School of Social Work Crosses Borders
IN ORDER TO DEEPEN UNDERSTANDING of the effects of Mexico–U.S. immigration on both sides of the border, the School of Social Work sent a pilot group of four social work students to Mexico last summer. The students studied at Jesuit Iberoamericana Universities in Puebla and Mexico City and hosted workshops and assisted in medical clinics in a village in southern Mexico. Plans are under way to continue the program this summer. In exchange, Mexican college students have been volunteering with Mexican nationals in Chicagoland, aided by professors from Loyola. “We helped in a food pantry, translated for people at a health fair, and learned about citizenship requirements at an immigration office,” says Alejandra Lopez, a senior at Iberoamericana in Mexico City. The students were housed in Maryville Academy and their activities coordinated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Both Loyola and Iberoamericana are starting to offer certificates in migration studies. A fieldwork assignment abroad—to study the other side of immigration—is a crucial component of the certificate.