, we asked Maria to reflect on the challenges she faced at the start of her OCW journey. One common obstacle for many in the global learner community is all OCW classes are taught in English.
MARIA BARBOSA: So I actually took very few English classes as a kid. But when I was very young, my older siblings, they spoke English. And they would speak sometimes between them so that I couldn't understand. But I was a kid. I was a machine of learning languages. So I picked something up at that point between 12 and 13.
My mother was involved in the-- let's say an institution inside the Catholic Church which deals with refugees. And so we received a family of refugees at our house. And there was a guy who was a little bit older than me.
And if you haven't realized, I tend to talk too much. And so I didn't consider the possibility of not talking to him for the other language option. I didn't even know the alphabet.
So I picked English and practiced a lot throughout these months. And that made me really comfortable with English. And then a few years later, I met OCW and started using it pretty much every day.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: So taking classes in English wasn't the only first Maria encountered when she started OCW. It was also her first time taking classes online.
MARIA BARBOSA: I think it was one of the first times I was doing learning by the sake of learning. And that was the main transition for me, not from seeing the professor or watching online classes. It was from sometimes liking something and maybe studying a little bit, maybe starting to get a medal in that olympiad
But this was more like, I want to see what-- I want to see what this is. So I was there out of curiosity and self-motivation. And so that was the biggest transition for me. It wasn't hard at all to go to online, actually.
But one thing that really helped me was at the same time to be more open and honest about it and to be more humble in the sense that, OK, you do the last part of calculus course, which in edX I think it was Calculus 1C. You do infinite series. You do not think you're so smart anymore.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Maria may have been questioning herself at the start of her OCW journey. But when she was done, her professors were questioning how she knew so much. Interesting, if you ask me.
MARIA BARBOSA: Actually, one day one professor asked me, so what was your first undergraduate course? And I was like, no, I didn't have another undergraduate course. I just watched a bunch of OCW classes. And he was like, oh, that's great! He thought I had done chemistry or something.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL PILGREEN: Maria shares how cw changed both her professional and personal trajectories.
MARIA BARBOSA: I wasn't very close to my friends even at that time because I was so shell-shocked from moving from Rio to Brasilia. And so I'd be home, and I would count the days. How long do I have until I go back home? Because I really didn't like the city, and I missed everything so bad.
What happened was I started having something more to think about. I think it made me a lot more useful for the people around me, and that opened me up for them. And then as a consequence, I was happier. I was learning more stuff. And I was more integrated to my community.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: After finishing OCW, Maria was happier, more social, and more grounded than she was before. She also noticed she was approaching learning differently.
MARIA BARBOSA: And so I said that the point where I where I think OCW has made the most difference in my life is after I got into the university because I was really comfortable with not knowing things. And that's a lesson that I try to bring to my colleagues all the time,
Because they always want to give like this so specific and fancy answers. And sometimes these answers do not exist, and they think they should know. Because all their education was geared towards a test they had to do well on.
So it creates a culture of validation. And one colleague of mine-- she's amazing-- and she was like, OK, I know I made this mistake. I know I did not answer that correctly. But I want to know, how do you study? Because I don't feel like I'm learning. I feel like I'm lost sometimes when we're studying together.
And I was like, OK. Sometimes I also feel lost. And then, I tell you guys, because I get lost. The difference is I do not think, oh, I'm lost because I'm stupid. I think I'm kind of lost because I haven't learned this yet.
And sometimes the best thing you can do is to ask what you think is a stupid question because odds are you're not the only one with that question. And what I was learning at OCW at that point was so key for me to grow as a student and as a person.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: Maria's OCW journey also inspired the people around her, including some of the youngest members of her family.
MARIA BARBOSA: In my family-- this is kind of cute-- because I have a small niece. She is seven now. It's nice because I don't live in the same city. And when I came to visit, she would always spend a little bit of time together.
And we were kind of doing chemistry experiments, and she was so excited. And her eyes were glowing, and it was so funny. And I think that aspect of not trying to do something useful, just trying to do something that's beautiful.
And that's something I want to bring to her. And I think that's working because people are so stuck in that usefulness thing. And I play the guitar. I will never make any money playing the guitar, and I couldn't care less.
And I think sometimes with our studies and what I want to bring to my niece, I think there are two good reasons to study. One of them is to be of service, and the other one is to contemplate things like art.
The product of your studies are not what you do with it directly. It is the person you become while you're studying.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL PILGREEN: I think some of the people that I've inspired the most in my OCW journey has been other learners around the world. I think I've given a lot of people the fuel to light the fire that's within all of us to become a better person, to keep learning, to always be curious, to keep--
And it's not just studying for studying's sake. It's really how can I expand my own consciousness? How can I expand my view of the world? And how can I bring these frameworks back to my family, my friends, my community?
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Beautiful, beautiful. You mentioned something about inspiring learners all over the world. That's something that took me by surprise, I would say, but also from studying for the sake of becoming a more full person.
