Borderlands learninG
cultural grounding
Student leadershiP
CURRENT WORK
Tequio Leadership Center is currently focused on three interconnected areas of work: hosting borderlands learning experiences for visiting student groups, creating Tequio Days for Mexicayotl K-8 students, and launching
the STX Ivy League Project.
Border Studies & Educational Immersion
For college, university, high school, and experiential education groups seeking meaningful borderlands learning through Hacienda Monarca, Mexicayotl Academy, and community-based exchange.
Tequio Days
For Mexicayotl K–8 students participating in place-based learning at Hacienda Monarca through culture, ecology, service, identity, and community.
STX Ivy League Project
The STX Ivy League Project is an authorized chapter of the California Ivy League Project founded by Martin Mares in Parlier, California. Through the Tequio Leadership Center, STX ILP prepares high-achieving and high-potential students and families for competitive university pathways.
Hacienda Monarca - A Living Classroom
Hacienda Monarca serves as Tequio Leadership Center’s retreat, gathering, and residential learning site. Visiting groups use the space for meals, reflection, dialogue, lodging, and community-building before and after engaging the wider borderlands.
Borderlands Learning that Travels
Visiting students do not simply observe the borderlands. They return home with new commitments, action plans, research, advocacy projects, public education efforts, art, and community engagement.
Mexicayotl Students as Hosts & Cultural Ambassadors
Through Tequio’s educational exchanges, Mexicayotl students help visiting groups understand culture, language, migration, family, identity, and the lived realities of the borderlands. These moments allow younger students to practice leadership while helping older students from across the country learn through direct dialogue.
STX Ivy League Project
The STX Ivy League Project is a selective college access and leadership development program preparing high-achieving and high-potential students for competitive university pathways. The program combines cultural grounding, parent training, profile development, passion projects, and selective university exposure.