Los Arcos Spring 2012

LOS ARCOS T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Te x a s - Pa n A m e r i c a n Spring/Summer 2012, Vol. 17, No. 4

O COVER V A R B The End of a nE ra

The

in g e B

n

o ing

f

ew N a

in e Ag

r ts A A P T U

INSIDE Preserving the Past

page 16

Bronc Ring Tradition page 24

Class Notes page 27

Alumna Dishes It Up page 34

BRONC COUNTRY Happenings Summer 2012 Commencement

August 18 at the McAllen Convention Center Congratulations to our more than 700 prospective graduates who will earn their degrees this summer.

Visit www.utpa.edu/graduation to learn more about the ceremonies. To watch live, go to www.utpa.edu/live.

Bronc Roundup

August 23-26 on the UTPA campus Incoming UTPA freshmen will kick off their first year at the University with this four-day, fun-filled event welcoming them to Bronc Country.

To learn more, visit www.utpa.edu/BroncRoundUp.

HESTEC 2012:

Ignite the Possibilities

September 24-29 on the UTPA campus Get ready for the 11th annual celebration of science, technology, engineering and math at UTPA. Mark your calendars for the fun, family event of Community Day on Sept. 29 that will feature a science circus and engineering carnival, food, entertainment, and much more. Visit www.utpa.edu/hestec to learn about the schedule of events.

JUNE 28

Pan American Day on the Hill, 5-6 p.m., Rayburn Building, B-369, Washington D.C. To learn more, call (956) 665-5301.

28

UTPA 6th Summer Saxophone Ensemble, Library Auditorium, 7 p.m.

JULY 5

General Recital (Music Dept.), Library Auditorium, 7 p.m.

12-13

Global Lens Screening: "The Tenants" (Brazil), Library Auditorium, July 12, 7 p.m. and July 13, 3 p.m.

Free and open to the public.

AUGUST 21

Fall Convocation 2012, Student Union Theater, 9 a.m. Watch live on www.utpa.edu/live.

24

First day of Fall 2012 classes for new and returning Broncs. Welcome to Bronc Country!

LOS ARCOS T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Te x a s - P a n A m e r i c a n Spring/Summer 2012, Vol. 17, No. 4

From the

EDITOR I think this Spring 2012 semester can be summed up with a song from The Beatles -“Hello Goodbye.” We said “goodbye” to our Fine Arts Auditorium on June 3 with one final performance held there, and we said “hello, hello, hello” to new campus traditions – the Bronc Ring and the Bronc Ring Ceremony.

Lots of great memories were had by many at our Fine Arts Auditorium. We saw some superb shows there as well as heard from some national figures, like Maya Angelou and Mikhail Gorbachev. Our 42-year-old building will be torn down this summer to make way for the state-of-the-art Academic Performing Arts Center that is scheduled to open in October 2014. The University is planning a big “wrecking ball” event for the day it gets demolished in September. Hope to see you out there as we welcome a new era for the arts at UTPA. This spring, the University also celebrated its Homecoming Weekend 2012 with some great get togethers that brought hundreds of alumni from all decades back to their stomping grounds where it all began. Alumni who were missed that weekend were David and Cris Garza, members of the UTPA Houston alumni chapter, who are the epitome of what being a true and passionate Bronc is all about. Cris lost her battle with cancer on February 18, Homecoming Weekend. Such a loss for her husband of more than 40 years, family and University.

I want to dedicate this issue of Los Arcos to David and Cris.

Thanks for sharing your love story with me and showing us what a marriage made in Bronc Country is all about. Even though I only talked to Cris once, I’m going to remember how much she loved David, being a mother, a dedicated Catholic, and how proud she was to be a Bronc.

-Melissa Vasquez

Associate Vice President of University Marketing and Communications Editor Writers

Dr. Kimberly Selber

Melissa Vasquez Jennifer Berghom Gail Fagan Roxanne Lerma-Casares Melissa Vasquez

Contributing Writers

Dr. Greg Selber Arnoldo Mata

Studio Twelve01 Art Director

Roberto Castro

Graphic Designers

Roberto Castro Danny Cardenas

Photographers

Josue Esparza Danny Cardenas Trae Valdez

Contact Us: Mail:

Phone: (956) 665-8918 Email: losarcos@utpa.edu The University of Texas-Pan American Attn: Studio Twelve01 VWOB 1.101 1201 W. University Drive Edinburg, TX 78539-2999 Los Arcos is published twice a year for alumni and friends of The University of TexasPan American by University Marketing & Communications.

The University of Texas-Pan American is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and institution. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, gender, national origin, age, veteran status or disability.

Individuals with disabilities wishing to acquire this publication in an alternative format or needing assistance or reasonable accommodations to attend any event listed, may contact the ADA coordinator at (956) 665-2127.

Accolades & APPOINTMENTS

Dr. Marie T. Mora, professor of economics, has been appointed as a member of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Data Users Advisory Committee.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME NEW COLLEGE DEAN SETTLES INTO LIFE AS A UTPA BRONC

Dr. Miguel Gonzalez, who has been serving as associate dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been selected as interim vice provost for Research and Sponsored Projects.

