Crossing Borders, Graduating Students: A Transborder Graduation Model in Higher Education at the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 4:15 pm - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Study Abroad/International/Global

Abstract

In this paper, we present a justice-oriented model for implementing transborder graduation ceremonies in U.S.–Mexico borderland higher education contexts. Grounded in our use of collaborative autoethnography and photovoice pláticas, we explore the inaugural “Building Bridges Graduation” and our asset-based experiences as Transfronterizx scholar-organizers. The resulting Transborder Graduation Model outlines five interrelated dimensions: Grassroots Transborder Initiative Network, Transborder Capital, Navigation of International Bureaucracies, Transborder Student Allies, and Systems of Support. By integrating grassroots praxis with institutional change theory, we offer a strategic framework for affirming mixed-status student communities and challenging exclusionary border dynamics. We argue that commencement can be reimagined as political solidarity, advancing educational equity and informing institutional innovation at the intersection of activism and higher education.

Authors

• Vannessa Falcón Orta, San Diego State University

• Gilberto Reyes, San Diego State University

• Carlos Fitch, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Efren Lopez, San Diego State University