The South Texan
Thursday, February 20, 2020 Volume 94, Issue 16 TheSouthTexan.com
The Award-Winning Texas A&M University-Kingsville Student Publication
Dr. Hennessey
Sonic
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Jim Carrey shines in latest video gamebased movie
TAMUK Advisor wins regional award
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Cancer is not her defining tune Get taxes Benefit concert for done at Dr. Fronckowiak to be held Feb. 21 TAMUK ARYSSA ENRIQUEZ Managing Editor
A performer at heart and a battle scarred warrior, Dr. Ann Fronckowiak is battling cancer for the second time. Musicians from all over the nation will gather at Rosch Recital Hall in New York to honor Fronckowiak during a benefit/celebration concert at 8pm on Feb. 21. Fronckowiak is an Associate Professor of music at Texas A&M Kingsville. While growing up in New York, Fronckowiak was always surrounded by music. Her mother plays the guitar, piano and is actively involved in the church choir while her father played the accordion. At the young age of 10, Fronckowiak found her calling and knew she wanted to be a performer. Fronckowiak attended State Uni-
versity of New York at Fredonia, Ohio State University where she earned her doctoral degree and studied at the Manhattan School of Music. In 2010 Fronckowiak took the opportunity to join Javelina nation and immediately began impacting the music department and her students. When Fronckowiak first arrived at TAMUK, she only had one oboe student, Amanda Perea. Perea pursued music education and is now teaching
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Dr. Fronckowiak
in Edinburg, Texas. During Perea’s undergrad years she recalls the intensive practices and the persistence to keep on thriving. “Dr. Fronckowiak inspired me to be a better performer and educator,” Perea TAMUK alumnus, said. “It wasn’t until she became a professor at TAMUK that I became a ‘serious’ oboe player. I finally had someone to look up to and to go to for help. She always made time for me whenever I needed it whether it was oboe related or just needing someone to talk to. I also loved how high her standards were for me. It taught me to expect more from myself because I could achieve it if I worked hard enough. I carry that into my teaching with my own students today.” However, in 2014 Fronckowiak’s life would take an unexpected turn. “I was first diagnosed with breast cancer when I was living here in 2014, at the time I needed chemotherapy infusion , surgery radiation… In august I decided to have some scans done in M.D. Anderson and realized that my
out and I saw tables there and there were people playing. They were really good. I’m like ‘Can I try?’ I beat three people and they said ‘we have a team, can you join us?’” Abdullah said. For Abdullah, playing table tennis has been a big part of his life. It has
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Champion player Hamad learn life lessons from table tennis ILIANA FLORES Editor-in-Chief
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Hamad Abdullah in 2012 at Arabic Championship Tournament Austria, Dubai and the World Championship in Egypt. At 17, Abdullah came to the United States on an academic scholarship from Kuwait. He studied at Arizona State University. It was there that he was introduced to the table tennis college circuit in a bit of an unconventional way. “Actually, I went to the gym to work
ARYSSA ENRIQUEZ Managing Editor
While tax season can be stressful, Texas A&M-Kingsville business students are doing their part to help the community alleviate some stress. For years, students have been collecting paperwork, crunching numbers and filing taxes through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Each year the College of Business Administration encourages students to file their taxes, and participate in VITA. VITA enables students to implement skills learned in the classroom, while being able to give back to the community. “The students and faculty of the College of Business Administration were motivated to join the VITA program because we feel strongly about fulfilling our mission to provide experiential learning for our students and community service to the area. VITA is a perfect way to fulfill our vision of positively impacting society,” Genevieve Scalan, VITA site manager, said. While for some students filing someone’s taxes can be intimidating, many students jump at the opportunity. VITA provides a platform for students to gain valuable experience that can help them develop their resume and in future careers. “I feel it is important because we both benefit from the process,” Cyan Chavez, accounting major, said. “We help them file their taxes when they might not be able to do it on their own or they might not be able to afford to go somewhere else. In return, they help us with gaining relevant experience and communication skills.” This year is the first time a VITA site is held on campus. Students and volunteers will now be able to assist the community at two different locations including Texas A&M-Kingsville. Taxpayers can seek help Monday and Tuesday in Room 107 of the College Administration Building through April 14. from 4 to 8p.m.
Ping ponging across the globe
We all know the dreaded first day of class icebreaker introduction. You know, the one where the teacher asks, “what is something interesting about you?” Most people anxiously wait for their turn to answer and try to think of something that makes them unique, but for Hamad Abdullah this answer comes easy as he is a champion table tennis player. In Abdullah’s family, playing table tennis runs in their blood. Abdullah’s father, uncles and sisters all played table tennis and Abdullah’s father even played for the Kuwait National Table Tennis team. At the young age of five, Abdullah began following in his father’s footsteps and began his table tennis training. Just four year later, Abdullah became the youngest player on the Kuwait National Table Tennis team at nine years old. By 10 years old, he was competing internationally in countries like China,
Students help community members submit taxes