October 10, 2025 marked a monumental day in Dana Hall history as María Corina Machado, a student of Dana Hall in the early 1980s, was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. She is a Venezuelan activist, politician, and an opposition leader, and has run in multiple Venezuelan presidential campaigns.
This fall, she was officially recognized for “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”, according to the Committee.
Machado attended Dana Hall during the 1982-1983 school year. Machado was born on October 7, 1967, so she attended Dana Hall at age 15. Similar to many Dana Hall students today, she was an international boarding student. Machado came from the capital of Venezuela, Caracas, to live at Dana Hall, and lived in Johnston C.
Machado began her political career in 2002 when she established a group called Súmate (translating to “Join Up” in Spanish), a volunteer-based civil organization which labels itself as a vote-monitoring group, with an emphasis on protecting the constitutional rights of Venezuelan citizens. In 2012, she ran for office for the first time, and although she was unsuccessful, she persisted as a prominent political figure. In 2014, she became the catalyst for many protests and demonstrations against Venezuela’s high levels of crime and shortages of basic goods, which were attributed to national economic policies instated by the controversial Venezuelan government.
Machado ran for office again in 2023. This time, however, the Venezuelan government barred her from proceeding in the election. While her candidate replacement, Edmundo González, won the election according to vote tallies, the government-run National Electoral Council claimed that Nicolás Maduro—Machado and González’s opponent—had won the election without evidence. Maduro has been president of Venezuela since 2013, and is widely considered to have dictatorial leadership qualities, and has been accused of electoral fraud and human rights abuse. Machado went into hiding shortly after the election in late July of 2024, citing fear for her freedom under Maduro’s rule.
After her time at Dana Hall, Machado returned to Venezuela to attend Andrés Bello Catholic University (known in Spanish as Universidad Católica Andrés Bello) where she earned a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering, and later attended Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA), earning a master of science degree in finance.
Machado’s bravery and perseverance in the fight for public good has been an inspiration for many Dana Hall students since they discovered her achievement after it was announced during a morning meeting. As Ana Lebl ‘26, one of many inspired students stated, “To me, this moment is a reminder of what’s possible for every one of us here at Dana Hall. A Dana Hall education doesn’t just prepare you to succeed, but to make change, to lead, and to stand up for what’s right even when it’s hard.”
Image Source: NPR