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Alumni

Suit Up for Success: UTRGV Career Closet is back and better than ever

Suit Up for Success: UTRGV Career Closet is back and better than ever

  Wednesday, April 23, 2025
The UTRGV Career Closet offers free professional clothing for headshots, interviews, and career events to current students and alumni. Director Kamara Jackson noted that it helps eliminate economic barriers and empowers students during employer ...

UTRGV Alumnus David Ceron is celebrating his book – "The Adventures of Exo and Cy" – being available at Barnes and Noble and is thrilled about expanding his Fit-lit program into local schools. (Courtesy Photo)

UTRGV alumnus combats childhood obesity through innovative literacy project

  Tuesday, February 04, 2025
UTRGV alumnus David Ceron, writing under the pen name David Norec, is thrilled to see his book, ‘‘The Adventures of Exo and Cy,” available at Barnes & Noble and other retailers. More importantly, he’s excited that ...

UTRGV

UTRGV alum researching Valley’s thornforest ecosystem awarded national research fellowship

  Thursday, August 08, 2024
Gisel Garza, a UTRGV alumna, graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology degree and in 2021 with a Master of Science in Biology degree, was recently awarded the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship.

UTRGV alum Karla Salinas

TV lifestyle host, UTRGV alum shares degree path to unexpected, fulfilling career

  Thursday, June 27, 2024
As a television lifestyle show host, UTRGV alum Karla Salinas’s workdays vary. Some days, she’ll head to the KRGV Channel 5 studio in Weslaco to review her weekend story package. Other days, she’s out on location to prepare for ...


  • UTRGV's EdD program builds education leaders

      Tuesday, May 07, 2024 — Seven Valley superintendents – all alumni of the UTRGV Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership program – are creating opportunities for children to follow and achieve their dreams. They have more than 75 years of combined ...

  • UTRGV alum serves up tacos – and advice – for future Vaqueros

      Wednesday, April 24, 2024 — Jorge Medina, a UTRGV alumnus, starts his day at 6:30 a.m., teaching students about graphic design at the IDEA Public School in Mission. Once the bell rings, though, he makes his way to Alton to open his family-operated food truck, Tacos "El ...

  • UTRGV theater alumna thanks university for helping her grow, opening her own acting studio

      Friday, March 01, 2024 — Maria Alvarado, a UTRGV theater performance graduate from Edinburg and now a local business owner, grew up with a passion for acting.

  • UTRGV alum and educator thanks university for her self-confidence, professional skills in the classroom

      Wednesday, January 31, 2024 — UTRGV alumna Raquel Perez, from Edinburg, has been a fourth-grade educator for more than five years at Blanca E. Sanchez Elementary School in the McAllen Independent School District.

  • A Case of Susto

      Wednesday, October 25, 2023 — The Rio Grande Valley, with close proximity to Mexico, harbors a wealth of popular, culture-specific superstitions and folklore.

  • UTRGV among Top 10 contributors of alumni to newest Teach For America corps

      Wednesday, October 25, 2023 — Teach For America (TFA) has released a list of colleges and universities that are contributing the greatest number of alumni to its teaching corps. UTRGV is among the Top 10 large schools contributing the greatest number of alumni to the TFA ...

  • UTRGV alum honors his roots dancing at world-renowned Ballet Folklórico de México

      Wednesday, September 27, 2023 — Raul Passamentt Jr., a 2022 UTRGV graduate, is living his best life in Mexico City, pursuing his dance career as a company member of the renowned Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández.

  • UTRGV lecturer named to National Association of Social Workers

      Friday, September 08, 2023 — Astrid Gandaria, LMSW, a lecturer at the UTRGV School of Social Work, has been elected as the Region 11 representative to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), Texas Chapter. NASW Region 11 consists of 19 ...

  • UTRGV alum set to lead Mexico into FIBA Basketball World Cup

      Thursday, August 10, 2023 — UTRGV legacy alum Paul Stoll is preparing to lead the Mexican National Team into the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

  • Business owner, nurse, UTRGV alumna works to uplift community

      Tuesday, February 28, 2023 — Dr. Esther Akindayomi, a UTRGV MBA alumna and local business owner, admits she tends to overbook herself.

  • UTRGV alum trailblazer, innovator in Black hair care

      Monday, February 27, 2023 — Mecia Duru, a UTRGV alumna who graduated with a degree in Mass Communications in 2018, became the change she wanted to see in her community by helping bridge the gaps in Black hair care disparities.

