CHICAGO – The governor of the State of Mexico, Eruviel Ávila Villegas, and the rector of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEM), Jorge Olvera García, opened the Digital Library and the Distance High School Degree Program for Migrants in Chicago, Illinois. These initiatives, supported by the State of Mexico government, benefit Mexicans and other Latinos who live in the United States.
The Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, Evelyn Sanguinetti, and the General Consul of Mexico in Chicago, Carlos Jiménez Macías, attended the ceremony at the State of Mexico House in Chicago, where Ávila Villegas and Olvera García handed out diplomas for students in the degree program. At the Cultural Center of the State of Mexico, the play The Sixth Day, the Christs was performed, a work of the artist and honorable doctor of UAEM, Leopoldo Flores Valdés.
At the National Museum of Mexican Art, Ávila Villegas congratulated UAEM for its initiatives and said that they will help migrants be in contact with their family members in the State of Mexico.
Rector Olvera García explained to the students who received degrees that the Digital Library is a free service that serves as a window into the educational and technological platforms at UAEM and that it will allow students in the high school program to study and complete their assignments. It will also be a means to stay informed on what is happening in their country of origin.
Olvera García said that the initiatives are a joint effort between UAEM and the state government, which will benefit both students and their children. He said, “we continue promoting the internationalization of UAEM and the humanitarian and social character of the university.”
Sanguinetti said that the state of Illinois should continue strengthening its relationship with the State of Mexico to help migrants living in the United States. Jiménez said that the UAEM initiatives are innovative and that Governor Ávila Villegas is fulfilling his promises to migrants.
Olvera García said that while the high school degree program is aimed at migrants from the State of Mexico primarily, it will also be an option for Mexicans in general and other nationalities. They are also preparing a remote college degree and the rector encourages people from the State of Mexico living in the United States to familiarize themselves with what UAEM has to offer.
Olvera García said to migrants, “that they must not give up on the idea that they can make a better world, and they can count on the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico as a university of the people that wants to help their dreams and efforts.”