Mariana Belén Velásquez Tafur (12th) is participating as a volunteer in the I Pan American Junior Games Cali 2021. It is a historic sporting event for Cali that started on November 25th and will continue until December 5th. More than 3500 athletes from 41 countries will participate in 30 sports. And in the midst of this great event, Mariana is there, exercising her role as a volunteer, which is essential for the organisation and development of this great event.
Mariana had to go through a rigorous selection process where they would choose 3000 people for this volunteering. There they evaluated her abilities, she presented interviews to measure her level of proficiency in other languages and she was constantly sent tasks to solve.
“The process began on 28 December 2020, I was sent tasks and exams, I had to make presentations and finally the interviews to verify your profile. These are the first Pan American Junior Games in history and they are also in Cali, and I want to contribute to my city and have a different experience,” said Mariana.
After this long process, she was chosen to be part of a select group of volunteers, called “Workforce Leaders”, and their mission is to overlook the proper functioning of the more than 20 different areas.
“I want this experience to help me become a better person. To be in a different environment will help me to know what it means to work, to measure my abilities and to get something better than money out of this, which is the experience of being in these games”, she concluded.
We are very proud of Mariana who is demonstrating her spirit of service and leadership. You make us very proud, Mariana!
