EDINBURG, TEXAS – The UTRGV School of Nursing on May 23 welcomed eight students from the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District who are prospective UTRGV nursing students.

The students were enrolled in the Project HEAL² (Health Education and Leadership for All), a program operated by the Region One Education Service Center that provides high school students interested in a nursing career with educational opportunities and experiences to kick start their career.

Students who successfully complete Project HEAL² can graduate with an associate degree in nursing from South Texas College, in addition to their high school diploma.

UTRGV joined the endeavor in March 2018 to offer students who completed the program a pathway to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

The PSJA students have been accepted into the nursing program, contingent upon their completion of a few additional classes before they begin the BSN program, and maintenance of a grade point average higher than 3.5.

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.