After four summers of Mercer on Mission trips to Mexico, Mercer University hosted three students and two professors from Universidad Tecnológica de Izúcar de Matamoros for a weeklong cultural exchange last week, Nov. 1-7.
The group started their week celebrating Día De Los Muertos with QuadWorks, then joined various classes and student organizations throughout the week. The group capped off their visit with a farewell celebration at the McEachern Art Center.
Senior Lecturer of Spanish Libertad Aranza, who launched the Mexico Mercer on Mission in 2021, said more than 80 Mercer students have participated across four trips. The success of those trips, she said, led to “eager” requests to join future mission trips from student organizations, including the Ballroom Dance Club and La Mesa, a club that focuses on teaching and practicing Spanish.
Aranza said the process for the exchange began two years ago. UTIM, which is located three and a half hours south of Mexico City, nominated 10 students to apply for student visas. After interviews with the US Embassy, only Román Osorno, Luis Benitez and Yahir Hernández, all of whom are seniors, were approved. Aranza said she was worried about potential issues with airport security due to US immigration policies, but the students told her the process went smoothly.
Once he had made it to Macon, Osorno said Mercer students “received us with open warmth and make us feel at home.” He added that teaching Spanish lessons to the children at Roberts Academy was his favorite moment of the week.
“I learned to appreciate the opportunities that UTIM and Mercer University gave me," Orsono said. "It helps me to reinforce my knowledge about these two cultures."
Aranza said she’s “still dreaming” about the exchange. The professor was raised in Izúcar de Matamoros, where her grandfather founded a middle school. Mercer volunteers at this middle school during the yearly Mexico trip.
“I’m so grateful that I have the resources on my end from Mercer that allow me to give back to my hometown,” Aranza said. She added that when UTIM students “collaborate with Mercer students, they are really motivated, and they’re just eager.”
Outside of Mercer students working with the visiting UTIM students, multiple Mercer professors gave their time to welcome the students and help lead a Mercer on Mission to Mexico, Aranza said.
Teresita Cabral ‘26 met the three students from UTIM during her ceramics class, where she and her classmates presented their research of ancient artifacts that they would recreate for their final project. Cabral, who is Belizean-Jamaican, showed Benitez and Hernández how to prepare the clay, conversing with the pair in Spanish.
“I had a great time with them. We actually exchanged social media with each other and we talked a little bit, just chatting about clay and pottery,” Cabral said. “I’m really happy they came, it was really fun. If I ever did want to go to Mexico, I could literally just say, ‘I would like to come. What can you tell me? What should I do?’”
During UTIM’s time in Georgia, Aranza said she heard a phrase repeated often. “They keep saying, ‘This is like the movies.’ Seeing it in person hits differently.”
Nathaniel Jordan '29 intends to major in Journalism at Mercer and hopes to work as an investigative journalist. His hobbies include poetry, photography and home cooking, and you can probably find him around Macon shopping or walking through local parks with his wife and son.
