Jaclyn Burgdorf
Author: Jaclyn Burgdorf | Major: International Business with Marketing Concentration | Semester: Spring 2023
Jaclyn Burgdorf, a Walton Honors International Business Marketing Concentration Major, and Spanish Minor, mentored by Dr. Rapert of the Marketing Department, in the Spring of 2023, researched the vicious cycle of the Mexican cartels, the United States and Mexico’s role in their reign, and their impact on immigration. This included an extensive literature review that was later compared to findings from interviews with Mexican and Columbian born immigrants currently living in the United States. Jaclyn completed her research and graduated from the University of Arkansas this past May but hopes to continue exploring the topic and working with Mexican born immigrants as she begins her Master of Clinical Social Work at the University of Houston starting this fall.
As a student in Walton honors, I was required to complete a thesis in order to graduate, but I knew I wanted to research a topic that was important to the world today and could be impactful for the future. As a Spanish minor and someone who grew up in Austin, Texas, where Mexican culture is very influential, I was increasingly curious about the current political climate of cartels and immigration at the border. This led me to dig more into why people immigrated and how cartels affected Mexican civilian lives. I wanted to interview people who had experienced cartels and immigration first-hand since I felt like the media didn’t explore the whole story and shared mostly politicians’ perspectives.
A mutual friend from my hometown recommended I reach out to Dr. Rapert about my thesis because she has a heart for travel, appreciating culture, and most of all, people. I am so grateful I did because Dr. Rapert was able to guide me on this journey and understood the different perspectives I wanted to incorporate in my thesis.
I knew that in order to create an unbiased and complete picture of Mexican cartels, I needed to understand their history and the reasons they have been able to rise a level of unchecked power. I researched the cartels’ decades of history, starting in Columbia, how they managed to take root in Mexico, the rise and fall of many different cartel organizations and their leaders, the War on Drugs in the United States, corruption in Mexican and American governments, the current state of cartels, and the financial, economic, political, and societal impact of their reign.
Even after gathering a comprehensive background, I thought it was crucial to interview people who grew up in Mexico, around cartels, and immigrated to the United States. My thesis mentor and other professors were able to recommend people and organizations I could ask to interview. Expectedly, as this is a sensitive and personal topic for many, I was only able to interview three people, one from Columbia, and two from Mexico. Despite a limited number of interviewees, I learned more in the several hours interviewing them then I have in my whole lifetime about life in Mexico and Columbia, cartels, American government corruption, immigration, and life in the United States from the perspective of an immigrant. My time interviewing them and the stories they graciously shared were invaluable to my research and my learning as an individual.
My research proved to me over and over again how important empathy and connection is to this lifetime. No matter how much information, data, or research read nothing can compare to what you learn when you take time to listen, understand, and connect with others. I learned so much from each person I interviewed, and my research would not be the same without them. It is heartbreaking to hear that these three incredibly intelligent, giving, and courageous people have experienced so much undeserved hate in this country. I will never be able to fully understand the depth of their experiences in growing up in fear of cartel violence, coming to America to pursue new opportunities, and being met with animosity. I hope that for anyone who reads my thesis they carry with them a little more empathy for people living in these situations and for people whose whole story you may not know. My research also proved that a lack of understanding leads to greed, hate, and violence, which do no good, add more fuel to the fire, and will never prevail.
I know that cartels, violence, drug-addiction, war, and hate won’t disappear anytime soon, but I do believe that if people, me included, are able to create more connections to each other, have more empathy, and love others even when we may not understand, we can leave the world better than we found it. When reading the news or scrolling through social media, I have noticed lots of hate, and I wanted my research to serve as a reminder to have more compassion for others, as it did for me.
In the fall I will be pursuing a masters in social work. I felt that going into social work was the best way to use my skills with the pursuit of loving and connecting with others. I am excited to continue my work on researching the impact of cartel violence and drug-addiction and learn how to best help and serve those who have experienced violence or hate as an immigrant while getting my masters in social work. I could not have completed my research without the help of my mentor, Dr. Rapert, the individuals who allowed me to interview them, and my grant from the Honors college. I am so thankful to everyone who has been a part of this journey with me and am forever appreciative for the opportunity I was given this past semester.