Ontario Agricultural College,
University of Guelph
Alumni Oral History

Silvia Sarapura
M.Sc. 2008, PhD 2013

Interviewed by Kate Denney

Where did you grow up and where did you do your undergrad?
I am from Peru. I am from the central lands of Peru from a province called
Concepción, which is located in the main agricultural valley in Peru, called the
Mantaro Valley. I grew up there on a family farm my father owned. It is considered
one of the biggest in the region, around 100 hectares. We produced potatoes, corn,
legumes and raised dairy cattle (Brown Swiss and Holstein). I grew up in that
environment. My oldest brother also studied agronomy, the second one followed
him. We are a family of five and I was the only woman studying agronomy. My mom
was a pharmacologist, she studied at the Sam Marcos University, and my dad did
his studies in Argentina at the University of La Plata, Buenos Aires. But as I grew up
in this environment, I also engaged with the people who came to work on the farm.
We had around 100 people working in the farm, and they came from the highlands.
That is the reason that I decided to start studying agronomy, not to continue the work
on the farm, but to work with these people because I knew that they came from
communities where they had plenty of natural resources and they are part of
Indigenous communities, particularly the Quechua and Wanka communities. Then, I
had the benefit of being selected as one of the scholars by the International Potato
Centre in Peru and I got a scholarship with them to do my undergraduate thesis. I
finished my Bachelor’s in Agronomy at the National University of the Center of Peru,
and I went to the International Potato Centre, and I started working in the taxonomy
department as an intern. When I decided to do my undergraduate thesis with them, I
was part of the physiology department. I was with them for three years, I worked with
international scientists, working in potatoes, and producing new varieties for climate
stress. But, in this work I also worked a lot with Indigenous communities, because
the International Potato Centre has a long history of engagement with these
communities. They introduced the farmer field schools in these communities, and we
were doing research with the communities - what we now call collaborative
participatory research. With that idea of working at a more applied level, I decided to
do my thesis with these communities and International Potato Centre, to benefit
through both bodies of knowledge, Indigenous and scientific knowledge.

What led you to Guelph? What made you choose to come to
Canada and the Ontario Agricultural College in specific?
There were two reasons that I decided to come to Canada. In my work, the literature
that I was reading at that time came mostly from University of Guelph academics,

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and my dream was to come to Canada, to go to Guelph. At that time, my brother-inlaw was doing his PhD at the University of Alberta in Animal Science, but he moved
to Guelph to finalise his PhD. The first thing that I did when I came here was to ask
my brother to drive me to Guelph, and we went to Guelph, and I was amazed by it.
Not only the infrastructure, but also all the work that was done in the Agricultural
College in plant science. The first thing that I did is engage with Dr. Alan Sullivan,
and I asked him, “I want to be your student. I want to continue doing my master's
with you.” and he said “OK, Silvia, sit down and let's talk. What do you what do you
want your research topic to be?” and I said to him, “I want to work with illiterate
people in agriculture and work in local agricultural innovation” and he said, “Oh my
gosh, with me, you will be in the lab all the time and, you will have some fieldwork,
but not as you expect.” So, he connected me with professors in the School of
Environmental Design and Rural Development and connected me with Dr. Sally
Humphries and Dr. James Mahone, and the minute that I talked to Dr. James
Mahone and Dr. Al Lauzon, I knew that I had to do my master's in capacity
development and extension. I knew that it was going to be difficult because I came
with a background focused more on the natural sciences, but I accepted that
challenge because I was sure that I was going to get the best education that I aimed
to have.

Did you have any chance to visit Guelph before you decided where
to study?
Yes. I remember we landed in the crop science department, and I talked with Dr.
Souza-Machado, and he directed me to Dr. Sullivan. I went to Guelph to talk to them
ten times before coming to Guelph. I loved going to university. It was my dream to
study at Guelph. It seemed so far from me that I was going to study at Guelph, that I
was going to learn from all professors, but this time when I visited, I could feel it was
close. I had to work for this and to get the right advice to achieve my goals. After I
met with Dr. Sullivan. I decided to study capacity development and extension
because it was the topic that I knew I practised, but not theoretically, since I had
never taken a course in that matter.

