Joseph De Santa Clara, Engineering

Robots. Robots that will eventually help people with everyday tasks. That’s what keeps Joseph De Santa Clara up at night and what piqued his interest in studying mechanical engineering. He has one more year to finish his degree at the Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, then six months of service in the IDF, and then he hopes to return to his studies in engineering. With a big smile on his face, Joseph says that he ultimately "wants to build his own company and contend in the global marketplace." 

Joseph made Aliyah from Venezuela in October 2012, looking for a brighter future in Israel. The politics in Venezuela pushed him to come to Israel in the middle of his studies for a degree in electronics at Universidad Simon Bolivar. He made a bet with his older sister that he would finish his PhD before her and hopes that even if she wins the bet that he will still work towards doctoral studies.

Joseph received the Lotty Zucker Gutwirth and Charles Zucker Scholarship this year, which is awarded to twenty students who are new immigrants to Israel. The scholarship helped him financially, since he could not take money out of Venezuela due to government restrictions. "With 30,000 students on campus, it made me feel good that I was considered for the scholarship," he said, "I feel very comfortable in Israel and at home here at TAU."

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