FEBRUARY 14, 2025: Introduction!

It’s been a flurry of passports, medical exams, suitcase-purchasing, and packing lists as the 2025 Border Immersion team has been preparing for this year’s trip. In just under three weeks, our group of eleven students and three faculty members will be venturing to Douglas, Arizona and Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico to study immigration at the US/Mexico border. Over the seven-day trip, the team will get the chance to cross three times into Mexico to visit migrant shelters, speak with US Border Patrol, and encounter the truth behind one of the largest humanitarian crises in our current world.  

The team has been working closely in class once a week to prepare as best as possible, sharing personal stories and experiences with immigration and borders from around the world. It looks different than your stereotypical classroom: lectures and article-reading are intertwined with group bonding, storytelling, and intimate communication beyond what many students are used to. First-year team member and reflection leader Sofia Bartholomew talks excitedly about getting to speak with immigration attorney Jamilah Espinosa and bonding with her peers. “As a group, we’ve really been getting involved on campus together, working with Room in the Inn and other events to grow closer together,” she mentioned. 

            It’s an attitude shared by all members on the team as preparation has been swiftly underway. Professors and trip leaders Darryl White, Dr. Adrian Bird, and Dr. Margaret Commins have been communicating openly and honestly with us students, providing ample resources to ensure the historical and current contexts of both Douglas and Agua Prieta are understood as best as possible. “We cannot enter into a new community without understanding what they’ve been through and where they are now,” Dr. Commins reminded us during one of our classes. Empathy and open-mindedness have become the leading words used in our classroom. 

            This trip wouldn’t be possible without our encouraging university and our three faculty members, as well as our colleagues at the border and the support of our family and friends. If you find yourself inclined and inspired, donations of any size are greatly appreciated; while the trip is funded by team members and Belk Chapel, donations are what help us find other ways to support our partners at the border. It also helps us to ensure we have all the tools necessary to experience, capture, and share the stories from the border. You can find our donation link on the Home page and the Team page of our website. 

            As President Jimmy Carter famously said, “We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” We look forward to sharing a piece of our world’s mosaic with you. 

Written by Emily Skaar and Emily Allison