Aiden Blankenship

Name: Aiden Blankenship
Age: 23
Major: Bachelor’s in Music Education
Class: Senior
College: College of Fine Arts
Hometown: Austin, TX
High School: Manor New Tech High School, Manor, TX 

Why UTRGV?
I chose UTRGV because I liked the sense of community I felt compared to other universities I applied to and auditioned at. Here, I feel part of something closer-knit. Unlike other Texas universities, the Edinburg campus is all in one place—I don’t have to walk across a city to find my next class. That gives me more opportunities to explore campus and meet new people as I pass them.

What made you decide on your current major?
I did band throughout middle school and high school, and after graduation I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I spent some time at Austin Community College to figure it out, and the one constant in my life was music. I worked as a substitute teacher at a middle school and helped with marching bands in the area. It all clicked when I learned that ACC offered music as a major, and I decided on music education. I loved what I was doing and wanted to share that love with others—to teach the next generation of musicians.

What do you hope to achieve beyond completion of your major?
I want to teach music, specifically percussion, at the high school level. I want to be a teacher who loves what they do and inspires students with passion. Music is a beautiful art form with many ways to enjoy and understand it, and I want to open that world to my students.

What do you like most about UTRGV?
What I love most about UTRGV is the sense of community and the culture. The campus is smaller, which makes it easier to get around and gives you chances to meet new people and make friends. Specifically in the music department, it’s easy to meet everyone, get to know them, build connections, and develop friendships that will last beyond graduation.

What does being a Vaquero mean to you?
What makes me proud to be a Vaquero is seeing the community rally together for things we are passionate about—from campus events to our very first football game. Seeing the student body and community come together, united and cheering for the same cause, is powerful. It makes us one big unit of passion.

What advice do you have for fellow students pursuing their degrees?
My advice for fellow students is to keep going. School gets hard, and sometimes it may feel easy to give up, but pushing through is worth it. There are countless resources available to you as students—take advantage of them and keep moving forward. There will always be someone here to help you get to where you want to be. You made it to college—now finish it out.