skip to main content
UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Main Menu
myUTRGV

You are here:

  • Home
  • Categories
  • alumni
THE NEWSROOM
  • Headlines
    • Community
    • Success
    • Research
    • Awards & Grants
    • Alumni
    • Health
  • In the News
  • About Us
  • Multimedia
    • Photos

Alumni

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

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.

Andrea Mota, a UTRGV 2021 alumna from Mission, Texas, began a fellowship with the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland in March, where she has been working in the lab focused on physiological, biochemical and molecular genetic events of recognition, and resolution of RNA/DNA hybrids. (UTRGV Photo by Paul Chouy)

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.

Dr. Patrick Ojeaga and colleague

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.

UTRGV Alumni Carlos Cantu

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 ...

  • UTRGV junior represents South Texas citrus industry as Queen Citrianna the 82nd

      Monday, March 04, 2019 — UTRGV student Alexandria Canchola has joined the ranks of Rio Grande Valley citrus royalty, reigning this year as Queen Citrianna the 82nd.

  • UTRGV alumna finds success mixing her two passions: marketing and fashion

      Thursday, February 21, 2019 — Picture this: Lights. Models on a catwalk. Photographers. Designers. Music. And a college professor, strutting in with a marketing strategy in hand and ready for a fashion show.

  • UTRGV alumna begins reign as Miss Fiesta San Antonio

      Friday, January 25, 2019 — UTRGV alumna and San Antonio native Victoria Gonzalez is more than ready for the responsibilities of being crowned Miss Fiesta San Antonio 2019.

  • UTRGV legacy alum’s storytelling curiosity builds popular local blog

      Wednesday, January 09, 2019 — Robert Lopez, a UTRGV legacy alum, classifies himself as a nine-to-five guy.

  • UTRGV alumna soars to success as member of world- famous Houston Rockets Power Dancers

      Monday, January 07, 2019 — When the Houston Rockets kicked off the season in October, Pharr native and UTRGV alumna Sarah Nicole Zepeda hit the court for the first time as a Rockets Power Dancer (RPD) for the NBA team.

  • Alumni pay tribute to former mentor through art exhibition

      Friday, January 04, 2019 — Former students of late UTRGV Art Professor Carlos G. Gomez, including a current UTRGV art instructor, came together in November to participate in an art exhibit in his memory.

  • UTRGV alumna dances into the future with world-famous Ballet Folklórico de México

      Thursday, January 03, 2019 — The coming New Year will mark the start of an exciting chapter in Jennifer Lozano’s life, when the UTRGV alumna joins one of the premier dance companies in the world – the Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández.

  • UTRGV legacy alum’s film career led him to ‘Westworld’

      Friday, September 28, 2018 — Ali Naqvi is a name you might not recognize. Not yet, anyway. Naqvi, a UTRGV legacy alumnus from Mission, has worked on movies and TV shows you’re probably familiar with. And he’s been in front of the camera a few times, ...

  • UTRGV alumna lands engineering job at the ‘Most Magical Place on Earth’

      Tuesday, September 18, 2018 — Sailyn Ortega always knew which career adventure she would pursue.

  • UTRGV alum receives Fulbright to study female micro-entrepreneurship in Nicaragua

      Thursday, June 14, 2018 — Dr. Michael Pisani, an alumnus of UTRGV legacy institution UT Pan American, has received the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to teach and study international business and entrepreneurship in Nicaragua.

  • UTRGV political science alumna awarded Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Spain

      Friday, May 18, 2018 — For Karina Guerrero, a UTRGV political science alumna, traveling abroad during her university years was a personal goal that never came to be. Then, shortly after her graduation from UTRGV in December, her dream came true.

  • UTRGV legacy alumnus pens, illustrates books on growing up in the Valley

      Friday, January 19, 2018 — Xavier Garza remembers the bedtime stories his mother would tell him before he drifted off to sleep as a child. Instead of traditional fairy tales filled with castles and magic, the stories were filled with lechuzas, la llorona and plenty of cucuys.

    Latest News

    • UTRGV School of Medicine

      UTRGV School of Medicine commended for its Graduate Medical Education Program

    • UTRGV Chess Team members compete at the 2023 ...

      Moving Forward: UTRGV Chess Team advances to Final Four

    • Pictured (left) are Las Huellas Association board ...

      Las Huellas Association creates endowed fund at UTRGV for student scholarships

    • UTRGV School of Medicine alumna Dr. Daniella Concha, is ...

      UTRGV School of Medicine alumna selected as fellow of Texas Heart Institute’s cardiology program

    More News

    Focus on

    Link to UTRGV Newsroom Success
    Link to UTRGV Newsroom Research
    Link to UTRGV Newsroom Community
    Link to UTRGV Newsroom Health Category
    Link to UTRGV Newsroom Awards & Grants Category
    Link to UTRGV Newsroom Alumni

    Connect

      Facebook

      Twitter

      Instagram

      Headlines Archive

      Subscribe

    Jump to Top
    UTRGV
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • CARES, CRRSAA and ARP Reporting
    • Site Policies
    • Contact UTRGV
    • Required Links
    • Fraud Reporting
    • Senate Bill 18 Reporting
    • UTRGV Careers
    • Clery Act Reports
    • Web Accessibility
    • Mental Health Resources
    • Sexual Misconduct Policy
    • Reporting Sexual Misconduct