  • UTRGV mechanical engineering alumna paints own path to success

      Friday, February 24, 2023 — Opportunities increasingly are on the rise for women in the historically male-dominated field of engineering – thanks to determined women like UTRGV alumna Laura Escobar.

  • Breaking down barriers UTRGV alum becomes ‘Blended Learning’ trailblazer for Harlingen school district

      Tuesday, October 04, 2022 — Educator’s often help change lives, push boundaries and create positive changes in the community. UTRGV alumna and Harlingen educator Dr. Jessica Hruska works to do all that, and more.

  • UTRGV MSA alum participating in two-year National Institutes of Health fellowship

      Thursday, July 28, 2022 — An alum from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is making the most of a gap year.

  • Former UTRGV medical school graduate, Valley native, reflects on learning experiences

      Tuesday, May 17, 2022 — Just one year ago, Dr. Patrick Ojeaga was a medical student at the UTRGV School of Medicine, anxiously waiting to know what residency program he would match.

  • Alum shares how UTRGV helped shape his career path

      Thursday, May 05, 2022 — Carlos Cantu, a UTRGV engineering alum and native of Rio Bravo, Tamps., Mexico, who grew up in McAllen, said the UTRGV College of Engineering and Computer Science influenced his career and helped shape the person he is today.

  • UTRGV legacy alumna receives Humanities Texas Outstanding Teaching Award

      Wednesday, February 02, 2022 — UTRGV legacy alumna Cynthia Rios, who has taught English Language Arts at Faulk Middle School in Brownsville since 2018, has been named a 2021 Humanities Texas Outstanding Teaching Awardee.

  • ‘It felt like I was coming home’ UTRGV legacy alumna joins RCVCOBE’s marketing faculty

      Friday, January 28, 2022 — While she was teaching from coast-to-coast, Sunaina Chugani Marquez, Ph.D., now an assistant professor of marketing in UTRGV’s Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, picked up a range of lessons to integrate into her ...

  • Burkhart Estate gifts $1 million to UTRGV for endowed academic scholarships

      Wednesday, October 13, 2021 — UTRGV has announced $1 million in endowed academic scholarships bequeathed by the Burkhart family.

  • Creative Roots:

      Wednesday, September 01, 2021 — Bold blocks of color fill in most of an outline of artist Alejandro “Alex” Macias.

  • ‘The Valley has never left me’

      Friday, May 21, 2021 — Growing up in the sunbaked Rio Grande Valley left a lasting impression for legacy institution alumnus Esteban Rodriguez, who graduated with his MFA in Creative Writing from UTPA in 2013.

  • What’s Brewing, UTRGV?

      Thursday, May 20, 2021 — The owners of Reserva Coffee Roasters started a new chapter for the small business when they opened their doors at the UTRGV School of Medicine’s Team-Based Learning Center in Edinburg this week.

  • UTRGV Legacy alumna named to Biden’s Education Transition Team

      Wednesday, November 18, 2020 — Norma V. Cantú has a big heart for doing what is right. Those who know her describe her as brave, and a stellar public servant.

  • UTRGV participates in National Alumni Career Mobility Survey

      Friday, November 13, 2020 — UTRGV has partnered with the Career Leadership Collective, a higher education solutions group, to conduct a national online survey of alumni that will collect data about their career pathways.

  • UTRGV MFA alum is finalist in AXA Art Prize

      Tuesday, November 03, 2020 — UTRGV alumna Josie Del Castillo is among the 40 finalists chosen in the annual AXA Art Prize, a prestigious student art exhibition hosted by the New York Academy of Art in New York City.

  • UTRGV legacy alumna Sister Norma Pimentel named in Time 100 Most Influential People

      Friday, September 25, 2020 — UTRGV Distinguished Alumni Sister Norma Pimentel has been named to the Time 100 Most Influential People.

  • Legacy alum Dr. Lyssa Ochoa calls on regional health experiences to help battle COVID-19

      Thursday, August 27, 2020 — The threat of COVID-19 continues to grow in Texas, and while everyone should practice utmost safety, people who have underlying conditions have to be even more careful because they can face more dire complications if infected.

  • UTRGV alumna focuses on bringing virtual read-alongs to kids

      Wednesday, June 17, 2020 — Dariela Rodriguez, now a UTRGV alumna who graduated this past May, has created a YouTube channel called Glittery Lápices, dedicated to read-alouds.

