Accepted! Tec graduate going to Harvard to study public policy

Since high school, he has been very interested in public service and politics. “When reading my middle school handbook, I realized that it was possible to start a student union. We had never had one before,” said Jesús Chavoya, a Tec graduate in International Finance from Tec Guadalajara.

He organized a group to create the first student union at his middle school in his hometown of Ocotlán, Jalisco. When he finished his term of office, he even chose his successor. He then attended high school at CBTis 49 in the same city and was elected class president for six semesters. 

“That’s where I had what I call my first attempt at designing public policy: my goal was to ensure that all my classmates, regardless of their financial resources, had at least three guaranteed tickets to their graduation,” he recalls.

He achieved this by fundraising at events such as the CBTis Cultural Week. “That’s how I realized this was my calling:doing my bit to improve my surroundings.” This is what sparked his interest in studying at Tec Guadalajara.

Interested in generating public policies with a local vision, he has actively participated in Ocotlán’s agenda since his graduation (class of 2018). Now, with the support of the Mexico Foundation at Harvard, he will study for a master’s degree at Harvard to continue his work.

Managing his time

However, once he got to college, he had to learn how to organize himself. Knowing how to manage time, he combined his professional affairs with the sports and other activities in which he was involved throughout his degree course. 

“I think that’s where you start to appreciate the value of the time you prioritize. However, it is possible. Ultimately, it’s about knowing how to organize yourself and where your priorities lie,” he said.

“I decided to study finance, focusing on the public sector, the importance of institutions for economic development, and the fight against inequality,” he explained.

Student Life

Carlos won a Specialty Scholarship to study Finance at the Tec with his essay “How Can We End Poverty in Mexico?” which faithfully reflected his interest in bringing about social change. 

During his student years, he excelled on several occasions, including his participation in the International Excellence Program, in which he attended the University of California at Berkeley (where he studied public sector finance). He also earned a certificate in Financial Economics from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver.

In 2017, he was elected president of his graduate program’s student union, and in 2018, he served on the campus Student Council. Among other achievements, he and his team presented a redesign of the student government model, getting approval for a proposal to increase student representation and participation.

However, it is not all about finance or public policy. He was part of the Tec Guadalajara master swimming team and participated in multiple competitions representing the campus. 

Highlights:

• World Masters Swimming Championships in Fukuoka 2023.
• Pan American Masters Swimming Championships in Medellín and Trinidad and Tobago.
• Singapore World Masters, in which he will participate in August 2025.

The road to public policy

Upon graduating, he began his career in public policy, becoming a founding member of a local political party in Jalisco. Carlos also worked in the private sector, in financial analysis and planning for a cybersecurity company.

During the 2024 elections, business organizations sought him out to moderate a forum for candidates for the position of mayor of Ocotlán. The initiative broke audience records and set precedents for post-election collaboration among all political forces. 

This was the context in which Ocotlán 2050 (ocotlan2050.com) emerged, an initiative he co-created, bringing together the municipal government, academia, business owners, and the community to generate a master plan for the city with a vision toward 2050. 

He said that members of the town council and all political parties voted in favor of the project. Today, it is included in the Municipal Development and Governance Plan. 

Thanks to the success of the initiative, the University of Guadalajara invited him to present the results at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) in 2024.

“I believe that the solution lies locally, in working within communities".

Successful podcast and the start of a Harvard adventure

He is also editor and co-host of a political podcast called “Nodo,” which provides a forum for all political forces in Jalisco to debate and compare their ideas respectfully and constructively.

Carlos said the aim is to “address the polarization that is causing so much damage to our democracy. We have had several episodes in Apple’s national top 10 politics rankings.”

Armed with all this experience, he applied to the Harvard Kennedy School for a Master in Public Policy, which he will begin in August 2025. “I’m leaving with a scholarship (from the Mexico Foundation at Harvard) and a commitment to continue contributing to Mexico and Latin America wherever I may be,” he said.

“None of this would have been possible without my education and my time at the Tec, and I’m deeply grateful to my professors and the management team,” he added.

“That’s why I’m still pursuing my dream (of going to Harvard). The Tec’s high academic standards mean you can get into the best university in the world for public policy. It does prepare you for that,” he said.

Interaction between finance and the public sector

After completing his two-year master’s degree, he plans to work where he can influence the intersection between finance and public policy. “I believe there is enormous potential for the country and Latin America,” he stressed.

“I believe that the solution lies at the local level, in working within communities, in the importance of local democracy, and in building bridges between different ways of seeing the world,” he said.

His goal is to define the process for successful policy implementation so that the financial resources of a municipality or region are not wasted and a positive impact is made.

“I know that no one alone can make radical changes. However, we can do something in our own environment, and that is my mission: to contribute to and improve people’s quality of life,” he concluded.

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