By Peter Chipman, MIT OpenCourseWare

In the inaugural episode of the Open Learners podcast, embedded below, hosts Emmanuel Kasigazi and Michael Jordan Pilgreen interview Maria Eduarda Barbosa, a medical student located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Maria (who had previously recorded a short “Learning Journey” video for us) tells in her own words how MIT OpenCourseWare changed the trajectory of her life, particularly how she might never have achieved her full potential if one of her teachers had not recognized her abilities and urged her to pursue more challenging studies.

Googling “Calculus introductory course,” Maria discovered one of Prof. Gilbert Strang’s videos on MIT OpenCourseWare, and it opened a vision of new horizons for her. She became a near-daily user of MIT OpenCourseWare, and the experience transformed her intellectual life, inspiring her to become passionate about her own education and to share that passion with others around her. Maria describes how the experience has not only awakened her curiosity and self-motivation, but also given her a better attitude about the gaps in her existing knowledge. Now, she says, she doesn’t think, “Oh, I’m lost because I’m stupid”; instead she thinks, “I’m lost because I haven’t learned this yet.”