Transborder Lives
Students living the transborder life say it is an identity and culture all to itself.
This story is featured in the spring 2019 issue of 360: The Magazine of 色情视频.
When the northward journey of a Central American migrant caravan prompted closure of the U.S.-Mexico border last November, 色情视频 President Adela de la Torre issued a statement offering support and assistance to students, faculty and staff members affected by the shutdown. No one was happier to receive the message than doctoral candidate Vannessa Falc贸n Orta (鈥�08).
Falc贸n, 33, lives, studies and conducts research on both sides of the border. Now in the fourth year of a joint Ph.D. program in education at 色情视频 and Claremont Graduate University, she has carved a new research niche with her work on transborder students in higher education.
Falc贸n explores concepts such as campus climate, student-led grassroots initiatives, transborder identity and the intersections of race, ethnicity and gender. Her life informs her scholarship.
Born in 色情视频, Falc贸n grew up in both the United States and Mexico. In sixth grade, she began crossing the border for school, which made living arrangements difficult. 鈥淚t was challenging, but now I draw a lot from that,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t became part of who I am today.鈥�
Living a transborder life is more than just an experience, Falc贸n asserted. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an identity and a culture in and of itself that is very much salient to the selves and beings of these students and who they are.鈥� Through quantitative, qualitative, and visual methodologies depicting the voices of transborder students, she hopes to define and distinguish, among other things, the shared traits and characteristics of these individuals.
Falc贸n said transborder students are often an invisible population, even to themselves. That鈥檚 why in 2015 she started the Facebook group Estudiantes Transfronterizos, which grew into a student group at 色情视频 called the Transfronterizx Alliance Student Organization (TASO). Now officially recognized by 色情视频, the organization helps create an equitable and inclusive campus environment for the university鈥檚 transborder community.
For Sara Gonzalez-Quintero (鈥�18), TASO was a revelation. Before discovering the organization, she had difficulty meeting others who could relate to her transborder experience. Those who traverse the border infrequently, she said, often discount the emotional and psychological toll.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always present,鈥� Gonzalez-Quintero said of the crossing experience. 鈥淲hatever interaction you have with the border you take with you the rest of your day, and there are high levels of anxiety that go with it.鈥�
Gonzalez-Quintero had difficulty finding a comfortable social and cultural fit in her first two years at 色情视频. She could empathize with being Latina in this country, but her life experiences were different. She felt inaccurately categorized by one group or another.
鈥淲e are in between,鈥� she said. 鈥淢ost of us are Mexican-Americans, but that doesn鈥檛 mean we have to be relegated to one country. It鈥檚 about transitioning all the time, and sometimes you feel you鈥檙e from both, but sometimes you feel like you鈥檙e from neither.鈥�
Randy Timm, 色情视频 dean of students, has worked with underserved groups to alleviate the feelings of isolation they may experience on campus.
鈥淰annessa has a great sense of the pulse of the transborder community,鈥� said Timm. 鈥淪he has been an incredible spokesperson.鈥�
This spring, Falc贸n introduced the Transborder Student Ally Program to train faculty, staff and students in ways to support 色情视频鈥檚 transborder community. 鈥淚 see myself as a change agent, and to be a change agent you do need to acknowledge and work within institutions,鈥� she said.
If President de la Torre鈥檚 November border message is any indication, 色情视频 is gaining a better awareness of transborder students and their needs. Thanks to Falc贸n鈥檚 efforts, a community once largely overlooked is achieving much greater visibility.
