Students from Mexico spent summer doing research at UNK

KEARNEY, Neb. - -  Latin American students are now more equipped to do high-level research after spending a summer in Kearney. 

45 students, most of them from Mexico, carried out research projects in U.S. universities thanks to DELFIN. The program allows the students to visit the United States for 7 weeks and work on projects related to their career.

Dirce Gómez says she's learned a lot through the program.

“I was also able to apply knowledge that I got from school, also I learned a lot from Dr. Thomas," Gomez said. 

Annete Gomez came to research bacteria. For her, this was more than just a learning experience. 

“This experience has helped gained a new perspective on life," Annete Gomez said. "Overall their culture, their food, the way they lived, just makes me thing there’s more out there than what I know. So this helps me with personal development as well as professional opportunities.”

UNK, Bellevue University and Wichita State University are the three participating institutions. DELFIN is in its fourth year.

“I think this has been a great program,” said Dr. Austin Nuxoll “Not only for these students to get firsthand exposure with research but also for myself and my research students to learn from them as well. I think anytime you can have students learning from different communities and different perspectives is beneficial."

More than 400 institutions in Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Peru and Ecuador belong to the program.