The February Breakfast at the Border event provided folks the opportunity to look back upon the 2022 Borderlands Ambassador Internship Program. Last summer we had an incredibly curious and insightful group of young people who were fully engaged in their internship experience. Each of the students continuously impressed me with their ability to make connections between experiences or conversations and their willingness to stretch themselves beyond their comfort zones in many aspects as they looked to make meaning of what they were seeing and experiencing during their time in the Borderlands. We all had an amazing experience last summer and I am super motivated to be working together with Celia, the Internship Committee, the Board and others to make this year’s internship program the best yet.
Our interns have been selected for 2023 and we have a great group of young people! We had a pool of 31 applicants, from which we selected 6, and the students who will be participating in the 2023 Borderlands Internship Program are coming to us from a variety of backgrounds and locations across the country. I recently read back over the applications of those who will be joining us and am so excited for what each of them will be bringing to Nogales this summer.
Below is a brief summary for each participant, including their home state, college or university, year of graduation, major, and academic/career interests:
Oscar Omar Cardenas (Illinois/ Northwestern, 2023): Political Science major, interested in immigration policy;
Miriam Entin-Bell (New York/Oberlin College, 2023): Comparative American Studies major, wants to work at a justice-focused non-profit;
Teresa DiGerolamo (Louisiana/ University of Southern Mississippi, 2024): Political Science and World Languages majors, honors thesis on femicide at the US/Mexico border;
Melissa Mena (Texas/ Mt. Holyoke College, 2023): Political Science major, researched femicide and gender-based violence, interested in immigration law;
Tanner Mercer (California/ Duke University, 2023): Evolutionary Anthropology, plans to attend medical school in 2024.
Kyla Mitchell (South Carolina/ Clemson University, 2024): Language and International Business majors, interested in immigration law, international human rights.
One thing that was clear from reading all the applications is that the students have a strong interest in immigration, wanting to move beyond classroom or theoretical learning, and to have the opportunity to bear witness to and build relationships with individuals living and working in the borderlands.
Those of you who were at the February Breakfast at the Border heard me say that the mission of BCA and the intentions or learning objectives of the BCA Borderlands Ambassador Internship Program are rooted in experiential learning. Border Community Alliance is dedicated to bridging the border and fostering community through education, collaboration and cultural exchange. Meanwhile, the BCA Internship Program seeks to give participants broad exposure and provide hands-on experience to the realities of border life. Interns experience perspectives from a variety of lenses—political, economic, cultural, social, and environmental. Most important, however, is that these experiences involve listening to, working alongside, and developing relationships with a diverse group of humans from both sides of the border.
There is a clear alignment between what the 2023 BCA Borderlands Ambassador Interns are looking for and the goals of the program, which bodes well for this summer to be another transformational experience for everyone involved.
– Amy Tice, BCA Intern Program Supervisor/ Coordinator
