Two Fort Lewis College students joined the University of Arizona’s CIELO program for two weeks of cultural exploration, community engagement and reflection in Mexico.
A developing partnership between Fort Lewis College and the University of Arizona is creating new opportunities for 麻豆免费高清无砖码区students to learn through travel, cultural immersion and community engagement. 
This summer, 麻豆免费高清无砖码区students Jasmine Nells and Alma Alejandre joined the University of Arizona’s CIELO Vivir M茅xico program for two weeks in Mexico City and Guanajuato. Sia Gomez-Boyiddle, assistant director of El Centro, accompanied the students, and 麻豆免费高清无砖码区President Heather Shotton participated alongside University of Arizona leaders.
CIELO, the University of Arizona’s Cultural & Inclusive Experiential Learning Opportunities program, offers short-term domestic and international experiences designed to make immersive learning more accessible.
“This developing partnership gives our students access to experiences that bring learning to life,” Shotton said. “They are exploring culture, history and environmental sustainability while learning how to navigate new spaces with curiosity, humility and respect.”
For Nells, a fourth-year student majoring in psychology and Native American and Indigenous studies, the experience was also an opportunity to strengthen her connection to her Mexican heritage.
The first week took students through Mexico City, where they visited museums, explored historic sites and toured the National Autonomous University of Mexico, commonly known as UNAM.
“It was so cool to see the campus as a student and experience Mexico City,” Nells said. “We were busy every day, but it was so worth it. There was so much learning.”
In Guanajuato, participants stayed with host families and spent three days working with children at Resplandor International, an educational nonprofit. Nells and other participants read bilingual health and nursing books with children ranging in age from 3 to 16. She and Alejandre also shared traditional Mexican dance through Ballet Folkl贸rico.
“Being able to connect with the kids and the people we met was so meaningful,” Nells said. “Everyone was incredibly friendly and kind to us. The kids really enjoyed the books and the dancing.”
Gomez-Boyiddle said every part of the program offered an opportunity for growth.
“From staying with host families and engaging with children in a rural educational program to exploring historic sites and immersing ourselves in the stories that have shaped these communities, every experience offered an opportunity for growth,” she said. “Students and facilitators learned alongside one another, sharing moments of curiosity, reflection and cultural exchange that extended far beyond the classroom.”
Students also completed daily journals about what they had learned, how they were feeling and what they needed. Nells said the practice allowed students to slow down, process their experiences and receive support from the program’s facilitators.
“I felt really cared for,” she said. “Every day, we were asked how we were feeling, what we needed and what we had learned. It gave us time to slow down and reflect.”
For Nells, the experience continued a journey that began at FLC. She first learned about CIELO through Gomez-Boyiddle after finding community in El Centro and Ballet Folkl贸rico de Durango. 
“I have grown so much through El Centro,” Nells said. “It has given me community, friendship and a place to belong. Through those connections, I found an opportunity like CIELO, which helped me feel even more connected to my culture.”
麻豆免费高清无砖码区and the University of Arizona are now exploring ways to expand the partnership, including potential connections to CIELO’s Tribal Nations of Arizona program. The weeklong experience engages participants with the Navajo Nation and White Mountain Apache Tribe through learning centered on tribal histories, sovereignty, traditional foodways and environmental sustainability.
Nells hopes other students will seek out the communities and experiences that can help them discover more about the world and themselves.
“Be open to these opportunities, even if they are outside your comfort zone,” she said. “You learn so much from different people and cultures. This experience changed my life, and I came home even more proud of who I am.”