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From the Editors

By Chris Fumagalli and Luisa Villegas

As an El Pasoan, I have been blessed with many opportunities El Paso Community College has offered me the past two years. I needed a strong foundation to build the confidence to follow through with each course. I found that with my peers, instructors and family.

Last year, I had the chance to write for Borderlands. Ms. Vise felt I understood the material that her classes had worked on so hard and I could condense them into feature stories capturing the essence of the life and history of El Paso. This year, Borderlands looks at El Paso during the 1800s, a time when El Paso went through tremendous changes.

I especially want to thank the students in Ms. Vise's classes for their hard work in making Borderlands a success. A big thanks to El Paso historian Leon Metz whose works are invaluable to our project and to artist Tom Lea for the use of two drawings. Thanks to the rest of the Borderlands staff -- Luisa, Danny and Gabriela -- for their dedication and Ms. Ruth Vise for believing in me.

Chris Fumagalli, Editor

When Ms. Vise asked me to be assistant editor for Borderlands, I was shocked but honored. At first I was a bit nervous, but as time progressed I developed confidence. The long hours of hard work helped me understand the long process of this student publication.

Editing 3112 English research papers and turning them into articles has been educational. The students' work demonstrates great effort, and I have learned much about the history of El Paso during the 1800s. This experience has increased my know1edge in the publishing field, and the long hours at the library and the computer have paid off.

I now appreciate the importance and responsibility of the student editors. We all had good and bad days, but I enjoyed every minute of the editing process. I thank my supportive husband Gabriel and little angels Celina and Danielle for putting up with my attitude and my absence from home. A million thanks go to Ms. Vise, for she has been a great role model for me. 

Luisa Villegas, Assistant Editor

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Borderlands is published annually by El Paso Community College, P.O. Box 20500, El Paso, TX 79998.

It is a collection of student written articles on the history & culture of the El Paso, Juárez, Las Cruces border region, comprising the states of Texas, New Mexico, and the Mexican state of Chihuahua.   This site was created with seed money from the Integrating Technical Contexts into Academic Courses (ITAC) Project, and maintained by the Northwest Community Library staff. 

Funds for the program were provided by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under the auspices of the federal Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998.  

Ruth Vise, English Professor and Borderlands Project Director, EPCC
Monica Wong, Website Project Coordinator, Head Librarian,  Northwest Community Library,  EPCC
Joe Old, Technical Consultant, ITAC Project
Mary Sarber,  Lorely Ambriz, and Library Staff.
Rachel Murphree, web weaver

Copyright  2001-2009 El Paso Community College.