Most of the courses I take I've done so far and I'm currently doing on OCW were for personal reasons. I studied psychology not because I work in psychology but because I like psychology. I studied everything else from there for the love of it.
So obviously our coursework had a profound impact on Maria. We asked her if she had any advice for others around the world who are considering OCW, any other learners, any curious people, what advice you'd have for them.
MARIA BARBOSA: One thing I would say, this is just the beginning. Do not-- this is very cool, but do not close your eyes and be so stubborn with things. Remain open to learn new things. Do not be so confined to your niche.
And actually, for me and for everyone who's like in their teens or early 20s, I hate to break that to you. But you do not have a niche, and you don't have to close your mind now. Remain open to learn new things.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: And of course, when you love something, you probably have some constructive criticism for that thing as well. Maria's advice to OCW? Get more of it.
MARIA BARBOSA: This is sort of a funny one because I was kind of thinking the other day-- I don't even remember what I was looking for, but I remember there was a bunch of things. It was biophysics. It was biophysics.
And I didn't find a lot of stuff. And I was like, I might be being totally unfair to the OCW team. Do not be afraid of oh, you know, maybe people won't want to come here. I doubt it. I double doubt it. I triple doubt it.
Actually I wanted to go to MIT because of OCW. People who know the institution better, people who want to collaborate with it, please record more courses. Because sometimes we want to we want to learn biophysics with someone like Hubert Stringers or Barbara Imperiali.
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Even though Maria is done with her OCW coursework for now, she continues to reflect on where she would have been without it.
MARIA BARBOSA: In the last time I talked with someone from the team, I was at the roof of my grandmother's house. It was the place where we hang our clothes to dry them up. But she don't know what it is because in the US, when you take out your clothes from the machine, they're already dry.
It's a very different reality, very different culture, very different place. also because here it is warm enough so that things can dry up pretty quickly. It's far-- it's like this-- how much further the initiative has brought MIT-level education is what I want to convey.
And maybe I wouldn't have become the person who's a student who's passionate enough about studying to get into the medical school I got into. I probably wouldn't be where I'm at today if this initiative didn't exist. And so I cannot express my gratitude enough.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: And Maria's clothes drying is the perfect visual because it gets at this bigger theme Emmanuel and I are trying to convey in this season of Open Learners. While most of the classes at MIT are taught in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT OpenCourseWare is a global program and phenomena.
MARIA BARBOSA: I wouldn't be where I'm at today if it wasn't for these kinds of platforms. Not only because they give me the opportunity to have MIT-level education in my small high school library in Brazil.
But because it shows me-- it opens the window to a world that was not part of my world. And as a result, I grew up, and I learned to really love learning and doing it for the sake of it.
So if these platforms do not exist, people are confined to their geography. And this is not fair. People are confined to their geography and they do not reach their full potential because they do not know everything that's out there, because they have very good grades in this small place, in this small school, which is fine.
But they could be doing more, and they could be better for their communities and better people as a result of it. And it's number one, the knowledge they provide, and number two, an open door to the world.
And it's like, oh, hey, you're in Brazil? You want to challenge yourself or something? You want to learn something new? Yeah, that's a whole world out there. You have no idea.
And that's exciting. And that changes your perspective on life and education. And that's the key of it. It gives people hope, and it gives people ideas about the world. And that's the main thing for me.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Well, Michael, that's episode one in the books. Ha! How do you feel?
MICHAEL PILGREEN: I'm feeling great. I'm so excited and honored that Maria was willing to share her story with us and engage with our audience. How about you?
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: I'm psyched. I'm psyched. I'm psyched that we're, first of all, doing this. And I'm excited and grateful that we got to this stage and we are speaking to great people like Maria. For a first episode, I wouldn't have it any other way. So what's your biggest takeaway from Maria's story?
MICHAEL PILGREEN: I think my biggest takeaway-- and this is something we touched on in our very first conversation, Emmanuel-- was MIT OpenCourseWare, the people at Open Learning, are tenaciously going after this grand narrative of fulfilling the destiny of the internet.
What better way can we show that destiny being fulfilled than an actual learner that has been impacted in such a deep and profound way that it literally changed her life for the better with free information that was freely given over the internet?
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Yeah, I hear you. I hear you.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: Yeah. So how about you, Emmanuel?
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: This has been grand. And you mentioned something about the information age. And I feel my biggest takeaway from this is, first of all, this works-- not works, but this is real. This is actually changing lives. You will hear several stories in the coming season, but this is actually changing lives.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: For sure, for sure. And I think one thing that we learned in this episode is you can get so much wisdom from just one learner. And we have five more to go this season.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I might be a whole different person by the end of the season. Who knows?
EMMANUEL KASIGAZI: Yeah, me too. Me too. And we'll be back in two weeks with another story from a different learner in the global OCW community. See you then.
Open Learners was produced by Alexis Haut. Special thanks to the supporters and donors who make OCW possible.
MICHAEL PILGREEN: To learn more about MIT's OpenCourseWare and to check out the courses mentioned in this episode, visit the OpenCourseWare website at ocw.mit.edu.
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