For Dr. Leyra, CSUB is a major change of pace from what she’s been used to in Spain. Complutense University boasts more than 80,000 students and has over 15,000 faculty and staff. However, she said she enjoys the close-knit atmosphere of CSUB.
“Here, it’s smaller but it’s very nice, especially the identity you have with the Roadrunner. I think, in general, the American universities have stronger identities than Spanish universities do,” she said.
Dr. Leyra’s appreciation of CSUB’s Roadrunner mascot comes from her love of birds. Since coming to Bakersfield early this year, she has been able to go birdwatching at places such as the Wind Wolves Preserve.
While she has also taken some time to sightsee outside of Kern County, such as during a trip to Los Angeles, Dr. Leyra has garnered an appreciation for Bakersfield.
“A city like Bakersfield is really interesting to me,” she said. “It’s not like San Francisco and Los Angeles. This is the real USA — the oil, the agriculture. I like it very much.”
Dr. Leyra’s experience at CSUB turned out to be a different than she first imagined due to COVID-19. As CAFS has been operating fully virtual this school year, she hasn’t been able to have many on-campus interactions.
She had also wanted to visit some of the child development centers in the area as part of her research but has been unable to because of visitor restrictions due to COVID.
Despite some setbacks, however, Dr. Leyra said she has enjoyed being able to meet people at CSUB and across the state during her stay.
“This has been a great opportunity to connect, to collaborate,” she said. “Three months is not enough time. I wish I could stay longer.”
Dr. Correa said she believes visits from international educators are great opportunities for both CSUB students and faculty.
“It’s always good to learn from others. Sometimes innovative, creative thinking comes from seeing how things are done differently,” she said. “Not only do faculty benefit from having opportunities for collaborations, but it benefits our students when they have access to international folks because they can learn about how other campuses and programs work.”
Dr. Correa hopes visits such as Dr. Leyra’s will inspire other international educators to come to the university and that it will encourage CSUB faculty to consider conducting research in Spain.
“I’m hoping that we can have more people come from other countries, because there is a lot for individuals to explore and to learn about not only Bakersfield but California as well,” she said. “We want to build a network of international exchanges with this program.”
For more information about the CAFS program, visit csub.edu/cafs.