The Borderless Leadership Conference, organized by Centro Fox, UC San Diego Extension, UCI Center for Educational Partnerships, and UC Collaborative to Promote Immigrant and Student Equity (UC PromISE), aims to equip the next generation of leaders with the knowledge and sense of purpose needed to lead our nations into a more just future.
The students’ attendance was sponsored in part by the Dean’s Office at the UCI Program in Public Health and they were given the valuable opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of critical issues affecting both Mexican and U.S. society while also building leadership capacity and inspiring them to engage with our international community.
“I was drawn to apply for this opportunity to view issues related to forced migration from a global perspective. There’s a fusion of culture happening all over the world as people seek a better quality of life in countries like the U.S., and it’s critical that we understand how that movement impacts interactions between communities and health equity for all,” said doctoral student and conference attendee Celina Morales. “I’m more connected now than ever before because of advances in technology, media, transportation, and more. Those advances have not only led us to be able to take advantage of opportunities like attending the Borderless Leadership Conference, but they’ve also transformed the way we look at global health and immigration in particular.”
Infectious disease is not defined by borders, nor does it care for diplomacy between countries. The last few years have presented several outbreaks, some more severe than others, such as Zika virus, Ebola, COVID-19, and the latest, monkeypox. The Conference aims to provide students with real life experience to address emerging diseases while navigating political landscapes. Conference attendees are immersed in global health practicing leadership skills and collaboration, while promoting population-based prevention.
“For the past roughly two years, we haven’t really had a chance to leave the country or take advantage of opportunities like these because of COVID,” said current student Hayden Troutt, who is working toward his MPH with an emphasis in Epidemiology. “I’ve always found the idea of doing research outside of the U.S. appealing, and I was excited by the opportunity to exchange ideas and data with colleagues I’d meet at the conference. When we collaborate and share access to data, we help put global health in the right direction.”
Michelle Beltran Najera, a fourth-year undergraduate student, was particularly excited to attend the conference and learn more about how to improve access to critical resources in rural communities across Mexico. “My family is from a small community in Mexico that’s almost entirely surrounded by mountains, so I feel a personal connection to many of the issues covered by the conference. Here in America, we have easy access to clean water to do basic tasks like brush our teeth or do laundry, and electricity that doesn’t get cut by the rain. I often question what more can be done to better allocate these types of resources for socially and geographically marginalized communities, and it was the driving force behind my decision to attend the Borderless Leadership Conference.”
Students began their experience with a tour of Centro Fox, the home of former Mexican President Vicente Fox, which holds the first presidential library outside of the U.S. They had the opportunity to hear directly from Fox and international leaders about equitable global health policies and practices for immigrant communities, an experience they noted as being particularly inspiring.
“I’d spent three weeks in Guanajuato last year while traveling throughout Mexico, so it was exciting to return and get the chance to meet Vicente Fox and members of the Mexican Congress. It’s a rare opportunity to be able to hear from world leaders directly about all of the work they’re doing to address disparities,” said Flor Arellano, a 2nd year student in the UCI MPH program.
Students also had the opportunity to view a screening of the film Llévate Mis Amores (2014), followed by a Q&A session with the film’s director Arturo González Villaseñor. Llévate Mis Amores tells the stories of the women living in La Patrona, a Mexican village that is situated by the tracks of a train from Central America that brings many migrants north to the U.S.
“The documentary really captured the essence of the conference,” doctoral candidate Connie Valencia said. “It gave you an idea of the types of challenges that not only immigrants face, but those trying to help them along their journeys. These are people who don’t have all of the resources they need, but still succeed in feeding, sheltering, and supporting immigrants. They live humbly, and though they may not have a lot, they share what they have.”
Conference attendees walked away from the experience having gained the knowledge and skills needed to advance their work in addressing disparities through public health research, practice, and scholarship. They also came away from the conference with valuable connections to peers from other universities across the U.S. and Mexico, who share their passion and desire to form future collaborations. “Many of us shared the same interests, but had vastly different trainings. That overlap led to fruitful conversations and opened doors for future partnerships,” Morales enthused.
“If there’s one thing we learned from this experience, it’s that no matter how small your role is, you can still be a leader,” Arellano said. “I think is important we keep in mind as we move forward in our work individually and collaboratively. We have tools at our disposal to do good in the world, and experiences like the Borderless Leadership Conference reinforce the need for us to have confidence in our abilities to make positive change at any size or scale.”
