Family & Friends Travel Far and Wide to Celebrate Students at Welcome Week

August 7, 2018

Welcome Week is a family affair at Asbury University! Just ask incoming freshman Mauricio Vazquez ’22 who is spending the week before New Student Orientation settling into campus life with the help of 16 family members and friends from Mexico City, Mexico.

Vazquez is excited to begin taking classes for his Media Communication major this fall. His sister Nilem Monica Vazquez, who studied Equine Management at Asbury a few years prior, was among the family members and friends with Vazquez early Monday.

“[I chose Asbury] partly because my sister came here,” Vazquez said. “I actually got interested in the media career because I came to visit Nilem once. They showed me around the building, and I got to go into one of the classes (I believe it was Film Production). I really got interested and talked to the professor who was teaching the class. I started investigating it and found out that Asbury is actually one of the best universities that has this program.”

Vazquez also attended a convention in his hometown of Mexico City where the speaker encouraged him to study at the University.

“In Mexico, there was a media convention and he went there and the speaker told him that Asbury is the best school you can choose,” said Vazquez’s mother, Monica Martinez.

It may be surprising to some that a parent would want their child to attend college 2,000 miles away but for Martinez, sending Vazquez to Asbury was a no-brainer. She’s ecstatic that her son will get to build both a Christian foundation and a set of skills that will help him succeed in his future career. She also pointed out the need for more Christians in the film industry, so she is especially glad her son found a university that combines those elements.  

Vazquez’s 16 family members and church friends decided to make the 11-day trip to Wilmore to support Vazquez as he prepares to begin his college career at Asbury. The group arrived on Aug. 4 and will be returning to Mexico City on Aug. 15.

“[We are here with] some friends from our family church,” Martinez said. “They wanted to come here because they are his best friends. They wanted to come here and make it a special thing for him.”

Welcome Week begins on Aug. 14 and provides new students with the resources to enter successfully into Asbury’s community. We invite you to join us in praying for the Faithful Class of 2022 as students prepare to begin their first semester at Asbury.

Learn more about Welcome Week by visiting asbury.edu/welcome-week.