Boulder County resident, Carla Colin, is a year away from earning her bachelor’s degree in social work through a private Mexican university in Puebla, Mexico, which allows Spanish- speaking individuals to enter higher education at a fraction of the cost.
The Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, or UPAEP, and Centro San Juan Diego, or CSJD, a ministry of the Archdiocese of Denver, have partnered together to bring higher education opportunities to people in Colorado since 2013.
UPAEP offers eight bachelor’s level and 11 master’s level programs in areas ranging from business administration, social work, leadership and pastoral degrees, according to Carla Bretón, a program coordinator at CSJD.
To date, over 200 students across the state have enrolled in this program through CSJD, two of which are in the Boulder County area, including Colín, said Breton, adding a total of 19 students have completed their degrees and gained their diplomas.
"The difference between this and other universities is that for foreign students, the cost can be double or triple, even for students out of state," she said. "That was one of my main motivators to ask for information and what encouraged me to start my program in 2018."
As a DACA recipient, Colin saw this alliance as a convenient option to launch her career, she said, adding the program does not require students to provide immigration status documentation to apply.
“One Friday night, I saw an ad saying there was an event on Saturday to start with UPAEP, and so I went. There, I listened to all the experiences of people who had two jobs, small children, and I said to myself, 'I can't keep looking for excuses, I have to do this,’” she said.
Colin has been living in Boulder County for close to two decades and has worked in various roles within the philanthropic and nonprofit fields. She said the promise of a successful career through an accessible college degree has led her to where she is now.
She currently works as the community engagement coordinator at Boulder County and leads the Boulder County Public Health COVID-19 task force.
“I always said to my daughter, semi-jokingly, ‘Your mommy didn’t go to college because she's too smart to do that,' and one day, she repeated it to other people. At that moment, I realized and said to myself, 'what are you doing?',” she said. "I promised myself that if I was going to start, I was going to finish (my education), and I wanted to do it before my daughter went to college. How could I ask her to go to college if I don't do it?"
Colin is 14 classes away from graduation, studying four courses every quarter while working full time and caring for her 14-year-old child.
"It has been a good experience. I am not going to tell whoever wants to register that it is the easiest thing in the world, you have to be dedicated," she said. "Some classes are harder than others, but at the end of the day it all will be worth it."
Over 80% of students who have gone through the program are concentrated in the Denver area, with 30% coming from Aurora, according to Bretón, adding the rest are sprinkled across the rest of the state.
CSJD seeks to support Hispanic individuals to become more integrated in the community and raise their quality of life through education, family support, integration and leadership formation, according to the website.
The center not only serves as a liaison between UPAEP and the community but also partners with donors and organizations offering funds to sponsor students through their studies, she said.
One of their biggest scholarship opportunities consists of funding targeting DACA recipients, which covers 100% of the initial enrollment fees plus 50% of the cost of the first eight classes, she said.
Students can get help with the costs of four classes through a fund established by Denver-based nun, Sister Alicia Cuaron, who is a Mexico-born consecrated sister, Bretón said.
"She (Sister Cuarón) has remained connected to her roots and her culture, and she … contributes funds constantly so people who have some studies and have a good academic standing, but have financial difficulty, can continue their studies," she said. "She doesn't want this (finances) to be a problem."
All classes through UPAEP are offered virtually in Spanish, although faculty and staff are willing to accommodate bilingual students who may submit work or engage in English to ensure their full participation, according to Colin.
"I considered myself a bilingual person, but it wasn’t until I started school that I realized I had lost a lot of my Spanish vocabulary, and this program has helped me recover it," she said.
The programs through the university in Puebla are very carefully designed to cater to the needs of students engaging virtually, said Francisco Zamudio Rodríguez, coordinator of linkages and corporate strategy at UPAEP.
“The platform is always available, 24/7, so anyone can connect whenever they need to. Besides the instruction piece with a professor, students also have access to tutorial support to be able to address any personal concerns that could impact their performance,” he said.
The college is careful to ensure that degrees offered at the school make sense in the American job market.
"We want to make sure the studies are useful," he said. “The experience and knowledge that (students) receive can be applied to a profession, you can put it into practice, and you can advance in your work and your work objectives."
The initiative between UPAEP and CSJD is actively seeking Spanish-speaking individuals residing in Boulder County who are interested in joining the ranks of other hundreds in the state working to advance their careers in their own language.
"You don’t have to wait to see results until the end. You see them as you go through the journey. You build more discipline, more resilience, more responsiveness and an orientation towards results," said Zamudio Rodríguez. “The academic work itself is putting you to the test and this is promoting positive impacts for both the individual and the organization they work for. It is a positive action in all areas."
Editor's note: The original article stated that the studies at the university in Puebla are valid. The degrees offered through UPAEP Online are official. They are recognized by the Mexican Ministry of Public Education, the highest educational authority in Mexico, but they are not necessarily automatically equivalent for universities in the United States.
