Building Bridges: A cross-border graduation brings families together
About this episode
This episode explores a groundbreaking cross-border graduation ceremony that reunites families separated by immigration policies.
Hola, friends! In this episode of Port of Entry, our team traces the origins of a groundbreaking U.S. university graduation ceremony held in Mexico — an initiative that has left a lasting legacy in the California/Baja Mexico border region. For the first time in U.S. history, the " Building Bridges " graduation ceremony, organized by San Diego State University’s Imperial Valley satellite campus, brought together families separated by immigration policies who otherwise couldn’t celebrate this milestone north of the border. The episode explores the profound impact of the event by hearing directly from a family who experienced it together. We also meet the organizers who made it possible, including Dr. Vannessa Falcon Orta , an old friend of Port of Entry whose idea helped spark the movement. Since then, similar ceremonies have spread to other institutions across the region. You won’t want to miss this heartwarming episode! Featured and mentioned in this episode: Gilberto Reyes Dr. Efren Lopez Secretaría de Cultura de Baja C alifornia Casa de la Cultura Adela de la Torre, SDSU president SDSU Dean of Student Affairs Omar R. Godoy, former Baja…
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Secretaría de Cultura de Baja California, Casa de la Cultura, SDSU
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- Building Bridges: Una graduación transfronteriza une a familias
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- AB 91 and the dream of affordable education without borders — and what comes next
- Rebelde del Cine: Emilio Montiel y la audacia de soñar en grande (o cómo un cineasta mexicano construyó su propio imperio cinematográfico)
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