Southwestern University 2020 Annual Report

11 In March 2020, 14 high school students from Mexico City traveled to Texas to experience life as a Southwestern student. The prospective students spent five days and four nights in Georgetown—two in a residence hall on the Southwestern campus and two in a nearby hotel. In addition to touring the campus, meeting with students, and sitting in on classes, the students were treated to dinner at the home of Blake Stanford ’81, a member of the Board of Trustees, and Kristi Boerner Stanford ’83, a member of the Board of Visitors. A number of other members of the Southwestern community attended the reception, including trustee and Southwestern University Alumni Association President-Elect Miguel Zorrilla ’92, then-Interim President Dale Knobel, former President Edward Burger, Board of Visitors member Jorge Diaz Cuervo ’90, P’22, and members of the University’s admission team. The students found time to explore the area, taking a duck tour of Austin, shopping at the outlet stores in Round Rock, and catching a bite to eat at Georgetown’s historic town square. The visit was part of a new partnership between Southwestern and two schools in Mexico City designed to open new possibilities for students and increase Southwestern’s global presence. Strengthening Global Connections Building the Bridge to Opportunity In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Southwestern launched Bridges, a marketplace for connecting current students and recent graduates to real-world, experiential projects that benefit businesses, in the summer of 2020. These short-term, virtual projects help equip students and graduates with the skills necessary to succeed after the current crisis. Southwestern was one of the first 25 universities in the nation to join the BridgesAlliance, whose members have pledged to leverage their networks, including alumni, parents, supporters, and corporate and nonprofit partners, to provide students with meaningful career experiences. Diego Pocurull ’22 is one of the first students to benefit from the new initiative. Pocurull is working virtually with Jorge Diaz Cuervo ’90, P’22 of Grupo Corporativo Consultiva in Mexico City to conduct a market/social analysis, develop a legal framework, and create a marketing strategy for a project designed to lower the costs of money transfers between Mexico and the United States.