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Augsburg CGEE in Mexico: The Lived Experience [Student Reflection]

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Anthony. Currently studying abroad on the semester program,听

Our semester in Cuernavaca is about halfway done and I feel so grateful to be here. Whether it was witnessing the traditional Brincon at the annual Carnaval in Topostlan, hearing from traditional healers and community leaders of Amatlan, or sharing a meal with residents at the Casa Tochan migrant shelter in Mexico City, everywhere we鈥檝e gone shown us another example of dedication, community, and joy as a form of shared resistance. Continue reading “Augsburg CGEE in Mexico: The Lived Experience [Student Reflection]” →

Now Hiring: International Resident Assistant (Mexico)

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International Resident Assistant (鈥淚RA鈥�) in Mexico (Fellow), Fellowship Job Description for 2026-2027

Summary of Job Description:听 The purpose of this one-year stipended fellowship is to help foster a healthy living/learning environment for semester students and participants in short-term educational seminars and to assist with the operation and promotion of CGEE-educational programs in Mexico.听 The primary responsibilities of the fellow are to assist study abroad students (mostly coming from the U.S.A.) with medical and emotional issues and to help them develop intercultural and global competencies, as well as to assist in the operation of all educational programs. The IRA will also be expected to help produce social media content that can help promote these programs.

Continue reading “Now Hiring: International Resident Assistant (Mexico)” →

Final Reflection on Migration and Social Change [Fall 2025 Student Post]

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Ariadna. Currently studying abroad on the semester program,听

Final Reflection

This second half of the semester has been nothing short of eye-opening and grounded in collective care. Our excursions and conversations revealed different dimensions of struggle, identity, and resistance across Mexico City. We engaged with activists who discussed immigration patterns, community organizing, and efforts to protect vulnerable populations facing deportations, as well as speakers who addressed issues like state violence, the war on drugs, and social movements. Alongside these discussions, we encountered artists and cultural practitioners who shared their work and traditions, from Afro-descendant and Indigenous perspectives to feminist artistic expressions. Together, these experiences offered insights into how communities resist erasure, preserve memory, and assert identity, underscoring the transformative power of culture, activism, and collective care.

Coming from my perspective as a first-generation Mexican-American, these experiences resonated deeply. I saw connections between the struggles and resilience of communities in Mexico and the challenges faced by Mexican and Latinx communities in the United States, including my own family鈥檚 experiences with migration and systemic barriers. The focus on collective care, how communities support one another, preserve culture, and resist oppression, helped me understand that these struggles are not individual but shared, and that solidarity and mutual support are vital to survival and empowerment. Witnessing these forms of care and resistance firsthand expanded my sense of responsibility to my own community and strengthened my appreciation for the ways identity, memory, and culture are preserved across borders and generations.

 

college students with three staff together outside smiling as a group

Reconnecting with My Roots: A Mid-Semester Reflection

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Ariadna. Currently studying abroad on the semester program,

We鈥檙e a little over halfway through the semester abroad here in Cuernavaca, and it has been nothing short of welcoming and warm. We鈥檝e already visited so many places like Mexico City, Amatl谩n, and Tepoztl谩n, which have all been incredibly insightful. Each place has shown how different communities are united by the same goals of resistance, preserving their identities and those of their ancestors, and fighting for social justice.

Many of the topics we鈥檝e explored include immigration, hearing people鈥檚 migration stories, learning about immigration in Mexico from other Latin American countries, and understanding what U.S. immigration policies look like, as well as LGBTTTQ+ visibility and feminicides in Mexico. It鈥檚 very powerful to hear these stories directly from the people who lived them because there is nothing more impactful than hearing their emotions, their memories, and how these experiences continue to shape their lives.

The stories about immigration especially resonate with me, coming from a Mexican household where both of my parents migrated to the U.S. at a very young age. It reminds me of the sacrifices they made so that I could have opportunities they didn鈥檛, and hearing other people鈥檚 experiences gives me a deeper understanding of what that journey truly means. It鈥檚 easy to get caught in mindsets that limit how we see the world, but listening to the struggles, reasoning, and resilience of others and seeing how often they are treated as less than human really changes one鈥檚 perspective. These experiences have made me reflect more on my own family鈥檚 history and the challenges faced by many migrants who continue to seek better lives. Overall, this experience has made me feel even more proud of my intersecting identities and has helped me reconnect with my roots in a much deeper and more personal way.

