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Mars Hill Initiates Mexican Partnership
by Joey Wilson
The new University of Valladolid (top) not far from the oldest house of worship in the Western Hemisphere, the Monastery of San Bernadino, completed 1560.
Red Star marks Valladolid, two-hour bus ride from Cancún
Vice President Pollard with University Rector Marcilino Aguilar Aguilar
Pollard with Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy and Valladolid Mayor Mario Peniche
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Mars Hill College is putting the final touches on a student exchange program with a Mexican university.
This spring, three representatives of the college traveled to the small city of Valladolid in the central Yucatan to visit the University of Valladolid and explore a partnership. Education Department leaders Deborah Morris and Tom Destino, along with Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Nina Pollard made the visit.
The idea came out of a seminar on global citizenship in Salzburg, Austria, that the three attended last January through the Appalachian College Association.
Valladolid happens to be one of Asheville's sister cities, and Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College also has an exchange program with a technical school there, the Instituto Technológico Superior de Valladolid. The Mars Hill College delegation joined Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy and a group from A-B Tech for the trip.
"The University of Valladolid is a lot like the campus here at Mars Hill," says Destino. But the surroundings are different. The Mars Hill group visited Mayan ruins, cactus plantations, and ancient temples. Destino described the cactus fields, which happen to be the source of tequila.
University Rector Marcelino Aguilar Aguilar and his staff had no issue with this partnership. In fact, they also had been looking into setting up a partnership with a college in America. "It was exciting representing our institution inside another country," said Destino. "This partnership will open doors for MHC and expand students' horizons regarding what is out in the world, as well as set up a great connection for MHC".
Sometime in the near future, Mars Hill will start sending students interested in going to Mexico to study or to visit for two weeks on an international studies trip. The two fields where the programs of the two institutions overlap are language and education. Although Valladolid is in the middle of one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, it does not offer natural science courses.
"The partnership is there", says Destino, "It is just paperwork from registrar to registrar from now on to achieve a successful partnership. They have to match up what can be transferred from college to college. The classes in Mexico may not be the same as here, and some classes here may not be the same in Mexico. Our hope is that students from Valladolid will be able to travel to Mars Hill to study as well. So, not only will students from America expand their horizons, but students from Mexico will be able to come here to the Blue Ridge Mountains."
LINKS:
Valladolid University Video
Valladolid University website
A-B Tech Exchange
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