  • UTRGV BMED alumni helping current students during pandemic

      Thursday, April 16, 2020 — Hector Filizola, a 2017 UTRGV graduate and one of Dr. Hugo Rodriguez’s former students in the UTRGV BMED Program, is in his second year of medical school at UT Southwestern in Dallas.

  • New role, consistent game plan: UTRGV’s new police chief aims to focus on community policing

      Wednesday, March 11, 2020 — The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Police Department recently named UTRGV Police Assistant Chief Adan Cruz as their new chief of police, following former chief Raul Munguia’s retirement.

  • Award-winning wildlife filmmaker and UTRGV legacy alum says his time in the Valley was ‘life-changing’

      Thursday, January 02, 2020 — A last-minute change on a project turned into the start of an award-winning film career for Sandesh Kadur.

  • Rio Grande Valley culture inspires legacy alum’s first novel

      Friday, December 27, 2019 — Experts say to write about what you know. So Rubén Degollado has done just that. Degollado, an alumnus of UTRGV legacy institution UT Pan American, released his first book, Throw, a novel, in February 2019. It’s the Rio Grande ...

  • UTRGV alum grills up successful food truck

      Monday, December 23, 2019 — “Qweenie hot dogs are savage - not average.” The catchphrase covers the top of a bright pink-and-black colored food truck, covered with crowns and alien-like characters journeying to “the unknown” with Qweenie. And the ...

  • UTRGV alum says NFL internship with Tennessee Titans led him to career as Palmview HS athletic trainer

      Wednesday, December 18, 2019 — For UTRGV alumnus Edwin Gomez – now an athletic trainer for his alma mater, Palmview High School – a coveted college internship with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans turned into the catalyst for a dream career.

  • Business vision inspires UTRGV alums to open Main Street Deli in Brownsville

      Thursday, September 26, 2019 — A year ago, UTRGV alums Hector Zavala and his fiancée, Diana Medina, saw an opportunity

  • DreamScapes art exhibit now on view at UTRGV PAC lobby

      Tuesday, September 10, 2019 — The UTRGV Office of Public Art is hosting a new art exhibit at the UTRGV Performing Arts Complex Lobby on the Edinburg Campus called DreamScapes, a posthumous celebration of the lives and talents of a family of area artists – Maxine ...

  • UTRGV Ballet Folklórico welcomes new Ballet Folklórico Alumni company

      Wednesday, August 28, 2019 — Sara Sanchez, a UTRGV legacy alumna and high school folklórico instructor, recently ran into some of her former students on their way to dance rehearsal with UTRGV’s Ballet Folklórico.

  • A New Beginning: UTRGV dance alum going pro in the Big Apple

      Friday, August 09, 2019 — UTRGV Dance Program alumnus Erick Perales is off to the Big Apple to begin his professional dance career.

  • Eye of the be(er)holder

      Wednesday, July 17, 2019 — It’s not about the type of beer that fills your glass; it’s all about the process. Just ask Steve Padilla.

  • UTRGV alum says music education is a way to hit life’s high notes

      Thursday, July 11, 2019 — Mathew Campbell, a UTRGV alumni, has transformed music from a creative hobby to a lifelong passion and career.

  • From Valley stage to an international one

      Thursday, June 20, 2019 — UTRGV School of Music alumnus Clyde Guerra this year found himself living out one of his dreams – getting to showcase his talent on television.

  • Three outstanding community leaders recognized as UTRGV 2019 Distinguished Alumni

      Thursday, May 23, 2019 — UTRGV recently hosted its annual Distinguished Alumni Awards, the highest honor an alumnus of UTRGV or one of its legacy institutions can receive.

  • UTRGV legacy alumna says business degree helps provide skills for running her flamenco dance company

      Friday, May 17, 2019 — UTRGV legacy alumna Mercy Renteria’s love for dance began when she was just 3 years old. She earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from UTPA, recognizing that even a dancer would need business sense. Now a ...

  • DRAMA QUEEN

      Monday, April 15, 2019 — Many people are afraid of being on stage.

  • You’ve Got Email

      Monday, April 01, 2019 — All UTRGV legacy alumna and teacher Margaret Medina-Olivarez wanted was a picture of her elementary school students in university T-shirts.

  • UTRGV legacy alumna recognized with Milken Award for teaching excellence

      Friday, March 08, 2019 — Krystal Contreras, a fourth-grade teacher in San Benito and an alumna of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, has received Texas’ Milken Educator Award for the 2018-2019 academic year. She is the sole recipient in the state and first ...

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