How did you feel as an international student at the Ontario
Agricultural College? Did you feel welcomed to when you got to
Guelph? What was that experience like?
The first time that I went to the reception, when I asked for Dr. Souza-Machado, and
talked to Dr. Sullivan, Dr Mahone, and Dr. Lauzon I felt that the opportunities were
there. I felt a sense of relief, but it was something unknown to me. Since I was
coming from Peru, I was used to a different type of education, but because I was
welcomed, I felt welcome, and I felt safe. I said to myself, “I have to do it.” I think I felt
this way because of the way that I was received, the way that I engaged with
professors, and got all the information that I needed. I felt supported, and I felt safe,
which is very important for an international student at the University of Guelph or any
other Canadian university.

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What year did you start your master’s program at Guelph?
I started my masters in 2006. I finished my masters in 2008. Then, in September of
2008, I started my PhD studies, finishing in December 2012.

Did you live on campus while studying at the Ontario Agricultural
College?
No. I came to Guelph as a landed immigrant, and in order to do that I had to work for
six years to bring over my family, my husband, and my two small children. I lived off
campus with my family. We lived in Guelph while I was doing my master's and my
PhD studies.

Did you enjoy living in the City of Guelph?
Oh yes, I loved it. It was quiet. It was welcoming. The city is warm, it welcomes
people, especially students. I remember that we used to go have coffee at the Red
Brick Café. We would go to the library, and even though I was doing my master's, I
had a good network with my colleagues. We were four master students who worked
together, and learned together, and we met to share our knowledge and ideas. I
knew when I came to the University of Guelph, we would be learning more about
different theoretical bodies of knowledge that could complement with my technical
professional capacities, so I needed to read and learn a lot. I needed to reflect, and
analyse, and be critical. Which at the time, I was not. But I had support at the Ontario
Agricultural College. I had professors advise me on how to write better. There were
services I could access to improve my English, to improve my capacity as a scholar,
and it helped me a lot.

Was there a service or support that was most important to you or
that you found helped you the most?
Yes, I think it was the support of my professors the Ontario Agricultural College. I
had support from my advisor who was Dr. Jim Mahone. During my master's and my
PhD, I had academic support from Dr. Alan Lauzon who recently retired. Working
with them strengthened my capacity as an academic and as a person.

You mentioned your relationships with your colleagues and your
professors, are you still friends with anybody that you met with
while doing your master’s and Ph.D. at Guelph?
Yes, I am. I still relate to them and talk to them. Three colleagues from my master’s
program are very successful scholars. Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo at Memorial University;
Dr. Shery Lee Harper is a research chair in food security at the University of Alberta
and Dawson Bridger, Director in the Ontario Heritage Fund. Dr. Shery Lee Harper is
representing Canada in the climate change component of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change. Also, I keep in touch with all my colleagues from my

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master’s and PhD studies. We interact a lot and exchange academic material. It’s a
relationship that is built on professionalism, respect, and admiration, but also
support.

Were you involved in any clubs, extracurriculars, or events while
you were on campus?
Yes, we were engaged with the City of Guelph. Well, we organised and supported
different activities, especially with Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo. I was part of the international
program. I was a part of extracurricular activities with Dr. Lynn Mitchell, and I have to
say that she was a great supporter to me, even though I was not technically an
international student, because I got my permanent residence visa before I came to
Canada, I was still part of all the activities that she organised. She was also
supportive of me in organizing extracurricular activities myself. She supported us in
organizing international talks, and I was part of these international talks with guest
speakers not only from Canadian universities but also international universities. Dr.
Stuart McCook and Dr. Lynn Mitchell always invited me to talk with international
partners who come to the university as well, the international program has been
supportive of me. They were there to support me in presenting research results and
engagement with different groups at an international level.

How did studying at the Ontario Agricultural College compare to
your experience doing your undergraduate degree at the National
University of the Center of Peru?
There are several differences. I was amazed with the resources that we had to
conduct our work, and the library. At the time in Peru, the libraries were smaller and
didn't have the capacity that they have now. At the University of Guelph, the
relationships I had with professors were very professional, academic, ethical, and
with professionalism, and I want I transmit that to my students too. I feel that I was
safe, and that I was confident that I was right in choosing University of Guelph to do
my studies.

Now that you’re here at Guelph as a professor, what are the biggest
changes on campus that you've noticed compared to when you
started at Guelph as a student in 2006?
Well, the big difference is that there are more students than were before.
When I started there were not too many international students. Now we have higher
percentage of international students, which is great that the university has become
more diverse, and more inclusive, and that is demonstrated in the different
nationalities of our students. They offer more opportunities to students to have a
better education. Access to services has improved a lot. I have become aware of
more services than when I first started. The support from the different levels of the
university is better and is more accessible to students. We support our students, for
example, in the Master Program in Rural Planning and Development, we work with
our students to organise town halls to see how they are doing and hear from our

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students. At the Ontario Agricultural College, we connect our students who may have
interdisciplinary backgrounds with professors. So, the service is a network, but it is
well structured from the individual programme level to the university level and even
going beyond, outside the University of Guelph.

