SENMC Offers Study Abroad Experience

By Misty Cryer

Southeast New Mexico College (SENMC) is offering students the opportunity to spend two weeks studying abroad, exploring Spain while earning academic credit. The application deadline is October 16. Eight students will be selected to participate in the 2027 summer trip.

“This is something totally new, not just for the college, but for Carlsbad in general,” said Dr. Luis Anchondo, Study Abroad Director.

While working at the University of Texas in El Paso, Anchondo said he took students to Spain for six years. “When I became part of SENMC when I moved to Carlsbad, that is something that I wanted to do here at the college,” he said.

Anchondo said he invited Raymond Dominguez to the project. “We started to create it from scratch.”

Adding to Anchondo’s experience in Spain, Raymond Dominguez, Study Abroad Assistant, said, “I was there two months ago, learning and getting ready to provide tips for our students.” He said, “I’m an instructor of business, and one of the topics in my classes is globalization, so this is related.”

They met with faculty from other New Mexico universities and colleges to gather ideas. “We had to do some research about how to do it here in New Mexico,” said Anchondo.

Dr. Kevin Beardmore, President of SENMC, helped secure full funding for the first year to launch the program, Anchondo said.

To be part of the program, Anchondo said, students must be continuing students after the summer semester of 2027. “We want the students that go through this program to promote the program to other students,” he said.

“We are taking eight different students,” said Dominguez. Students go through an application and interview process that includes a recommendation letter from full-time faculty and a personal essay, he said.

SENMC students are welcome to apply, regardless of the degree or pathway they are enrolled in, said Dominguez. A GPA of 3.0 and the student being 18 years old or older are criteria, he added.

“This is a big opportunity for our students to learn,” said Dominguez. “I was a student here when I started college, and I had never seen this before,” he said.

Specifying that this is not a leisure trip, Anchondo said, “It is taking a class over there and receiving credit for the class.” The class, he said, is about the cultural civilization of Spain. “Every day, we will have cultural activities in the morning and in the afternoon.”

Rather than being a class held in a classroom, assignments are related to the activities that the students will be doing. Providing an example of going to a museum in the morning followed by an afternoon workshop, Anchondo said, “Students will be writing a journal every day; that journal will be part of their grade.”

The class is in Spanish, Anchondo said, but it is tailored to each student’s language proficiency. He explained that the assignments for students who don’t speak Spanish will help them to start learning the language. If a student already speaks Spanish, he said, the assignments will focus on expanding the language, while helping students who don’t speak Spanish learn it. “It is a very collaborative class, and very student-oriented,” he said.

“There is a company in Spain; they do this for a living, and we are going to be working with them,” said Dominguez. “It is going to be secure for students and for ourselves,” he said.

Part of the learning experience will be the students living with a Spanish family for two weeks, two students per house, with the families providing meals, said Anchondo. “The families are secure; they already went through a background check, and it is something that they do on a daily basis, is to host students,” he said.

The program creates the itinerary for the group to meet daily, said Dominguez. “The students will receive a subway card,” he added.

“We are going to Madrid, which is the capital of Spain. It is a big city, and the subway transportation will be the best for our students and ourselves,” said Dominguez.

“It is going to be a great experience, and it is something totally new for the Carlsbad community,” said Anchondo, adding that he hopes the programs will attract more students of all ethnicities and cultures to the college, including those who are afraid to go to college because of language.

“We are very excited about this opportunity for our students,” said Dominguez. “We hope the study abroad experience will give them the chance to experience a different culture, learn outside the classroom, and create memories.”

For more information, contact Dr. Luis Anchondo, Study Abroad Director, at Lanchondo@senmc.edu, or Raymond Dominguez, Study Abroad Assistant, at Rdominguez@senmc.edu.