Augsburg Shines at the Global Impact Conference in Minneapolis

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Augsburg鈥檚 Center for Global Education and Experience made a significant impression at the Annual Global Impact Conference held in Minneapolis, MN during the last week of October. Our staff and students joined together to share the innovative work being done at Augsburg’s unique Mexico Study Center in Cuernavaca.

Highlighting the Study Center of Augsburg CGEE in Cuernavaca, Mexico

Augsburg staff members F谩tima Mendoza and Lucy Hardaker co-presented a session titled: “Bridging Barriers: Supporting Students in Non-Traditional Locations.”

The presentation focused on encouraging students to look beyond Western European destinations (such as Barcelona and London) and instead explore high-impact experiences like the one offered at Augsburg鈥檚 own Mexico Study Center. The presentation highlighted on three unique perspectives, including:

  • Ethical Advising and Marketing strategies for promoting programs in Latin America and Africa; from the point-of-view of advisors & US-based staff.
  • The incredible on-the-ground student experience in Mexico; from the point-of-view of on-site staff in Mexico.
  • The significant impact of the Mexico Study Center on the careers and life trajectories of alumni; from the point-of-view of alumni themselves.

The session was powerfully enhanced by two Augsburg students and recent Mexico study abroad alumni who shared their personal testimonials: Diana Reyes ’26 and John Reuss ’23 and MAT ’26. Their stories brought to life the transformative value of choosing a global learning experience outside of the conventional.

This successful presentation underscores Augsburg’s commitment to providing students with meaningful study abroad opportunities that truly broaden their horizons and enhance career readiness post-graduation.

From left to right: Lucy, John, Diana, and Fatima

Student Blog: Week in M茅xico City

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Alyssa. Currently studying abroad on the semester program,

Interdisciplinary Educational Week in M茅xico City

The week after our Spring Break we had an interdisciplinary educational week in Mexico City. Being so close to CDMX is one of the advantages of Cuernavaca! On Monday we started our week with a tour of the beautiful UNAM where we even got to visit the Olympic Stadium! Continue reading “Student Blog: Week in M茅xico City” →

One Month In: Reflections from M茅xico

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Alyssa. Currently studying abroad on the semester program,

We are almost a month into our programming and I have been taking some time to reflect on our experiences thus far. When I was applying to study abroad, I was looking at all the programs available to me. Augsburg in M茅xico immediately stood out to me. My initial hesitation was why chose a program in a country that I have been to already, so many people were urging me to choose a European program. I am Mexican-American and had visited M茅xico before but upon further research I knew this was the program for me.

I am double majoring in International Studies and Spanish with a concentration in migration studies. This program has been perfect for me, giving me so many beneficial opportunities. I get to not only take Spanish classes that are making me feel more confident in my speaking skills, but the classes are also teaching me about my ancestry and M茅xico鈥檚 history. Alongside my Spanish classes I get to take an immigration class learning about migration policies between the U.S. and M茅xico.

The hospitality we鈥檝e been shown has been so welcoming and I am so thankful for it. The staff here in Cuernavaca is amazing and we have already created so many memories! Every speaker has been so insightful and these 鈥渙ral texts鈥� have become such important learning experiences for us. Our first weekend we had an excursion to the pyramids of Xochicalco and then as students we planned an excursion for ourselves to Ciudad de M茅xico! It has been an amazing month and I am looking forward to what鈥檚 come! For those who are applying to study abroad programs, look into Latin America :)!

 

Now Hiring: Resident Assistant (Mexico)

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International Resident Assistant (鈥淚RA鈥�) in Mexico (Fellow), Fellowship Job Description for 2024-2025

Summary of Job Description:听 The purpose of this one-year stipend fellowship is to promote a healthy living/learning environment for semester students and participants in short-term educational seminars at Augsburg CGEE in Mexico.听 In addition, the primary responsibilities of the fellow are to assist study abroad students (mostly coming from the U.S.A.) with medical and emotional issues and to help them develop intercultural and global competencies, as well as to assist in the operation of all educational programs. The IRA will also be expected to produce social media that can help promote these programs and help with administrative tasks.

Length and dates of this stipend fellowship position: *August 15, 2024 – August 21, 2025 (*The starting and ending dates are slightly flexible.)

Continue reading “Now Hiring: Resident Assistant (Mexico)” →

Field Note from Amatl谩n: Women for Women

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Lorpu, from 海角社区. Currently studying abroad on the semester program,听鈥�. This is an adaption from an assignment, shared with permission.

