Carolina began her academic journey in Colombia, earning her undergraduate degree in geological engineering at the University of Medellín’s Faculty of Mines. A seminar on carbon capture fully captured Carolina’s attention. Between her classes, she found time to explore urgent global environmental challenges, which quickly became her passion. As she began researching master’s degrees in carbon capture, KFUPM stood out among the few universities that matched her interest and passion. She was particularly impressed by the large number of professors researching seismic interpretation, a field closely related to carbon capture. “I knew the topic I wanted to specialize in; that's why I decided to come to this university. I knew that here I could find those topics. I knew that here I could find all the support in terms of research and connections with other universities”.

Eager to start her master’s journey, Carolina cut her internship short and even missed her graduation ceremony in Colombia. In January 2025, she made her move to Saudi Arabia few weeks early, to get ahead in her incoming semester. Here, she came across a new world, one that she wasn’t used to, but this didn’t stop her from pursuing excellence both on a personal and professional level.

With her teaching assistantship position approved, Carolina connected with the Chairman of the Department of Geosciences, Dr. Khalid Al-Ramadan, who eventually became her advisor and worked with her on niche research in the oil and gas field. Together, they analyzed the reactivity of sand samples, from both Saudi Arabia and the United States, comparing features and identifying reservoirs best fit for carbon extraction. As a master’s graduate of the class of 2026, Carolina shared her gratitude for a research environment where access was never a limitation, including direct access to faculty, laboratories, and all the resources required to fully develop her work through KFUPM’s Center for Integrative Petroleum Research (CIPR).

On the personal side, she wanted to integrate within the community, which led her to pursue connections that would make her time at KFUPM more meaningful. She made friends from Saudi and all over the world, which made her realize that “it is crucial to see people for who they are on the inside rather than looking at just the outside.” This also helped her better understand the local culture, while sharing her own.

Carolina’s experience was transformed by the community she built, where meaningful friendships led to a genuine sense of belonging, including invitations to weddings and everyday life in Saudi Arabia. Her academic pursuit turned into an adventure defined by impactful research, mentorship, and community that will surely inspire the next chapter of her life.