The Prospector

Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Luis Porras Students from Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., Anneka Gross (left) and Jessye Weinstein, wait at an intersection as they walk in Downtown El Paso on their way home to Juárez. Gross and Weinstein live in Juárez and take courses at UTEP and UACJ as part of the Border Studies Program.

Watching the turning of the leaves during fall and expecting snow in the winter are a few things Johanna Pastel was accustomed to in her hometown of Albany, N.Y., but in El Paso and Juárez, Pastel is learning what a November without snow is like and what it's like to cross an international border every day.

Pastel, a student at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., is a participant in the Border Studies Program, which works to enhance multicultural knowledge by enabling students from around the nation to take courses, live with a host family and participate in field studies.

The program, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, is based in Earlham College, Ind., and is affiliated with the UTEP Center for Inter-American and Border Studies.

To qualify, students must fill out an application that includes 10 short essays, submit two letters of recommendation, complete a Spanish evaluation and participate in an interview.

The Border Studies Program is offered during the fall semester to sophomores, juniors and seniors of all academic majors. The program has anywhere from eight to 22 students enrolled each fall.

This year, there are 20 students enrolled that take one elective class at UTEP and a class at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, called Temas Fronterizos: Perspectivas Mexicanas. Students take two other classes with Amy Morris, Border Studies resident director, and Naomi Fertman, Border Studies program associate. They participate in a field study, which counts toward their total of 18 credit hours.

Students live with a host family in either Juárez or El Paso. Host families are either Spanish speaking or have Spanish-speaking relatives across the border. The goal of living with a host family is to assist the students in enhancing their Spanish skills and allow them to experience life on the border. Students usually walk across the border, either from El Paso or Juárez, to get to school and take the bus from there.

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