By Amanda Alaniz

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – DEC. 16, 2025 – The UTRGV Gulf Scholars Program announced in early December its inaugural cohort of 12 students.

UTRGV joined the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Gulf Research Program’s five-year, $12.7 million program last year to establish the Gulf Scholars Program.

The program, coordinated by the School of Interdisciplinary Programs and Community Engagement (SIPCE) and funded by NASEM, helps prepare students to be change agents who engage in participatory action to create a more sustainable, resilient and socially just Gulf region.

The first UTRGV cohort of Gulf Scholars are:

• Brooke Patula, junior, biology major.
• Danielle Barber, junior, biology major.
• Diana Rocha, junior, political science major.
• Ewuradwoa Nketiah, junior, information systems major.
• Jesus Hernandez, sophomore, integrated health science major.
• Joel B. Cuellar, sophomore, mechanical engineering major.
• Miranda M. Hernandez, sophomore, environmental science major.
• Natalee J. Roel, junior, biology major.
• Nicole Logan, junior, art education major.
• Olivia Silva, junior, marketing major.
• Rosa Aburto, sophomore, marketing major.
• Sebastian Flores, sophomore, biomedical sciences major.

The directors of the program are Dr. Marla Perez-Lugo, professor of sociology and coordinator of Food and Environmental Studies, and Maria Leonard, director of Social Impact and Sustainability at Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Fernanda Sosa serves as the program coordinator.

Scholars will benefit from:

• $1,500 scholarship.
• Opportunity to present at the Annual GSP Conference.
• Exploration of water, food and justice issues.
• Collaboration with a multidisciplinary team.

PREPARING AGENTS OF CHANGE

As a participant, UTRGV was tasked with developing a unique educational program consisting of courses, workshops and a major research or creative project in partnership with local or regional organizations centered on the Gulf of Mexico region.

Lugo said the program will be in place for about five years, with the goal of eventually creating a Gulf Studies minor. There will be a total of four cohorts, each consisting of 12 students, within the program.

“The program is an interdisciplinary program, a factor that makes it unique at UTRGV. It will involve strong photography and refined arts to the hard sciences and social sciences,” she said. “Also, it’s the only program based on a geographic region.”

The Gulf Scholars Program is a community-based and service-learning curricular programming focused on exploring the Food-Energy-Water Nexus. Through the framework, scholars study and address the environmental, sustainability and social justice issues in the Gulf region and examine the role that food, energy and water play in their own lives, families and communities.

Ten faculty members joined the program serving on the steering committee. Lugo said they wanted to bring on board faculty from different disciplines, as it is an inclusive program.

“We wanted to have faculty that represent all those areas of research and scholarship. We want our students to be able to identify what the main issues are and the main environmental problems are concerning food, energy and water,” she said.

As part of the program, students will be required to develop a Gulf Impact Project. Having different perspectives, Lugo and Leonard hope it’ll give scholars a wider scope of how to influence their projects.

Leonard mentioned students were already thinking of ways they could make positive impacts in their communities.

“I’m very interested in seeing what kind of projects they come up with after we expose them to the realities of the challenges that these organizations face, our region faces,” she said. “They see different perspectives from people who work with food, people who work with water issues. People who work in the county with emergency preparedness.”

The overall mission of the program is to create change agents with a holistic view and a participatory approach to the issues and problems affecting the communities.

The scholars will begin attending a workshop series “FEW in the Gulf of Mexico: Multi Trans and Interdisciplinary Approaches and Perspectives” in spring 2026.

To learn more about the Gulf Scholars Program, visit https://www.utrgv.edu/gsp.