For most students, the opportunity to study abroad is about discovering a new land.
It was that for Arkansas Tech University student Ashley Alcocer, but it was also something more.
It was about discovering where she came from.
Alcocer, an ATU junior from Russellville, was part of a study abroad group led to Mexico during summer 2025 by Dr. Alejandra Carballo, ATU professor of Spanish and assistant director of study abroad.
The ATU group spent eight days and seven nights exploring Mexico City. The trip was planned to complement the Seminar on Mexican Civilization and Culture course that each of the study abroad group participants completed during the May summer session at ATU.
Alcocer had the bonus experience of meeting her paternal grandparents for the first time.
“Meeting my grandparents for the first time was very special,” said Alcocer. “I was glad to finally see them in person because I had only talked to them through the phone. I felt very happy and very emotional because I know they are family of my dad and mine. Getting to know them helped me feel closer to them and where he comes from. It was a moment I’ll never forget and I hope to come back and see them again soon.”
The members of the ATU delegation visited a wide variety of museums and cultural centers during their stay in Mexico City. Additional highlights included stops at the Teotihuacán Pyramids, Chapultepec Castle, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and National Autonomous University of Mexico, which was founded in 1551 and has an enrollment of more than 300,000 students.
“Going to Mexico with my study abroad group helped me see things in a new way,” said Alcocer. “I learned more about the culture, the people and how life is different from where I live. My parents used to tell me stories about how life was in Mexico when they were younger. I saw the culture, the way people live and how close families are. I learned about the history of Mexico and the ancients. It helped me understand my parents better and where they come from.”
Alcocer was joined on the trip by fellow ATU students Litzi Baltazar, Matthew Bennett, German Beltran-Solis, Litzy Chavez, Justin Contreras-Portillo, Sherlyn Escobar, Wendy Fraga, Joahan Galindo, Ana Mendez, Judit Morales-Mora, Citlalli Navarrete Avila, Nicolas Sanchez, Melany Silva and Andrea Vega Lopez.
Bennett explained that one of the most important parts of the trip was the study of Mexico the class participated in before leaving the United States.
“One of the biggest things we had to do before we went anywhere was participate in a seminar class where we all educated on major elements of Mexican history from the pre-Columbian times to the present,” said Bennett, an ATU sophomore nursing major from Cabot. “The people I came from have no connection with Mexico in the slightest, so I poorly understood its story before starting this journey. I look backwards now and I see that the history of Mexico is painted with the struggle of men, women and children fighting to secure their own future and freedom. It was a struggle that led from one conflict to the next where everyone was fighting for each other. Liberty from Spain, uninstalling dictatorships, pushing back against tyrannical governments that would spill their own citizen’s blood to sustain their iron grasp on power. It was and still very much is deeply admirable.”
When asked what his favorite memory of being in Mexico is, Bennett said nothing topped his first memory.
“It had to be getting off the plane and walking into the Mexico City airport,” said Bennett. “I don’t want to discount the numerous guided tours and experiences I went on…because they were all incredible and insightful in their own ways…but it was something surreal to me just walking around thinking I was south of the border, looking around and observing Spanish text no matter where I looked. I’m just some white kid who, in my second year of high school, threw myself into studying the language to the point where it became a hobby and then a passion. I never would have imagined then that I would walk through the streets of the core of Mexico itself. My journey had met one consummate end and continued in a completely new spirit right then and there.”
Bennett viewed the trip to Mexico City as a reward that he earned through diligent study.
“I spent so much time, in my own way, breaking down language barriers and working my way through understanding how one mode of speech functions,” said Bennett. “I was opening a new world for myself back then, but I did even more by physically going there. Hearing the stories, walking through the cities, understanding the story and the struggle that happens then and continues today left me a different person. The knowledge I gained was the greatest gift of all.”
Carballo led the group with assistance from Dr. Paola Gemme and Dr. Donna White.
“The greatest benefits of studying abroad were that I learned about the history of Mexico, the culture and the beauty of the country and you see the things you learned in the course for yourself,” said Alcocer. “Thanks to the course, I had the opportunity to visit Mexico for the first time. I saw Mexico in a new way. I would recommend others to join study abroad.”
Learn more at www.atu.edu/studyabroad.
