From Tampico to Trout Lake

Paloma Marquez-Barba is one of 23 Mexican students who'll be studying at Nipissing University during the next few weeks.
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Paloma Marquez-Barba has only been in North Bay a day now, but she’s already impressed with what she’s seen.

Marquez-Barba and 22 other students from the Instituto Tecnologico y Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, in Tampico, Mexico will be in the city for the next few weeks studying business ethics and business decision-making at Nipissing University.

“North Bay is very beautiful and I like the natural look of the city,” said Marquez-Barba Sunday afternoon during a reception for the students.

Exchange program
While it’s her first time in North Bay, Marquez-Barba has been in Canada before, having studied English at Queen’s University, in Kingston.

The students are part of an exchange program worked out between the university and ITESM, said Nipissing president Dennis Mock.

He and two other Nipissing officials had been in Tampico last November setting the exchange program up.

“They were interested in their students getting access to business courses in English and we saw this as an opportunity for the university,” Mock said.

“It’s good for them but it’s also good for us because it helps our students understand different cultures. It’s a big part of learning and increasing our international programs will be moving up our list of priorities.”

Open mind
ITESM has an enrolment of 1,500 students and is part of a 31-campus university considered the top-ranked in Latin America, said Prof. Claudia Gonzalez-Hidalgo, who accompanied the 23 pupils to North Bay.

"The number one thing we want is for our students to become familiar with Canadian culture and to have an open mind to it, and the academic part is also very important,” Gonzalez-Hidalgo said.

“But the most important part is for them to go back and talk to other students, so they can also have the opportunity to come here.”

Good opportunity
Martha Fusco-Garza certainly wants to absorb Canadian culture. She’s been to Canada before and her father obtained a Masters degree at Waterloo University, which her brothers also attend.

“It’s a really good opportunity to grow and see different cultures and different people, especially Canada being such a big place with so many cultures in the same environment,” Fusco-Garza said.

“I’m studying International business administration so I think it‘s a really good opportunity to be in different countries and learn a little about their politics and their commerce.”