By News and Internal Communications
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – The Perez triplets have shared every graduation since kindergarten. But their May 2018 commencement ceremony at UTRGV will probably be their last together.
Joshua, Zachary and Victoria – all biology majors from Edinburg – are graduating from UTRGV this spring. After that, each will take a separate path.
As students at Robert Vela High School, all three were in orchestra, and it was no secret they were triplets even though they’re not identical. And at the university, it’s unusual for professors to pick up on the fact that they’re even related because they don’t look at all alike.
Throughout college, they often had classes together, or they would take one class a semester before or after one of the siblings. Sharing books and notes from previous classes and studying together was the norm. In fact, Zachary and Victoria Perez were lab partners for the better part of two years.
“I’m not saying we did three months of homework in one day,” Zachary quipped, “but we did three months of homework in one day.”
Apparently, two (or three) minds are better than one for cramming.
In the fall, Zachary is pursuing a master’s degree in biology at UTRGV. After that, he has his eyes on medical school.
Victoria will be pursuing a master’s in manufacturing engineering at UTRGV. She hopes to one day develop technology that helps people with certain medical conditions.
“I want to help people, but I don’t want to work with them directly,” she said.
Zachary, on the other hand, said he doesn’t mind working with people.
Joshua will attend the UT-Austin College of Pharmacy in the fall. It will be the first time he leaves their native Edinburg, and the first time he seeks an educational endeavor without his two siblings by his side.
“As triplets living in the same city, you’re never really alone,” Joshua said. “At UTRGV, we always have our siblings to talk to at the end of the day. I’m going to miss that.”
UTRGV CEREMONIES
Spring Commencement ceremonies will be held 6 p.m. Friday, May 11,on the Student Union Lawn on the Brownsville Campus; and in three ceremonies on Saturday, May 12 – 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. – at the McAllen Convention Center.
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.
