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Student Organizations
The purpose of this organization is to make a change in our community by accomplishing the following goals: Promote healthy life styles within the student body and community,. organizing and promoting events to encourage people to get involved in physical activity as well as maintaining a healthy diet, supporting events hosted by other organizations persuading beneficial purposes, and providing opportunities for gaining experience in the field to all members of the club.
The Health and Kinesiology Club was formed to serve as a link between students both in and interested in the Health and Kinesiology major; and to organize and attend events of interest to us.
Like to dance? Then this is the student organization for you! This is a performing dance company that is open to all students, whatever their major, whatever their skill level. All that is needed is a love of the Folkloric dance and a desire to perform it.
Club activities include practice sessions, performances, workshops/conferences, fund-raisers, meetings, and other related activities. Past activities have included trips to Jalapa Veracruz, Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona.
Contact Dr. Zelma Mata, the director, at 956-882-8291 for more information.
Student Success Stories
Dylan is proudly representing UTRGV and the College of Health Professions through the Disney College Program as a repeat Cast Member this Fall 2024. The Disney College Program accepts only 20% of applicants worldwide and Dylan believes it is his heavy involvement both on and off campus in student life and the community that set him apart and why he was welcomed back. As a Senior Health Major and in his role at one of Disney Orlando’s resorts, Dylan recognized a need to create a Cast Member Health Advisory Committee. He now helps oversee this committee which ensures the health of cast members and implements additional safety protocols. Proud of you Dylan!
Saul was one of four hundred selected state-wide for The Gaining Equity in Training for Public Health Informatics and Technology (GET PHIT) internship program and one of only eleven representing UTRGV at the annual GET PHIT Summit. As a Health major, during his internship, Saul was placed with CHAT (Culture of Health-Advancing Together) a non-profit in Houston, Texas. It was during that time he conducted a systematic literature review study on cancer screenings of refugees in Houston. He presented a poster on this literature review at the summit. UTRGV is part of The GET PHIT consortium led by The University Texas of Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health (SPH) and the School of Biomedical Informatics (SBMI). Congratulations, Saul, you do us proud!
Taking a deep breath and unsure where this would go, Damaris walked into the City of Pharr’s Human Resources Office to inquire about an internship…an internship for a Health major. The staff looked unsure and responded with “I am not sure if we have internships for Health students, but here is the contact info for our new Public Health Department.” Damaris reached out to the new department’s Director, Dr. Cynthia Gutierrez, and she excitedly swooped Damaris up. Being able to put her current knowledge of public and community health into action was exactly what the City of Pharr allowed her to do. Damaris attended City Commissioner meetings, and health fairs, and assisted with after-school programs. After graduation in May 2024, Damaris was hired full-time as the new Project Coordinator for the Public Health Department and is currently overseeing the development of new schoolyard forestry outdoor learning spaces for two PSJA schools. A formal process for student internships is now in the works. All of this because she walked in one day and asked.
Health and Human Performance (HHP) sophomore and future athletic trainer, Alyssa Bergeron, was recently selected for Clemson University’s Youth Learning Institute’s 2024 4-H Summer Camp. As the lone student recipient from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), her accepted role will be as a 4-H Summer Camp Counselor at Camp Long in Aiken, South Carolina.
Bergeron is a kinesiology major with a concentration in athletic training, and a minor in psychology. After graduating from UTRGV, she plans to return to her hometown of Houston to be an athletic trainer at her alma mater high school. Her ultimate goal is to become an athletic trainer for the National Women’s Soccer League.
Clemson University’s Youth Learning Institute’s 4-H Summer Camp website Click Here states that their summer camp provides an opportunity to experience new and exciting activities; including climbing wall, archery, canoeing, and many others offered in a safe, supervised environment where campers can explore new areas of interest with encouragement from trained counselors and staff. Camp Counselors are recruited each year and receive a paid stipend, meals, lodging, training, an insurance plan, and internship credit if desired. They will lead, instruct, and supervise campers in all areas of summer camp programming and will be working with youth ranging in age from 8-14.
This unique experiential learning opportunity will combine Bergeron’s major, minor, and personal experience as a former summer camp camper. Representing, HHP, College of Health Professions, and UTRGV in South Carolina from mid-May through early August, Bergeron is “excited to be able to give kids the same amazing experiences I had as a kid attending camp.”