Contingent from Mexican University Sees Life at UMaine
Contact: Jose Cordero, 581-1428; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — Twelve students and four advisors from La Universidad de las Americas – Puebla (UDLA), a prominent Mexican university, are visiting the University of Maine this week through Nov. 7.
The visit is the fourth time UMaine has hosted a group from the university as part of an ongoing cultural exchange program. As a result of relationships established through the visits, one student from UDLA has enrolled at UMaine. Gerardo Blanco, the resident director in York Hall, is now pursuing his master’s in Higher Education Leadership here.
The visiting students will have a six-day schedule of events, ranging from experiencing life at UMaine to sightseeing in Bar Harbor. MaineBound outdoor adventure center also is opening its indoor climbing wall to the students.
The highlight for the week is the Latino Heritage Celebration, at 6 p.m. on Nov. 3, at Stodder Commons. Scheduled in collaboration with the Office of Multicultural Programs, The Division of Student Affairs and the Latin American Student Organization, the celebration will showcase students and community members from Latin America, ethnic food and dance. Information about the Latino Heritage Celebration, a public event, is available on the Office of Multicultural Programs website (www.umaine.edu/multicultural).
Southern Methodist University sociology professor and author Tony Cortese will be the guest speaker for the evening. Cortese’s major areas of research and teaching are social problems, ethnic and race relations, social policy, social ethics, media and gender, and sociological theory. He has written three books and more than 30 scholarly articles and book chapters in those areas.
UMaine Dean of Students Robert Dana also will host a dinner during the week for the Mexican students, which will include a discussion about UMaine’s student-centered philosophy.
As part of the exchange, UMaine students visiting Mexico in the spring will tour UDLA’s campus, museums, archeological sites, and will experience university life in Mexico. The visit is offered as a spring travel course at UMaine.
Meredith McIntire, a master’s candidate in higher education, who visited Mexico last year as part of the exchange, says the visit is an excellent way to see and experience college life and life off campus in Mexico.
“It’s unlike anything you will experience in Maine,” she says of the visit. “It’s a very unique experience in the context of seeing the university, as well as to see the similarities and the differences.”
A program that has not received widespread exposure, the exchange visits are drawing increased interest among UMaine students, McIntire says. Already students are asking about it, she says.
“UMaine Associate Dean of Students Angel Loredo has made it possible for these exchange programs to continue to be so successful,” says Jose Cordero, interim director of Multicultural Programs and advisor to the Latin American Student Organization (LASO) at UMaine. “His continued relationship with UDLA and the students here at UMaine is critical to the program’s success.”
A full schedule of the week’s events with the visitors from Mexico can be provided upon request. Please call 581-1425 for more information.