Monday, May 14, 2018
Around Campus, Awards and Recognitions
By Marci Caltabiano-Ponce
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – MAY 14, 2018 – No matter the semester, UTRGV commencement ceremonies are colorful, high-energy events with lots of happy tears, cheers of support and heartfelt family embraces.
One increasingly popular way to express that joy is with creative messages on the mortarboard – the flat, black graduation cap with the tassel. The mortarboard on its own speaks to the wearer’s scholastic accomplishment. But many UTRGV students about to graduate like making a bolder statement by decorating their caps with special, personal messages.
Some are funny, religious, even political, while others are extravagant 3-D confections. Most are poignant and speak to the graduates’ struggles and their gratitude to family.
The graduation caps in these photo galleries were part of UTRGV’s 2018 Spring Commencement ceremonies, held May 11-12 on the Brownsville Campus and at the McAllen Convention Center.
The tradition of adorning the caps was initiated by the Office of Student Involvement as a way for students to offer their final goodbyes and signal their new beginnings.
UTRGV GRAD CAPS - PHOTO GALLERIES
CAPS - UTRGV COMMENCEMENT – McALLEN - by Paul Chouy and Silver Salas
Password: gradcaps (case sensitive)
CAPS - UTRGV COMMENCEMENT – BROWNSVILLE - by David Pike
Password: grad (case sensitive)
MORE UTRGV MAY 2018 COMMENCEMENT IMAGESIn case you weren’t able to attend this year’s spring commencement, here are some additional images – video and still photography – that captured Vaquero Pride.
UTRGV COMMENCEMENT VIDEOS
McAllen Ceremonies - by Amanda Taylor and Amanda Alaniz
Brownsville Ceremony - by Maria Elena Hernandez
UTRGV COMMENCEMENT PHOTO GALLERIES
McAllen Ceremonies - by Paul Chouy and Silver Salas
Password: foreverorange (case sensitive)
Brownsville Ceremonies - by David Pike
Password: grad (case sensitive)
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.