A&M-Texarkana Celebrates Proyecta 100,000 Students

Fifteen students from Mexico recently graduated from a four-week Intensive English Program at Texas A&M University-Texarkana.

Texas A&M University-Texarkana recently celebrated the culmination of a four-week Intensive English Program with a graduation ceremony for 15 students from Mexico on the A&M-Texarkana campus.

The students were participants in the Proyecta 100,000 initiative, which aims to send 100,000 Mexican students to the U.S. and 50,000 American students to Mexico by the year 2018. They represented a variety of colleges and universities in Mexico, including Universidad Tecnólogica de Nuevo Laredo, Universidad Tecnólogica de Huejotzingo, Universidad Tecnólogica de Oriental, Universidad Politécnica del Bicentenario, Universidad Tecnólogica de Bahía de Banderas and Universidad Tecnólogica de Gutiérrez Zamora.  

While in Texarkana, the students stayed with host families comprised of A&M-Texarkana faculty and staff.  Students were immersed in the campus culture and had weekend excursions to downtown Texarkana, Bringle Lake Park and Hot Springs.  

“The Proyecta 100,000 initiative increases camaraderie between nations and promotes the expansion of global mindsets for all involved,” said Jennifer Felps, director of International Studies. “In the short amount of time that these students were on our campus, they became forever members of the Eagle family and helped grow the intercultural aptitude of our institution.”

Andres Mora of the Universidad Tecnólogica de Nuevo Laredo in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, received the Soaring Eagle award, which represents a commitment to the expansion of knowledge and continued growth throughout the student’s time in the program.

“Andres has shown exemplary commitment to increasing his language skills and continued to make great strides in developing heightened language proficiency,” said Felps. “His dedication to learning as much as possible about our language and culture has made him soar to great heights as we have now come to the end of the program.”

Ismael Castillo, a student from the Universidad Tecnólogica de Huejotzingo in Puebla, Mexico, received the Distinguished Eagle award, which embodies the three pillars of the university, which are academic excellence, student success and community leadership.  

“Ismael has excelled in his courses while also showing a genuine enthusiasm for all topics covered,” Felps said. “Additionally, his never-ending positive attitude and thirst for knowledge embraces the Eagle spirit of our institution.  These qualities have made him a leader in bridging cultural and language gaps for all those around him.”

Each of the students received a certificate of completion.

“Before this Intensive English Program, I had to make a bigger effort to understand and communicate with others in English,” said Itzel Mejia, a student from the Universidad Tecnólogica de Nuevo Laredo in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. “Now it happens in a more natural way.”

Mark Missildine, who directs the A&M-Texarkana Alumni Relations program, said, “It was a sincere pleasure to be able to host two of the students form Mexico. Miguel and Francisco seemed to thoroughly enjoy their time in Texarkana. My life has been enriched from spending time with these students and learning about their culture.”

This is the third time A&M-Texarkana has been selected by the Mexican government for the Proyecta program.