Meet Maria Vasco!

Everything in Maria’s life over the years has pointed her to found Uvida. Born in Cali, Colombia, Maria’s family moved to East Boston when she was four, and has lived there ever since.  In 2016 Maria started her journey at UMass Boston where her interest for environmental advocacy began. Originally a political science major, she switched to Environmental Studies after being enthralled by the material in her environmental science courses.  She was inspired to do something to help remedy the dire environmental problems she was learning about such as agricultural waste, greenhouse gas emissions, sea level rise, and ocean acidification, but the climate change issue she felt most called to was the plastic pollution problem. 

She dove headfirst into learning about how to reduce her own plastic waste and wanted to share the amazing products she found with others.  The Honors College Dean encouraged her to apply for the UMAss Boston’s Entrepreneurship Scholarship her junior year and in her junior year she became the first-ever recipient for her dedication to zero waste efforts.  Receiving the award enabled her the resources to pursue her dream of starting a zero waste business based in Boston and eventually landed on the name Uvida Shop, because it translates to “U life” which  then led to our tagline #yougivelife.  In 2020 she graduated from University of Massachusetts Boston School for the Environment with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability and a minor in Political Science.  

The young entrepreneur is always eager to learn more about Zero Waste products and environmentally-friendly behaviors so that she can share it with her Uvida Shop family and friends.  Read more about Maria on our blog.