As a child in Turlock, Jacqueline Machado often heard stories about her family’s Portuguese heritage. Both sets of her grandparents came from the Azores Islands, and her family regularly attended Portuguese cultural festivals, known as festas, across California. These events featured traditional music, dancing, cuisine, and sometimes parades or bullfights.
Machado and her sister once served as queens for the Our Lady of Fatima Festa in Thornton. That experience led them to participate in other Portuguese-themed events throughout the state.
In July, Machado visited Portugal for the first time through a four-week internship at the mayor’s office in Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira Island. The trip was part of a study-abroad exchange program with the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute at Fresno State that began in 2016. Machado is the first student from the College of Social Sciences to join this program.
During her internship, she worked with local government staff and participated in community service activities. She connected with children at a cultural and sports camp, assisted individuals living in low-income housing or experiencing homelessness, and helped compile materials for a Portuguese cookbook.
She also observed emergency service teams as they monitored police and fire department operations and prepared disaster response plans for hurricanes or earthquakes.
“There were many community outreach programs that were interesting to work with,” Machado said. “so I saw up close how its government serves the communities. Being able to understand and learn how other countries handle and resolve issues can give insight into how we can implement similar policies here.”
Other Fresno State students who traveled to Portugal included David Cobarrubia (agricultural business), Amanda Avila and Gabriella Lucas (agricultural education), and Ethan Christopher Sousa (animal science). Together, they visited dairies, agricultural businesses, learned about crop planting, gardening, and participated in various cultural activities such as street bullfights and sightseeing.
A group of four pre-veterinary students from the University of Azores also visited Fresno State this summer. They worked on the campus farm, spent time at the Azores Veterinary Practice in Turlock, toured agricultural industry sites, and attended Portuguese American cultural events in California’s Central Valley.
The exchange program is coordinated by Diniz Borges of the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute. It receives support from Central Valley residents with Portuguese or Azorean backgrounds as well as supporters from the Azores and organizations like LUSO Foundation/FLAD.
“This program has been a great way for our campus and the Central Valley’s large Portuguese American population to reconnect with their history,” Borges said. “The mayor’s office in Angra has been very supportive in hosting and helping tailor meaningful experiences there for our students, both professionally and culturally. We’re also thankful that their mayor, university faculty and other officials have visited our campus to meet with our campus president and give presentations to students in our on-campus lecture series.”
Since returning home at the end of July, Machado has started pursuing a master’s degree in defense and strategic studies at Missouri State University with plans to continue into a doctoral program. She hopes these studies will lead to a career as an intelligence analyst for state or federal agencies—a path informed by her international experience during this internship.
Machado looks forward to receiving a copy of the Terceira community cookbook this fall—one she helped create during her time abroad—as it will remind her of those she met during her stay while offering recipes that reflect Azorean culinary traditions.
“Food is a big part of any culture,” Machado said. “and the Azoreans take pride in sharing their traditions through their meals. I’m always willing to try new things, and many of the local pastries and cheese were amazing, and part of an experience that I’ll never forget.”
