The U.S. minimum wage may not meet with everyone’s approval, but a trip to Mexico puts things such as workers’ pay in a different perspective.
Four Durango residents studying for a master’s degree in social work through a University of Denver satellite program in Durango told classmates Friday about the highlights of a 15-day stay in Mexico to learn about poverty.
Scott Smith, Chris Taylor, Megan Roundy and Brit Meiers are four of 23 students who meet in The Commons building all day Friday and Saturday for two years to complete the master’s degree curriculum.
The 23 hail from Durango, Cortez, Dove Creek, Ignacio, Bayfield, Del Norte and New Mexico.
Students may visit foreign countries as an elective, choosing among Mexico, Thailand, Kenya, Ireland, Bosnia and South Africa. They pay travel expenses.
The topic of inquiry varies with each country. In Mexico, it’s global relations and poverty; in South Africa, social justice; in Bosnia, the historical, social and ethnic characteristics of former Yugoslavia as context for studying the genocide that followed its break-up; in China, the connection among biodiversity, health and ecological systems.
The four students who chose poverty in Mexico were headquartered in Puebla, a colonial city founded in 1531 southeast of Mexico City. It’s the capital of the state of the same name, which has a population of 1.5 million.
The visiting group, which included five DU master’s candidates from Denver, were accompanied by Lynn Parker, a professor from the university.
Learning about poverty in Mexico, where the minimum wage is 68 pesos a day, barely $5 U.S., came through person-to-person contact.
Through an interpreter who leads study sessions for university and church groups, the four Durangoans talked to social workers, activists, community organizers, emergency medical workers, orphanage residents and community members.
Students choose a foreign country based on what aspect of social work they want to tackle after graduation, said Wanda Ellingson, the DU faculty member in charge of the master’s program in Durango.
Each of the four picked up on other topics through conversations in chance encounters.
Smith is interested in U.S. involvement in the civil war in El Salvador that lasted from 1979 to 1992. Roundy wants to pursue Mexico’s war on drugs.
Taylor said the field trip inspired him to become involved in improving the quality of life of youngsters, so they won’t be lured into working for drug cartels.
University of Denver’s Four Corners Master’s of Social Work program, which started in 2002, is a partnership among the Colorado Department of Human Services, Fort Lewis College, Southwest Colorado Community College and several other Four Corners agencies.
Ellingson said the goals of locating the master’s program in Durango were to improve delivery of social services, address special needs of rural communities, address concerns of multiethnic groups and strengthen the professional social work infrastructure in the Four Corners.
Native American content has been added to the curriculum, she said.
Ellingson said the late Morley Ballantine – owner, editor and chairman of the board of The Durango Herald – was instrumental in establishing the DU satellite in Durango.
daler@durangoherald.com
