The relationship between both institutions dates back more than 10 years to improve the language skills of students who, in turn, have promoted social projects in favor of the Latino community.
Thanks to the 100,000 Strong Across the Americas Innovation Fund program of the United States Department of State, administered by Partners of the Americas and underwritten by the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation, a group of students from the UPAEP’s A Bet on the Future Program, He came to the University of Arkansas (UdeA) to study a Faculty Led program with leadership and culture activities taught by the Spring International Language Center on the City of Fayetteville campus.
And it is that in addition to improving their English language skills, the students strengthened their transformative leadership by participating in a cultural agenda and community activities, which gave them the opportunity to join projects that students from the University of Arkansas promote to improve the quality of life of Latinos in that state of the American union.
For example, two students related to the field of Medicine, developed workshops and materials to educate the population on how to prevent heart disease and diabetes; another group addressed dental health issues in Latino children, and still others supported children from the community to improve their bilingual skills, led by the team of teachers from UdeA’s Spring International Language Center Namiko – Bagirimvano, Roseli Matos and Raquel Castro, and Gabriela Mongrell Cernuda from UPAEP Training, Culture and Leadership.
Said project is a replica to the north and an extension of the experiential service learning program that UPAEP launched in 2014 for UdeA students in Mexico focused on providing care in areas such as medicine, business, education, engineering and community services. and that also allowed 11 students from that university to receive the same experience this summer 2022 at UPAEP.
On this occasion, the project accepted by the Jenkins Foundation was presented by UdeA and UPAEP by Dr. Steven Bell, Associate Professor of the Department of Languages, Literature and Global Culture, and Dr. Juan José Bustamante, Associate Professor of the Department of Sociology and Criminology and Latin American and Latino Studies of the UdeA, in collaboration with Saúl Morales Hernández, Octavio González Núñez, Coordinator of Short Programs and Special Groups, and Daniel Espinosa Freyre, Director of Faculty Led in the Office of International Programs at UPAEP.
It should be noted that the Jenkins Foundation scholarship fosters collaboration between US and Mexican partners with the aim of expanding north-south mobility in international education, through innovative study abroad programs directly impacting traditionally underrepresented people, reason for which students from the Una Apuesta de Futuro program were selected to be part of this program.
“This program not only enriches our Northeast Arkansas area by identifying and addressing issues facing the Latino community, but also serves as a life-changing experience for students from Mexico who are mostly first-generation youth who have never traveled abroad. of his country. They have been selected from the special scholarship program of the UPAEP that provides higher education to leaders of rural communities”, expressed Steven Bell.
To read the original note from the University of Arkansas, click herein.