Heidi Wille, a 2010 Central Lakes College grad now a senior at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, recently studied abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico, through the Latin American Context program. The experience was life-changing. Heidi has found that “it is much easier to feel compassion for people when you understand what they are talking about, see where they live and where they are coming from.” Heidi was introduced to Latin America as a sudent at CLC. “I didn’t know how awesome Mexico could be until I learned some of the language and got a look at the culture through school.” Heidi received the Poland/Kurtz scholarship at CLC in 2009. It enabled her to increase her chances of being accepted into the Augsburg Center for Global Education program. Heidi and fellow travelers converted the Mexican minimum wage into real purchase power for an assignment. "As our investigation looked at basic items such as clothing and food, we knew the situation in Mexico must be dire, because none of these goods could possibly be within reach of most Mexican families," she said. The group visited the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and learned of the nearly impossible restrictions on obtaining a visa for travel to the United States from Mexico.
Information courtesy of Staples World newspaper
