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Vol. 95, Issue 24
Two faculty selected for USDA Fellowship Bhandari, Vela amongst 25 in the nation Gabriella Mastroianni
| Entertainment Editor
entertainment.editor@thesouthtexan.com
Photo Courtesy of MARCOM
(L-R) Matthew Almaraz, Yara Green-Jordan, Cynthia Vidaurri, Iris Rivera, Dr. Aniruddha Mukhopadhyay and Mr. Marco Iniguez at the reception in the Connor Museum on June 30.
Smithsonian Experience Students land internship with Smithsonian
Aryssa Enriquez | Editor-in-Chief chief.editor@thesouthtexan.com
Despite circumstances, three students pushed through difficult times and earned an internship with the world’s largest museum education and research complex, the Smithsonian. Distinguished alumnus Cynthia Vidaurri, who works for the Smithsonian, reached out to her alma matter in search for interns. “This past Spring, she [Vidaurri] offered us an opportunity to identify students to do a virtual internship. She asked for two students and I gave her three names, and she was able to get all three accepted. They are like the inaugural group of our interns and they are doing it virtually. Our hope is to be able to create funding so that we can actually send students there to do their internship,” Dean of College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Dolores Guerrero
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In case you missed it Febuary freeze damage to be fixed by fall 2022. The low temperatures that caught everyone by surprise in mid-February has left a lasting impact on The School of Music.
said. Matthew Almaraz, Yara Green-Jordan and Evan Hernandez began their internship with the Smithsonian in June and will conclude in August. President Mark Hussey hosted a reception at the Connor Museum Tuesday, June 30, welcoming Vidaurri to campus and offering an opportunity for interns to meet with Vidaurri. “This experience impacts my education as a student by providing me the opportunity to get better at doing research. I’ve done a good amount of research on the indigenous peoples of Latin America and as a result I feel that I have learned many interesting things about them. This experience is also opening my eyes to the many different career paths that I can decide to pursue after I graduate,” History major Almaraz said. Students are working alongside Vidaurri on a campus project involving the merger of The South Texas Archives and the Connor Museum. “I think that the goal of merging the two
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Dolores Guerrero
programs is a fantastic idea that is ambitious but achievable. If we all work together and make it a success, I believe that the end result will be something special,” Almaraz said. “This project is really important to me because as a LatinX person, I rarely see representation for my culture. We’re striving to be well rounded and offer what we can. This project has taught me a lot about my culture, and I look forward to being able to reach out other LatinX and Indegionous people through this project,” Art major Hernandez said.
Although the project with Texas A&M University-Kingsville and the Smithsonian is a work in progress, students have gained valuable experience through this partnership. “Working with the Smithsonian on this project has been a great opportunity and experience. The Smithsonian is a highly respected institution and it has been an honor to be able to work with them. “I have met some amazing people that work there and I am fortunate to have their guidance and mentorship,” Almaraz said.
Two Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s (TAMUK) faculty members were selected amongst the top 25 in the nation for the fellowship of the 2021 E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program. The fellows were selected by the United Dr. AmmarBhandariStates DeAssistant part ment Professor of Agriculture (USDA) who choose faculty nationwide from Hispanic Serving Institutions. Dr. Ammar Bhandari and Dr. Roberto Vela were the two faculty selected for the fellowship. Bh a n d a r i is an Assistant Profe s s or of Soil Health, Dr. RobertoVela Soil FerDepartment Chair tility and Professor Nut r ie nt Management and Vela is a Professor and Chair of the Language and Literature Department. The fellowship, named after influential Latino congressman and representative of TAMUK, E. Kika De La Garza, is dedicated to its partnership between USDA and Hispanic-Serving Institutions, creating awareness of services, employment and resources under the USDA. “Most people don’t realize how broad USDA is,” Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Dr. Allen
Rasmussen said. “They cover everything from the SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] program to basic research in agriculture and agriculture productions.” Contenders had to apply and write an essay highlighting why they were applying and the changes they would make for their students if selected. They also had to include the classes they taught, how they engage with students and letters from their supervisor and president of the institution from which they are employed. Bhandari was one of two science fellows selected for 2021, while Vela was one of 23 selected as an education fellow. Bhandari was raised in Nepal and grew up watching his dad teach and would farm with his mother. “I used to spend time with my mom in my early childhood playing in the soil…that kind of fascinated me,” Bhandari said. “I decided to go into agriculture because that gave me a connection to my early childhood where I spent time with my mom working on our small field.” Bhandari aims to connect and inspire his students, most of whom have graduated and have gone to work under USDA. Vela worked in rural farming communities in Illinois, conducted research on Mezo America, agriculture and history and worked with migrant and Hispanic populations in different farming communities. “Dr. Vela started to do collaborations with the College of Agriculture and looking at non-English speakers and the workforce and how that interacts with agricultural communities,” Rasmussen said.
Campus activities to resume Fall brings normalcy to TAMUK
Ronni Reyna | News Editor news.editor@thesouthtexan.com
As the fall semester approaches and students are eager to get back to in-person classes, on-campus activities and student life is also returning to a sense of normalcy. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, students missed out on campus activities and annual events, but as the fall semester draws near students can know they have a lot to look forward to. “COIVD obviously impacted us in a lot of ways,
so we definitely wanted to make sure we were still facilitating activities for students that were on campus or were working remotely,” Fraternity & Sorority Life Coordinator Jessica Montenegro said. “We had to really be creative and think of how to make our normal face-to-face interactions virtual and give those virtual options and also make sure that we maintained in-person events within a safe means to make sure students still had something to look forward and to make sure they still engaged with the campus community, so it made us be a little bit more creative and made sure that we were looking at all aspects of keeping our stu-
dents safe and engaged.” During the fall and spring semesters of 20202021 students were required to wear masks and social distance at on-campus events. “The biggest challenge was making sure that we made accommodations for everyone as best as possible,” Montenegro said Students were required to check in at events with QR codes and often sat at spaced-out tables with limited seating. “At this time, we are returning to pre-COVID operations, but we will continue to use QR codes for events. We will adjust our protocols as the situation dictates,” Dean of Students and Assistant
Vice President of Student Affairs Kristen Compary said. More specifics of Student Activities precautions are unknow at this moment. “We are looking at trying to go back to some sense of normalcy for the fall, but also be safe at the same time because we know that not all students feel 100 percent, so we are still going to have events but do our best to make sure everybody is comfortable and safe,” Montenegro said Montenegro said students can look forward to a normal welcome week and homecoming schedule in the fall as student activities will host more
events than the previous semesters. “The students should expect to be able to come back and expect a normal college experience. We want to provide activities and events that students will be able to enjoy,” Director of Student Activities Erin McClure said. The first few events of the fall semester start with welcome week, which starts with movein day Saturday, Aug. 14, a Javelina Lunch-in with friends and family and a bookstore pick-up. Welcome week continues with swimming, Q & As, giveaways, roller skating and fraternity informationals throughout the first week of school.