Purpose

The US is going through a major demographic change. Hispanic students comprised almost half of the student population at UNM, and the Hispanic population is expected to become the ethnic majority in the US by the year 2050. Mexico, on the other hand, continues to be a strong partner for American manufacturing. Migrants in the US continue to maintain strong ties with their communities in Mexico creating a very interdependent relationship. The Transformar Mentorship Program emerges as a unique program that encourages students to strengthen their academic inquiry through the affirmation of their identity, intercultural skills and aptitudes, and interdisciplinary thinking. It will also motivate students to pursue and understand the complexity of ideas and their intersection with the social, cultural, economic, and political forces that affect and/or facilitate professional and academic development. Transformar students will do this by participating in mandatory group sessions in which they will learn about culture, identity, and interdisciplinary thinking and approach to decision-making and problem-solving.

Objectives

• To reinforce student's own cultural self-determination and understanding of social issues
• To strengthen students’ own sense of cultural diversity and inclusion
• To learn cultural and traditional knowledge used to create ancient civilizations, as a complex social, cultural, political, and economic dynamic