Women Who Inspire: Maria Mercedes Salmon

This story is part of Notre Dame Global's series titled "Women Who Inspire."

Maria Mercedes Salmon has long had a passion for seeing the world and bringing it to others. Growing up in Ecuador, she knew she wanted to go into international work, she just wasn’t sure what that would look like for her. She considered joining the Ecuadorian Foreign Service, but the timing wasn’t right. She pursued a degree in international business but realized her heart wasn’t in the business side of things. She dreamt of doing public relations for an organization like the United Nations but began to feel that that wasn’t the right fit either. As she worked towards her path, one thing became clear: she had people skills, and she wanted to use them.

Maria Mercedes is the first to say that she’s been privileged when it comes to her academic journey. Her grandmother was the first woman in her province in Ecuador to go to high school, and she went on to become a teacher. Her parents saw value in both academics and extracurriculars and ensured that Maria Mercedes received a well-rounded education. This led to her attending an American school in Ecuador, participating in exchange programs, and eventually becoming a Fulbright scholar and going to Ohio University. Because she had so many experiences at a young age that brought her outside her hometown, she felt a great pull to give back some of what she’d been fortunate enough to see and experience.

“I think the only way to improve things is when you have an opportunity like this, you go back and you help your own community and find ways to strengthen it,” Maria Mercedes says. After graduating, she worked an internship at the Columbus International Program that gave her a “transformational” experience in international work, and then she returned to Ecuador. Having become friends with the director of the Fulbright program in Ecuador, Maria Mercedes took a temporary position to help her out—and ended up staying for 10 years.

She worked as the program officer for Ecuadorian Fulbright scholars seeking degree programs, helping to give them the same international experience that she was granted. It was satisfying work for Maria Mercedes, and it helped her solidify her calling to connect students with the world around them. This led her to Mexico, where she became the Regional Educational Advising Coordinator for Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

“I think that by being able to offer these kinds of services to international students, you open so many doors for them and you help change their minds—and the minds of people around them.”

That’s the deeper element of Maria Mercedes’ work and passion. It’s about expanding opportunities for the young people of the world, but it’s also about being an agent of change, a force for good. Her belief in this value was one of the reasons she came to Notre Dame. It’s the reason why, when the director position for Notre Dame Mexico opened, she applied. A Catholic herself, she appreciated how Notre Dame embraced its Catholic identity and led with both faith and reason.

“I love that Notre Dame recognizes that in order to achieve human well-being, you need science, and you need to do it ethically, you need to do it responsibly, and you need to do it for the common good, not for your own glory.”

The position leading the Notre Dame Mexico team offered something else she’d been looking for: a new challenge. She recalls thinking, “I know how to do the student recruitment really well. I can do the partnership-building piece. I already had a network here in Mexico.” But working with faculty and researchers—that would be new for her. And she was excited to take it on. Maria Mercedes believes that the more joint research universities and institutions can do, the better they are for it.

“I really believe in this mission,” she says. Now, two years into her position as director, she’s built up the program around that mission. More Notre Dame students are coming to Mexico to study abroad, more Mexican students are going to Notre Dame, faculty research in the area is growing, and partnerships are thriving. In the midst of changing times, she insists that these international connections and opportunities are needed.

Maria Mercedes credits the women in her life for exemplifying how to be brave and do the important work—women like her grandmother, who approached things with an attitude of “I’m going to do this. Why can’t I?” That mindset has carried Maria Mercedes from her coastal town in Ecuador to cities and countries around the world, creating a network of positive change and opening doors to global experiences for others.