A Tale of Two Borders

For Alejandra Urquide, a senior at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), commuting daily across the U.S. border from her home in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, can be unpredictable, to say the least. During her first three years as a full-time border  commuter student, Urquide endured a variety of challenges, from waiting in line for three hours on the busiest days at the U.S. port of entry to car searches and harsh questioning from border agents—including once being asked: “Where are your drugs?”

But the benefits of being able to live with her parents and pursue an enriching college education were worth the inconveniences and sometimes upsetting encounters, Urquide says, and she has become a stronger person for the experience. The daughter of two high school literature professors who passed on to their children an appreciation for education, Urquide will be the first in her family to graduate from a U.S. university.

“I was excited about attending college in the U.S. because I wanted to keep studying and because it would be a different experience for me—a different way to learn and a new adventure in my life,” says Urquide, who is pursuing a double major in media advertising and graphic design. “When you study in another country, your mind is challenged, your language skills are challenged, and your social skills are challenged. It makes you a stronger person.”

Like Urquide, many Mexican students from cities neighboring the U.S. border—and their Canadian peers in the North—are opting to live at