By Staci DaSilva
sdasilva@kcautv.com
David Riveros Garcia, 22, is a junior at Morningside College.
He's studying International Affairs, but you could say his education really started about 5 years ago at home in Paraguay.
As president of his high school student council, he lead a 3,000 student protest fighting corruption surrounding the director of his school.
The director eventually resigned but not before David was persecuted by politicians and defamed by local media.
"It also catapulted me into a different level of social activism," said David Riveros Garcia.
David has since become a global youth ambassador, traveling all across the globe for numerous organizations, including the World Bank, the British Council, and Global Changemakers.
He's also the president of his own activist organization, Youth Change Reaction.
This is all while being a full-time student at Morningside College, in Sioux City, Iowa.
"The Midwest is very similar to Paraguay in many ways. We don't have the snow but it's very flat, people are very nice and kind and very well-mannered," said Riveros Garcia.
David's here with two scholarships including one from the U.S. Embassy in Paraguay.
"One of the main ways of fighting against these kinds of things is role-modeling and education. All I have learned in this country and at Morningside College, I have applied to my projects," said Riveros Garcia.
David's a mild-mannered guy, clearly well-spoken and intelligent beyond his years.
But most importantly, he's impassioned and he wants young people everywhere to share his passion.
"We are all promises for the world. We're different kind of promises, but we're all promises of change. The hard part is usually to find which and what kind of promise we are," said Riveros Garcia.
After graduating from Morningside College, he wants to continue fighting corruption in education, especially in Paraguay but probably after he goes to grad school.
