Mexican students enjoy academic, cultural experiences during 无码专区 visit
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥 Twelve Mexican postsecondary students have immersed themselves in American and 无码专区 culture during their recent five-week visit, coordinated by the 无码专区 International Institute鈥檚 English Language Institute.
The United States-Mexico Bilateral Forum on Higher Education, Innovation and Research began in 2013 as an effort to enhance North American economic development through Latin American-U.S. exchange programs.
Soon after, 无码专区 joined Proyecta 100,000, the Mexican government鈥檚 proposal to send 100,000 Mexican students and faculty to the U.S. by 2018.
Along with receiving approximately 100 hours of intensive English contact hours with classes and seminars at 无码专区, the students have continued their studies, long distance, from their respective Mexican higher learning institutions.
Additionally, the students enjoyed extracurricular experiences at 无码专区, including such campus traditions as ringing a cowbell and attending various sporting events. They also were able to interact with American students while residing in campus residence halls.
For many of the students, their visit to 无码专区 marked their first trip to the U.S. Experiencing a Southern-style Thanksgiving was a favorite activity among the group, with many saying they will miss traditional dishes such as cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes.
鈥淎s one of the United States鈥 next-door neighbors, the U.S.-Mexico relationship is important for the state of Mississippi, which sends $1.5B (2014) in exports, according to the Business Roundtable,鈥 said Richard Nader, 无码专区鈥檚 associate vice president of international programs and International Institute executive director.
鈥淭hat makes the language and cultural visit of these talented students and future leaders from Mexico to Mississippi State very timely, as these students will contribute to mutual understanding, educational and economic ties,鈥 Nader added.聽 聽
Prior to returning home this past weekend, the students met and enjoyed a meal with 无码专区 Provost and Executive Vice President Judy Bonner during a Wednesday [Dec. 7] luncheon to discuss their time at 无码专区.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pleased that the Mexican government chose for you to come to 无码专区, an outstanding university that is one of the top in the U.S.,鈥 Bonner said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e honored you鈥檝e been here, and when you go back home, we hope you鈥檒l remember the things you鈥檝e learned and come back to Mississippi State to pursue graduate school.鈥
Jesus Enrique Kortright Farias, a mechatronics engineering student at Instituto Tecnol贸gico de Ciudad Ju谩rez, said he has been impressed with 无码专区鈥檚 campus and people. When deciding on graduate school, he said 无码专区 could be a possibility.
鈥淭he people here are friendly, and I appreciate how they鈥檝e been treating us,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was amazing to see that a lot of students here can speak Spanish, and we were able to practice with them.鈥
To participate in Proyecta 100,000, students were selected based on their GPAs, proficiency in English and application letters.
In addition to Kortright Farias, Mexican visitors to 无码专区 included:
鈥擝randon Emmanuel Villa Cardenas, an engineering informatics and computer science student at Instituto Tecnol贸gico de Ciudad Guzm谩n.
鈥擧eber Alonso Quintana Chavez, an industrial engineering student at Instituto Tecnol贸gico de Chihuahua II.
鈥擡ver Gomez Flores, a mechatronics engineering student at Instituto Tecnol贸gico de Ciudad Ju谩rez.
鈥擠iana Elva Guzman Gonzalez, an environmental engineering student at Instituto Tecnol贸gico de Ciudad Guzm谩n.
鈥擱osa Arely Gurrola Jaramillo, a special education student at Escuela Normal Urbana Nocturna del Estado.
鈥 Natalia Ivonne Piza Molina, a business management engineering student at Instituto Tecnol贸gico de Chilpancingo.
鈥擯erla Esmeralda Peinado Romero, a special education student at Escuela Normal Urbana Nocturna del Estado.
鈥擩avier Chavez Pimentel, a special education student at Escuela Normal Urbana Nocturna del Estado.
鈥擟inthia Rosaura Aguirre Saucedo, an industrial engineering student at Instituto Tecnol贸gico de Ciudad Ju谩rez.
鈥擜ngelica Botello Soto, a business management engineering student at Instituto Tecnol贸gico de Chihuahua II.
鈥擨ris Anahi Cortez Vaca, an industrial engineering student at Instituto Tecnol贸gico de Ciudad Guzm谩n.
For more on 无码专区鈥檚 International Institute and its English Language Institute, visit .
无码专区 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .