Students Attend Talk by Mexico’s U.S. Ambassador

Middle School World Languages Teachers Claudia Ramirez and Marina Escamez-Ballesta and eight of their students from Steward’s Latino Education Advancements Program (LEAP) and Hispanic Honor Society recently attended a talk at VCU by Mexico’s U.S. Ambassador, Esteban Moctezuma Barragán. His lecture, “Mexico and U.S. Interdependence and Common Future,” highlighted the strong ties between the nations.

“Students learned vital information about the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other initiatives,” said Ms. Ramirez. “The Ambassador talked about how both countries are working together to strengthen their cultural and social exchanges.” She added, “It is fundamental to realize that border crossings unite the two countries economically. People cross into the U.S. and Mexico constantly to do business, creating a flow of nearly $2 billion daily.” 

Other topics included immigration policies, the new wave of immigrants arriving in Mexico to come to the United States, and the increasing number of Americans who have moved to Mexico in the last three years. 

Mutual Care and Respect
At Steward, students learn in an environment of mutual care and respect as they explore topics that define our time.  

“It was a wonderful experience to hear from a politician and diplomat,” said Ms. Ramirez, who noted that the Ambassador previously served as Secretary of Interior and Education and served as a senator. “It was especially meaningful to see our students engage with him since his presentation was uplifting and thoughtful about Mexico-U.S. relations and emphasized understanding and empathy.”

Gabriel Zepeda ’28 said, “This experience was once in a lifetime. It opened my eyes to how interconnected my two home countries are. It left me in awe to hear that Mexico and the U.S. traded more together than China. This trip also made me appreciate how unique Steward is [in offering students this off-campus opportunity].” 

Dante Castle ’26 said, “My biggest takeaway was that treaties such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement treaty, which encourages fair trade, can directly lead to the creation of jobs in Mexico. This made me realize the importance of relationships between nations, and just how impactful they are to the world.” He added, “In my AP World History class, we recently learned about how different nations trade many kinds of resources,” he said. “It was great to learn about a specific example of this.”