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Campus News
     
Your faculty and staff news since 1965
Special Spotlight Issue:  April 22, 2002

Maresmas stir hearts, minds of Latin Americans
Give combined 54 years of service to UNM

By Laurie Mellas-Ramirez

Gladis and Fernando Maresma.After 37 years of marriage Gladis and Fernando Maresma don’t tell their own stories anymore, they tell each other’s. The best of the bunch blossomed from three shared decades at UNM.

“We were educated here,” says Gladis, who came from Paraguay to UNM on a Fulbright and earned her master’s in Latin American studies in 1970.

“We grew up here,” adds Fernando, who immigrated to New Mexico from Cuba at age 14, enrolled at UNM out of high school and earned his BUS while at the same time working in the custodial area.

Their two children grew up on campus, too, he says. Daughter, Adriana, 32, is a professional dancer in Switzerland who fell in love with flamenco studying at UNM under Eva Encinas Sandoval. She earned a BA in dance and photography. Jose, 35, studied sports physiology.

The Maresmas met while taking a UNM English language course. Gladis returned to Paraguay to fulfill Fulbright requirements, while in New Mexico, Fernando was tinkering with destiny.

“Dr. Frank Angel of the College of Education called and said, ‘I need you back here to help me with this project. I found out later Fernando was pushing him to call me,” Gladis recalls. “We got married on a Saturday and I started at UNM Monday morning.”

That was 1965. The “project” is the COE’s renowned Latin American Programs in Education (LAPE) offering on campus training programs for foreign educators and technical assistance in Latin America. In 1985, other schools and colleges at UNM became involved in similar efforts and the UNM Office of International Cooperation was formed. LAPE and OITEC maintain a shared history in Latin American education improvement projects.

“UNM is a pioneer in education of Latin Americans,” says Gladis, director of OITEC since 1992. “We have the largest number of alumni in this hemispheric area of the world,” chimes Fernando, program coordinator for the Latin American and Iberian Institute (LAII).

“In 37 years at UNM Gladis has done more for Latin America in the United States than if she was living in Latin America,” he says. “She has worked with 3,000 graduates from 19 countries.” More than 400 of those degrees were earned in UNM’s Spanish language master’s programs in Educational Administration and Foundations of Education and Public Administration.

Gladis says often a Latin American who arrives shouldering anti-American sentiment leaves with a new attitude. “Working with people in other countries is the main factor in putting an end to violence in this world. Right now we really don’t know each other,” she says.

Sept. 11 took its toll on OITEC programs, she adds. “They come in small groups now, but they’re still coming.”

Gladis produces a Spanish newsletter to keep in contact with OITEC graduates, many of whom hold high-level positions in Latin America. Former students include a vice minister of education in Bolivia, minister of education in Honduras, minister of Women Affairs in Paraguay and educational advisors for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Peru, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

The Maresma home has become a bed and breakfast, hosting former students throughout the year. “We have a student from Spain staying with us now,” Fernando says. “The phone rings at 10 at night and 6 in the morning for Gladis with calls from Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia or some other country.”

“We love it,” she says.

“So many are good friends,” he adds.

Fernando says Gladis is more than a program director – she is advisor, counselor and “also midwife.”

“She helped a sister of one of the participants give birth. It’s been almost 20 years ago and they still call her,” he says.

Both are adamant that UNM serves as an international ambassador indelibly changing the lives of those who cross the border.

“They never forget. Their view of New Mexico comes from how well they are treated at UNM,” Gladis says.

Supporters of UNM’s foreign initiatives are across New Mexico as well. Everyone from state senators to UNM Vice President for Student Affairs Eliseo Torres and Provost Brian Foster recognize the importance of strong ties with Latin American neighbors.

“The state legislature has been very supportive,” Gladis says.

“The legislators recognize that these programs strengthen New Mexico’s economy,” Fernando points out.

During the past 37 years, LAPE and OITEC brought more than $75 million to the state contracting New Mexicans as instructors, administrators, advisors and general staff. Apart from tuition and fees paid to UNM, participants bring hundreds to thousands of dollars each to spend on apartment, hotel rental, activities and souvenirs.

LAII loans Fernando to OITEC to help with special programs. His 17 years arranging campus audiovisuals while on staff at the UNM Media Technology Department helped him develop a campus who’s who list. He rounds up bilingual faculty, materials and classrooms.

Working with Dr. Nelson Valdes, associate director of Cuban Programs at LAII, and with a special license secured through the treasury department, Fernando helps organize and often accompanies educational tours to Cuba. He is working with Louis Head of the Cuban Research Analysis Group and Continuing Education to arrange a tour for UNM students and community members in June. He frequently serves as an interpreter for international visitors to LAII and other academic programs.

Although Gladis has an eye on retirement, Fernando has more stories to gather. “I love this campus and I’m not tired yet,” he says.

“It’s tremendous the network we have,” Gladis says. “I am very satisfied with the work that we have done.”