Final Day: Adios, Borderlands!

 

Our final day started at the crack of dawn, as we woke up at 6:00 and arrived at the cafeteria (with some stragglers) for breakfast at 6:30. After our daily AMP session, we headed off to Terry's farm. 

Terry is a retiree who has started a farm that has donated over a million pounds of vegetables to organizations serving people with food insecurity. Picking and cleaning onions, we managed to harvest 1277 pounds in total!

Then, we departed to the Border Servants Corps facility for lunch, where we had a delicious Venezuelan-style meal with world-class plantains. Next, we headed to Milagro Coffee and had a mid-afternoon caffeine boost to keep us going. 

The highlight of the day was our conversation with Professor Nicholas Natividad at New Mexico State University. We had an open-ended, academic, and enlightening discussion, which contends for the best presentation for the week! His help on our research questions was also much appreciated.

To cap off a week of great food, we headed to Texas Roadhouse for a celebratory feast. The steaks were a hit, and we all left stuffed. 

Finally, in an end to our week, we had a candle ceremony to appreciate just how much we've grown over the trip. Sharing something we'll "leaf" behind, something that will "stick" with us, and the ultimate extinguishing of the candle was a great way to end a week of learning, bonding, and memories. 

Signing off from Las Cruces, New Mexico!

Austin, Finn, and David


Editor's note: Look forward to pickup tomorrow: AA 2860 scheduled to arrive SFO at 4:06 pm. See you there. Wednesday's class, 5/27, begins promptly at 11:00 am in Stent Hall ballroom.

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