By Amanda Alaniz

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – OCT. 20, 2025 – On what should have been an ordinary spring morning in May 2022 at Robb Elementary School, horror unfolded instead.

A gunman entered the school in Uvalde, Texas, and by day's end, the community was left shattered by one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

Most community members were touched by the tragedy in some way: 19 students and two teachers died, but forever will be remembered.

Uvalde native Madi Velasquez was in high school there when the shooting happened. Today, she is a UTRGV cheerleader living more than 250 miles away in the Rio Grande Valley. She promised herself early on that she would carry a reminder of her hometown with her every time she steps out to cheer – her way of honoring those who were lost. 

FIRST BIG GAME

Velasquez, now a UTRGV sophomore, was nervous and excited as the UTRGV Cheer Team geared up for its inaugural football game on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. The Vaqueros were opening their first-ever season to more than 12,000 fans at the Robert and Janet Vacakar Stadium in Edinburg. 

After hours upon hours of practice, after school and sometimes on weekends, Velasquez said, she was ready to make the first event memorable. The Vaqueros cheerleaders were going to be part of Valley history.

“Stepping onto that field, it was such a happy moment. I can’t explain it,” the psychology major said of that first game. “It just meant all my hard work, dedication, was put into that moment. I felt like crying on the field.”

Cheerleaders were sporting their UTRGV cheer uniforms. They were proudly and energetically brandishing the pompoms. And their high ponytails were secured with a hair bow.

But Velasquez had added one important component to complete her UTRGV cheer uniform – two bands wrapped around her white tennis shoes to fulfill her promise: One band was purple, with the words “Live Like Ellie.” The other band was maroon, and said “Uvalde Strong.”

TIES THAT BIND

The “Live Like Ellie” band was to honor Ellie Garcia, a Robb Elementary student who died in the shooting. Velasquez – who had learned from Ellie’s father, Steven Garcia, that his daughter had always dreamed of being a cheerleader – knew she wanted to honor Ellie in some way.

“Uvalde Strong,” she said, signifies her hometown, a signal to the Uvalde community that those lost will not be forgotten.

The first time she wore those bands, on the Vaqueros’ opening game night, was a moment she will never forget.

“Being able to make history, being able to bring Uvalde into that moment. Being from Uvalde, a really small town. And being able to say that I made it out here, I made it to the Division 1 level. Feeling all that is something no one can really explain,” she said.

The bands were important to her because of what they symbolize, so stepping onto that field for the first time was extremely meaningful for her personally, as well as for UTRGV and the Valley, she said.

“This was such a big moment – being the first game in history at UTRGV – and I wanted to involve Uvalde in that,” she said. “I had the honor of representing Ellie Garcia, whose dream was to be a cheerleader. I used that dream as an inspiration for me. I felt it was only right to honor her in that way.”

MAKING HOME PROUD

Before leaving Uvalde to come to UTRGV, Velasquez had reached out to Steven Garcia, writing, “It would mean a lot to represent Ellie and the 21 angels and carry her spirit and energy onto the sidelines with me.”

Garcia – in a social media post – said he wrote to Velasquez as she prepared for the first big game and told her she was making her hometown proud.

“As Madi got ready for her first major game she wrote me, ‘I hope I’m making everyone proud.’ My response was, ‘Girl, the day you said yes on commitment to this college, I can guarantee you made all of us proud,’” he wrote.

The reaction of the Uvalde community when they learned about Velasquez’s gift to represent Ellie and Uvalde was important, she said, and people were truly touched that she was able to represent Uvalde.

Going forward, Velasquez said, wearing the bands will become her own personal tradition. She promises she will slip them over her shoes at every event, ready to wave the orange and white Vaquero pompoms and rally the crowd, while honoring Uvalde and its memories.