An innovative program to educate undergraduates on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border will get under way this summer, thanks to a new partnership between Loyola Marymount University and the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.
Through the partnership, a select group of LMU students will culminate their studies on the politics of the United States and Mexico with a weeklong immersion in Mexico City, where they will be exposed to the business, government, and cultural institutions in that city. A cohort of students from ITAM will travel north for a week of similar experience next year.
“The learning and experience that our students gain from their time in college should not be limited by any boundaries, including those between nations,” said Fernando Guerra, director of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles and a professor of Chicana/o Studies at LMU. “This program will help them learn to navigate the relationships that exist between our two cities.”
LMU students participating in this year’s program will visit ITAM in June, and some will be offered internships by the organizations participating in the exchange, which include ManattJones Global Strategies, the Azteca America Foundation, the Consulate General of Mexico and the Los Angeles Mayor’s office, among others.
Similarly, ITAM students enrolled in the program will begin their curriculum of study on Los Angeles and the United States in the coming school year, and embark on a visit to LMU next summer. Following the completion of the first two pilot programs, the partnership will be expanded to students at other universities in Los Angeles and Mexico City.
The agreement between LMU and ITAM was formalized in a ceremony March 5 in Mexico City, which was attended by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who visited Mexico on his first international trade mission since being elected last year.