听On a Sunday in September, we met with a very confident and knowledgeable lady named Fabiola in Amatl谩n. She has one daughter and a fun fact about herself was that she is a dancer. Fabiola is a cofounder of the group called Women for Women in the town of Amatl谩n and other surrounding towns. Before she talked about her group and what they do, the first made a prayer asking the guardian to make everyone comfortable and to be able to understand and take away something from what she was going to tell us. That was interesting to hear.

According to Fabiola, Women for Women is an organized group of indigenous women that came together to unite and talk about their stories, struggles and other things that women go through and create a sisterhood. She said that she has also met with indigenous women from Peru, Ecuador, and the United States. Fabiola talked about how for a while she only saw herself as a woman from Tepoxalin, but travelling and being among different group of women made her realized that she was different. Another interesting thing that she said was that she is not married, and not being married made her work a little easier for her, because she doesn鈥檛 have an extra obligation to a man apart from being a mom. She also said that some of the women that she works with are not married neither. She also said that being in their group, she recognized that most the of the women had something in common. The thing that they all had a common was that they have all experienced some form of abuse, sexism, and racism. They had different kinds of violence in different ways. She also said that they don鈥檛 hate men even though they have experienced some type of violence from men. She said they are not what you would call 鈥渕odern day鈥� feminist. She said that they support their men and work beside them to stop violence. She said that their goal is to live free of violence and take full control of their lives.

 

Student Ambassador Post: Creating Memories, Family, and Friends Abroad!

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Lorpu, from 海角社区. Currently studying abroad on the semester program,听鈥�.

students smiling in the vanOne of my fears of studying abroad in Mexico was the fear of being lonely. I was coming to a country where I didn鈥檛 know anyone. I couldn鈥檛 speak the language, and I was not sure if my two years of Spanish classes in college was going to work for me. I knew that there were students from my college coming as well, but at that moment, I had never met anyone of them. I had a lot of anxiety about things not going well. I reached out to Ann, the director here in Mexico to talk to her about some of my concerns about studying abroad, and she was kind enough to connect me with a student that had study abroad here in Mexico the previous semester. The student was very kind as well and she reassured me that everything was going to be okay once I arrive in Mexico.

My time here in Mexico has been amazing. The students here that I am studying abroad with are amazing. Maddy, Angelica, Bella, Savannah, Henry, Antonio, Towns, and Tori have all made my study abroad experience an amazing experience so far. It is great to have people that you can talk and relate to in other ways given that you all are going to the same experience. We have all been taking care of each other in ways that we know how to. For example, when I had some stomach issue during our trip to Amatlan, one of the students Angelica made me some tea and kept checking on me to make sure I was doing good. The same happens for other students as well. When someone is going somewhere cool, they extend the invitation to everyone in the group. We are like a family here.

students on the river

The staff here at Casa Augsburg are more than amazing. Ruti our RA is amazing. She goes above and beyond to meet our needs. She takes everyone needs very seriously. I can say that I feel comfortable going to her about my needs. I am sure the other students feel the same way. Ann and the other professors have been amazing as well. Sometimes everyone has lunch together after class and just talk about what is going on at the moment. Everyone has been respectful of each other鈥檚 boundaries. We haven鈥檛 had a problem with that. The staff are open to questions that we have, and they are always more than happy to answer them. Having lunch together with everyone and talking has been one of my favorite parts of my study abroad experience.

My both my host parents in Amatlan and Cuernavaca is amazing people. My host parents in Amatlan were what I would call 鈥渃ool鈥� they had tacos stand at night and we would go there to play cards and board games with my host sister and host brother. They even told us to invite our friends to the stand. We invited our friends, and they had an amazing time. One of my favorites parts of the homestay was walking our host brother to school in the morning and picking him up after school. My host parents here in Cuernavaca are great people as well. My host mom makes sure that my dietary needs are met, and she encourages me to ask for things when I need them. My host dad is amazing as well along with my host sister. We have been to their family gatherings, and I had a great time meeting the extended family. I love both families.

 

smiling student with host family in mexicoIn conclusion, I am having a great time in Cuernavaca Mexico! The people are very welcoming, and I have never been made to feel like I don鈥檛 belong. A word that I have used a lot in this post is 鈥渁mazing鈥� because that is the only way that I know how to describe my experience. There are days that can be a little hard because I get home sick sometimes, but I am enjoying the experience at the same time. I am making new friends and family here and it feels great to have that community of people who are supportive and loving.