What kind of research did you do while you attended the Ontario
Agricultural College?
Both my master's and my PhD research was on the topic of integrating gender in
agriculture. During my master’s I was working with rural women involved in
microfinance, specifically Indigenous women involved in microfinance in Peru. My
PhD studies were also on Indigenous women in local innovation but working in value
chains of native potatoes. That research was with Indigenous women working with
the initiative called the Potato Initiative and they were adding value to the product for
it to work in niche markets. My responsibility was to work with them to investigate
how. they adapted to these new technologies, but considering their knowledge, the
local and Indigenous knowledge and how it was ‘braided’ with scientific knowledge.

Did you always know you wanted to work with Indigenous
communities?
Yes, I always knew that I was going to work with them. It was for that reason when I
finished my studies in Guelph, I accepted an invitation to do a postdoctoral fellowship
in agricultural innovation systems and work with local farmers and Indigenous groups
in Africa, Asia, and the Solomon Islands. I worked with them in Malaysia for three
years at the WorldFish Centre. We implemented the research, development
approach and the gender transformative approach for the first time in and agricultural
research.

What made you want to come back to Guelph as a professor?
Canada is home for me and, it is where I identify with. After I finished my postdoctoral position with WorldFish in Malaysia, I was invited to work with a Dutch
agency, called the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), and I also did research in
agriculture and gender, I was there for three years too. But I lived alone. My family
was here, and my dream was always to come back to Guelph again. There is
nothing wrong with dreaming. First, when I was in Peru, I dreamt and said to myself,
“Oh my gosh, I want to study at Guelph. Well, would it be possible? My English?
Other aspects that I will need to improve, would it be feasible or not?” But, through
time I achieved it. As I was working in Malaysia, travelling to different countries, and
doing research with different scholars from different universities in the Netherlands, I
found myself wanting to come back to teaching and to have an academic life. I
wanted to work with the students. I want to be a mentor, but also to share all my
experiences on an international level from an academic standpoint. When this
opportunity was presented to me, I had an interview, and I had my presentation to
the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. I felt that it was my

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place, but I was also nervous to get the results to see if I was accepted by the
university as a professor.

When you came first came to Guelph, were your husband and
children able to come with you?
No, they didn't come at first. The first year I was alone because I had to apply for a
visa for them. I left my family for one year. My youngest son was 10 months old and
the oldest one was 4 years old. After that, my husband and my children came, and
the family was complete.

Was it difficult for you being away from your family?
It was very difficult. It was very difficult because my youngest son was ten months
old when I left. We agreed as a family that it was the right sacrifice for us. When I
was here, I had to work also. I had to get two jobs in order to sponsor them. But I
think it is worth it and it is the reason that I empathise with international students. I
know that for them it is not easy. They are separated from their family. They are
encountering a new style of life. But what I say is we have to be open. Canada is a
beautiful country. Canadian people are welcoming and are warm. Engage with
different people. Have the life that you want to have, but it will be step by step.
Nothing comes overnight. Academically it’s the same. I have students who have
different jobs. I went through the same situation. But when you are finished, you will
see how happy you will be, how strong and resilient you will be. You will value every
moment that you live during your life as a student.

Do you have any favourite memories from your time at Guelph?
Oh, there are multiple. I loved my classes with Dr. Al Lauzon, they helped me
understand the theoretical side of what I already had in practice. I had a good
experience with my advisor, Dr. James Mahone. He was an outgoing person, the
courses that he taught were facilitation and communication and conflict
management. He was honest with me, and he said, “you need to strengthen your
facilitation skills and your communication skills”. The first class I had with him, I had
to present on how to work in group dynamics, and because I was not aware of how
he managed the course, I just memorized everything as I did in my studies in Peru. I
arrived to the class and I had 4-5 classmates that presented, and they were so
confident talking, walking around the room and explaining about their topics. In my
case, I forgot about everything, because I was nervous. I stood up in front of that
group and I was ashamed. I was talking about the topic, but I was sure, at that
moment, it didn't make any sense to them. I wanted to run. I wanted to leave and
say, “OK, Silvia, you go from here and you escape, and you disappear forever”. After
a while I said to myself, “no, I worked so hard to be here. I feel so happy here. I have
to work on this, and everything will become better.” That was that was the turning
point for me.

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