Fulbright scholar headed to Mexico to teach in 2010

Molly Porth, ’10, has accomplished nearly everything a student can at St. Joe’s. Her humble nature hardly speaks to the many accomplishments she has achieved during her four years as an undergraduate. Behind a soft-spoken demeanor brims a passion for social justice that takes Porth far from the familiarity of Hawk Hill.

As a double major in English and Spanish, Porth was recently awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in Mexico for a year.

Porth’s Fulbright award is just the latest in a collegiate career filled with accomplishments. A student in the university’s honors program, she was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honors society and the Jesuit honors society and is the recipient of the Spanish department’s top award. Porth won the Spirit-Intellect-Purpose award for student leadership and served as a manager for the men’s basketball team for four years. She was involved in the Harambee African Awareness group on campus and traveled to an orphanage in Kenya.

At a young age, Porth was exposed to Mexican culture when she and her siblings attended a summer camp that brought Mexican orphans to experience life in America. Her mother Mary Porth was always passionate about travel, having spent a semester in Mexico and a summer in Guatemala. Her father, Steve Porth, Ph.D., is associate dean of the Haub School of Business. Both St. Joe’s alumni, Steve and Mary Porth have encouraged their five children to appreciate and immerse themselves in other cultures.

“We grew up really appreciating our neighbor culture of Mexico,” Porth explained. “We would serve as host family to those kids [in the camp], so that’s when I began to learn about the Mexican culture and my interest in the people and the language developed. I think it’s interesting that we are neighbor countries but we know very little about the impact that we have on Mexico.”

In recent years Porth has also become involved in immigration issues. She took it upon herself to become educated about the immigration situation in Arizona after the recent passing of controversial state legislation and now feels especially compelled to go to Mexico. A pin on her bag reads “Can U Tell if I’m Illegal?” over a faded American flag.

“Our system is broken right now, and that’s an undeniable fact,” said Porth. “However, the steps that Arizona has taken are causing it to be more broken in my opinion. By mandating that law enforcement officials use their ‘reasonable suspicion’ to ask for papers is violating civil rights of all Americans.”

Porth said she is looking forward to teaching in Mexico and learning about the culture, but she also plans to use the time for personal discernment about what path to follow next. One option is to pursue an advanced degree in ethnology, a branch of sociology that studies cultures. The other is to attend law school and become an immigration lawyer—specifically for a pro bono organization.

“There are so many people out there who deserve representation but can’t afford it,” Porth explained. “Under our constitution, citizens are guaranteed an attorney by the state, but people who are here illegally aren’t given that.”

Porth attributes her passion for social justice to her family’s Jesuit education. She said she tends to side with the marginalized but tries to look at all political issues objectively. It’s about Jesuit ideas of solidarity, and living with and for others, she explained.

Currently, Porth is on a mission to restore the Summer Immersion Program’s plan to go Mexico, where her father is on board to be the group’s faculty facilitator.

“We found out two days ago that our risk manager thinks it’s too dangerous to go to Mexico at this time,” Porth said with more than a hint of disappointment after working the past twelve hours to get different opinions from other risk managers. “We’re trying to keep that trip on.”

“If we’re not allowed to go to Mexico,” Porth said, “we’re going to have to go San Diego.”