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Hey! I am Ana Júlia Monteiro, born in Maceió, Brazil. At 12 years old, I co-founded the school's first FIRST® robotics team. In the competition, we dressed as Scientists ‘Cangaçeiros’, who historically condemned the government’s oppression. It protested the xenophobia against my region, which considers its citizens unintelligent due to the historical educational deficit. That episode increased 15x STEM participation in my school, instigated several institutions to initiate robotics, and awakened my passion for leadership. It was the beginning of my story! Currently, I aspire to enhance the educational scenario of Brazil to support the rise of young leaders.
To know more about me, click on the news bellow!
In Brazil, I traveled between states as a public speaker to inspire young people in following the STEAM & Leadership path. Also, I participated in many media interviews to share my stories, achievements, and adventures! On the stage or on Tv, I let my personality shine through. As an entrepreneur, I was hired in many of these opportunities, creating my own personal branding. One of my most famous achievements is the Top 10 Global Student Prize, considered the ‘Nobel of Students’, which allowed me to inspire many peers to have a shot at education.
(To non-Portuguese speakers, the video showcase interviewers saying my name: Ana Júlia!)
During my gap year, I co-founded Daxi Education, a for-profit startup that implements STEM education in schools in Brazil. With a partnership with Brincando Com Ideias, a famous Maker Youtube channel, we provide an engaging robotics curriculum to any Portuguese-speaking school. In our market strategy, we sell directly to schools or larger companies and foundations can sponsor impoverished public schools in Brazil. This venture was accelerated by Watson Institute within a 4-month entrepreneurship program mainly in Boulder, Colorado. As the youngest fellowship holder, I spent this summer at UColorado’s dorms networking with CEOs that ranged from a Nepalese tea entrepreneur to an African reused-plastic trader. Currently, our robotics kits are employed in a pilot program at the Pompeu School in Maceió City, Brazil.
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Upon graduation, my fate was the Brazilian National Exam: the only determinator of a student’s value. My country’s educational system evolves around academic abstractions, only unfolded by tests. No lens whatsoever for social impact, hands-on work, or creative inquiry. By taking the national test, I would perpetuate this cycle: so I did not. Alternatively, I progressed towards transforming education: I networked with my city’s accessible political contacts until I arranged a meeting with the Mayor. I pitched several STEM-centered ideas that could be employed within public schools, which would improve civic indexes—even marketing! Ultimately, I became one of the youngest Advisors in the Department of Education. Currently, I am founding the city's first Public Robotics Program, aiming to impact 10,000+ students in 2023.
Besides hiking Colorado’s mountains with worldwide CEOs, enjoying BBQs with the Central Bank’s president, and watching Brazil’s World Cup game on Google, 2022 was pretty much business! Within the ProLíder program, I co-developed a 12 million BRL business plan and investment thesis focused on ESG for Group Anga’s prospective private equity firm. My venture, Daxi Education, also shined thought! We achieved 3rd place in a national startup competition pitching alongside founders from 20+ states. Moreover, I networked with several Brazilian business leaders in awesome events, such as the (exhilarating!) Four Institute Dinner (Click on the video and be bewildered!).
The ProLíder is a business, economic, and political science program, which sponsored me with monthly airplane trips to São Paulo State for 7 months. It’s Brazil’s most selective fellowship program with over 13 thousand applicants and an 0.48% acceptance rate. Within the program, I attended classes at Insper College, one of the most renewed economic & business-centered colleges in Brazil. I was required to read articles, analyze research, and turn in college-level coursework featuring Brazil’s business, economics, and political scenarios. In parallel, it was an opportunity to network with Brazil's finest leaders, such as the president of the Central Bank and board members of McDonald’s. Moreover, I visited companies' headquarters, including São Paulo’s Google for Startups.
Three countries, four Brazilian states, and lots of fun! Since the age of 12, I shared amazing adventures with my peers while traveling to robotics competitions worldwide. Not even the quarantine prevented me from co-designing (awesome!) scientific inventions that ranged from a wind-powered device to enhance microfinance milk production to roof tiles constructed from discarded mollusk shells. While my time of deep chemical research may have passed, these scientific inventions awaked my passion for developing products capable of solving/assisting in humans' issues. And, well, a bird tells me this is what business is all about.
