03/22/2019
A farewell from the founder and former president of the Transfronterizx Alliance Student Organization,
Dear TASO Community,
It has been an honor to serve as founder and president of the Transfronterizx Alliance Student Organization these last four years. I have grown immensely with all of you, as a scholar, activist and individual; from implementing the participatory action research study that founded TASO in 2015 to formally serving as president since 2017. Together, through student-led grassroots initiatives, we have changed and reshaped the campus climate at San Diego State University for Transfronterizx students by creating awareness, inclusion and community for this student population.
Together we are more than a student organization, we are a movement towards social justice for Transfronterizx students along the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. This is evident in TASO’s forthcoming expansion through the efforts of student leaders who are working on becoming recognized student organizations by establishing TASO chapters at the University of California, Los Angeles and San Diego City College.
Although my term as TASO president has come to an end, my research and service for Transfronterizx students is a lifelong mission. This year, in collaboration with TASO, I have launched the Transborder Student Ally Program at SDSU, with the mission of raising awareness and providing education about the Transfronterizx student population on campus. Like in this initiative, I look forward to continuing to collaborate with TASO for many years to come.
Noteworthy is the labor of love, passion and dedication that many transfronterizx student members have invested in TASO throughout the years, making TASO both an institutionalized student organization and a student-led movement for the equity and inclusion of Transfronterizx students in higher education. I am proud for everything that we have accomplished and excited for TASO’s future.
I am also honored to pass on the leadership role of president to Andrea Morin who has been voted by TASO members to serve as president for the spring and fall, of 2019 and spring of 2020 academic years at SDSU. Please take a moment to welcome and congratulate her at taso.sdsu@gmail.
Sincerely,
Vannessa Falcón Orta
