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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 lifestyles within the student body and community, organize and promote events to encourage people to get involved in physical activity as well as maintain a healthy diet, support events hosted by other organizations promoting beneficial purposes, and provide opportunities for all club members to gain experience in the field.
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.
Like to dance? Then this is the student organization for you! This is a performing dance company open to all students, regardless of major or skill level. All that is needed is a love of folkloric dance and a desire to perform.
Club activities include practice sessions, performances, workshops and conferences, fundraisers, 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 his strong involvement both on and off campus in student life and the community set him apart and contributed to his return.
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 statewide 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 nonprofit organization in Houston, Texas.
During this 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 of Texas 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, “I am not sure if we have internships for health students, but here is the contact information for our new Public Health Department.”
Damaris reached out to the department’s director, Dr. Cynthia Gutierrez, who welcomed her enthusiastically. Being able to apply her knowledge of public and community health in real-world settings 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 graduating in May 2024, Damaris was hired full-time as the new Project Coordinator for the Public Health Department. She 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 development—all because she took the initiative to ask.
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), she will serve 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 become 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 provides information about the program and states that the camp offers opportunities to experience activities such as climbing walls, archery, canoeing, and more in a safe, supervised environment. Camp counselors are recruited annually and receive a stipend, meals, lodging, training, insurance, and optional internship credit. They lead, instruct, and supervise campers ages 8–14.
This experiential learning opportunity combines Bergeron’s major, minor, and personal experience as a former summer camp participant. Representing HHP, the College of Health Professions, and UTRGV in South Carolina from mid-May through early August, Bergeron shared that she is “excited to give kids the same amazing experiences I had as a child attending camp.”