URBANA, Ill. — Global Education and Training partnered with the Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences to host three graduate students from Oaxaca, Mexico in a short research program sponsored by The United States - Mexico Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (COMEXUS).
The Bridging Borders for Birds: Training Oaxacan Students in Biodiversity Research at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign fall 2025 program also came to GET through connections with the Illinois-Mexican and Mexican American Students initiative (I-MMÁS).
Aranza Escalante Vega, a graduate student at National Polytechnic Institute Oaxaca CIIDIR; Eros Samuel Maldonado Bravo, a graduate student at National Polytechnic Institute Oaxaca CIIDIR; and Dayane Arlette Puente Puente, a Ph.D. student at Universidad del Mar in Oaxaca, began the hybrid program online on Oct. 20.
They traveled to campus on Nov. 5 and studied with Mike Ward, a professor and Levenick Chair in Sustainability in the Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, until Nov. 29.
While at Illinois, they studied Avian Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation in Ward’s lab.
“When COMEXUS and when the Fulbright students came up here, it happened very quickly,” Ward said. “I was really impressed with the whole university and how we came together through the GET program to make sure the students had the best experience possible. That’s what we need to do.”
Although this program is new and unique to GET, this isn’t the first time Ward has worked with institutions in Mexico or Oaxaca.
Ward said he started working in the Yucatan Peninsula about 15 or 20 years ago tracking birds that migrated across the Gulf of Mexico.
“Then from there, I started talking with other professors in Mexico and we started working in other places in Mexico,” Ward explained. “Now, we have research in three different areas in Mexico on birds that are migratory, and non-migratory birds that only live in Mexico. It’s been a good collaboration, and we have good projects that have been going on now for about a decade.”
Ward said the students that participated in this program are students of his colleague Dr. Roberto Sosa, who he has been working with for almost six years.
“We go down there a lot, and they host us, so it was great to bring his students up here and for us to host them,” Ward said.
Research Explained
Ward said overall he and his students study bird migration and bird conservation.
He also added that there are several different projects taking place that try to understand the habitats that the birds need to survive when they’re in Illinois in the summer, when they’re in Mexico during the winter, and all the time in between.
“We’re not going to be successful in our efforts if we don’t include places where the birds spend half the year, so we study a lot of migratory birds that are here all summer, but right now they’re in Mexico,” he said.
To help study their migration, Ward said they use radio telemetry. In other words, they attach little trackers to the birds and using towers they develop in different areas; they track migration patterns and trends to help identify what birds are doing, where they’re living, and whether they’re living or dying.
“And so, with that information then we can in theory provide direction on some of the most pressing questions surrounding research such as, how important are our forests in Illinois, what is a high-quality forest for a bird, or where are they migrating through,” Ward explained.
It’s this type of technology that Escalante Vega said her cohort learned how to develop through the program.
“We made a lot of things,” Escalante Vega said. “For example, in the lab we made little transmitters that you can put in the backs of the birds to follow their journeys...and we learned every part of the equipment (used by Illinois researchers).”
Continuing the Research
Although the program ended in November, Ward said the research will continue in 2026.
In February, he will be sending one of his Ph.D. students to Oaxaca to move on with research and try to get a better sense of where certain types of birds occur.
“We have a good knowledge in the U.S. because of a lot of bird watchers and research, and there’s pretty good knowledge in Mexico but there’s still a lot of gaps,” Ward added. “So, we’re trying to fill those gaps so we know where things are at so we can think about conservation.”
Additionally, the program grad students will return to Mexico with the technology they learned how to make at Illinois.
“So, they’re going back down to Mexico with two devices that they can deploy down there, and they can put on the same transmitters that we put on birds to understand their movement, what they’re doing, and their behavior,” Ward said. “Ideally we’re going to have to keep working with them, but we can get them up to speed on how to make a lot of the technology that we make here in Illinois.”
Because they will be using the same technology, Ward explained that they will be able to compare results, which will help encourage future collaboration.
“These aren’t just Illinois conservation issues; these are world issues. We have to reach out and form these partnerships,” Ward said. “It’s been a great experience and hopefully we have some more students come back up here and have my students go back down.”
Applying for the Grant
Arlette Puente Puente was the first to find out about this COMEXUS program. She learned about it via a Facebook post and shared it with her cohort.
“I apply for a lot of grants and scholarships because I like to win things,” Arlette Puente Puente laughed.
Escalante Vega said when they were notified that they received the grant, it was a given that they would choose to study at Illinois.
After all, she had two cousins already attending Illinois, and she said it was exciting and a little unbelievable that she would have the opportunity to be so close to family.
For Arlette Puente Puente, it was a dream come true.
“I always went for my goals, regardless of how many years it took me,” Arlette Puente Puente said. “And one of my dreams was to study at this university.”
Their excitement was met with a little stress and worry though. The long wait to find out the next steps after being selected for the grant, and the idea of traveling to a new place were both a bit nerve wracking.
“Like, I remember thinking, ‘Is this real?’” Escalante Vega said.
In the end, Arlette Puente Puente and Escalante Vega have no regrets. They explained that they were happy they applied for the program, thankful for the opportunity, and if there was one thing they would tell other grad students like them, it would be to, “just do it.”
“Apply to every grant you find no matter how difficult it seems,” Arlette Puente Puente said. “Just do it because you never know. That’s how we got here. Of all the grants we applied to, we received one and it was this one.”
Illinois International would like to thank the organizations and offices that made this program possible:
Analicia Haynes is the storytelling and social media specialist at Illinois International. She can be reached at ahayn2@illinois.edu.