Dr. Kristin Croyle, associate dean and former interim dean of College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, was named vice provost for undergraduate studies in September 2011.

Dr. Laura Saenz (BA ’92), associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Education, was appointed the associate vice provost for Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment.

Dr. Jonikka Charlton, associate professor of English, was named the associate vice provost for Undergraduate Education-Student Success Initiatives.

Dr. Danika M. Brown, associate professor of English, was chosen as the faculty director for the Office of Undergraduate Research and Service Learning.

Dr. Kenneth Buckman, director of The Rafael A. “Felo” & Carmen Guerra Honors Program, was named the associate provost for the new Office of Student Engagement and Experiential Learning.

4 | Around Campus

by Jennifer Berghom

Dr. John Ronnau is dealing with growing pains and he couldn't be happier.

Ronnau, the new dean of UT Pan American's College of Health Sciences and Human Services (CHSHS), started his new post Feb. 1 and has been tasked with steering the college through growing enrollment and increased demand of professionals in the health care and social services sectors.

The college — which offers programs in clinical laboratory sciences, communication sciences and disorders, dietetics, nursing, occupational therapy, physician assistant, rehabilitation, and social work, as well as a cooperative pharmacy doctoral degree with UT Austin — had 3,500 undergraduate and 574 graduate students enrolled in Fall 2011, making it the largest college within the University.

“Given the wide range of disciplines in the college, I think you can make a case that virtually every family in the Valley has been touched by professionals from these disciplines at one time or another in their lives,” Ronnau said.

That is why he is looking forward to working with faculty, students and staff to continue the college's momentum and strengthening those programs. Even though the CHSHS boasts the largest student enrollment, Ronnau said too few know what services the college can offer the community.

“I've heard the (UTPA) President (Robert S. Nelsen) say UTPA is one of the best kept secrets in the Valley, and I would say that the College of Health Sciences and Human Services is one of the best kept secrets among the colleges,” Ronnau said.

The new dean is no stranger to the Valley.

Ronnau came to UTPA from the University

of Central Florida, but before that he worked at The University of Texas at Brownsville from 1999-2006, where he was a professor in the department of behavioral sciences. In addition, he was the vice president for administration and partnership affairs from 2001-2006.

“It's great to be back, it feels like coming home,” Ronnau said. “One of the first things my wife and I noticed when coming back into town is how friendly and welcoming people are; I've noticed at the University, too, people want you to be successful and they want to help you. Of course, coming into a college that already has had some success and growing enrollment, those are challenges you'd much rather face as dean.”

In addition to planning for enrollment growth and keeping up with the demand for producing professionals for the health care and social services industries, Ronnau said the college's immediate goals are to increase opportunities for revenue-generating activities, seek more external funding for research and scholarship, expand its partnerships throughout the community and develop more interdisciplinary collaborations.

Ronnau said the college's programs are already looking for more ways to reach out to the community, through health fairs, charity races, flea markets, and other events that draw large crowds where students and faculty can provide information and referrals to people.

“The future is bright,” Ronnau said. “We know that the demand for our programs are increasing, so our challenge is how do we continue to meet the demand and meet the needs for health care professionals in the Valley. I think we can be leaders in inter-professional collaboration and I think that is the trend and that is going to be the game changer for not only education, but research impacting the health issues that confront us.”

National businesses and philanthropic groups were asked to invest in South Texas communities and the education of its children during the second UT System VistaSummit held at UTPA. UT Pan American, The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Brownsville hosted the April 17 event, which focused on pitching four initiatives local school districts and higher education institutions are developing to help students obtain a postsecondary education in less time and with less money: to create a cadre of counselors who will advise eighth-grade students through higher education, start an academy of master teachers, expand dual credit and early college high school courses, and develop a four-year fast track master's program for students.

“I am absolutely convinced that if we work collectively ... we will advance this region as a leader by providing innovative solutions to the problems we face in education, health care and economic development,” UT Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa said.

Attending the Summit, held at UTPA's Community Engagement and Student Success Building, were representatives from philanthropic organizations that included TG, Complete College America, the Ford Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Greater Texas Foundation, the Greater Communities Foundation, Houston Endowment, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and Educate Texas. UT System and its Valley institutions will hold two more Summit conferences in health care and economic development in 2013.

For more information, visit www.vistasummit.com.

s restigiou ined its p ta d in e a n m w reno tion from the dministra A m a ss r e g in te ro s stellar p ge of Bu e Collegia The Colle reditation for their iation to Advanc c c o c a ss business al – The A ternation In B S C A A . al exception f Business Schools o e offer an A. This w t a th y sa TP and staff ents at U ur faculty ience for our stud eptional. I hope all o , y ll a r “Natu exper are exc e quality education is solid proof we ognize th c re business to n o e ti u ccredita s contin AACSB a nts and businesse e id s Valley re

O V E R H E A R D AT U T PA

“ Today,

I’m a Bronc!

“

Pictured left to right are UTPA President Robert S. Nelsen; McAllen Achieve Early College High School student Cynthia Fregoso; UTPA alumnus George Galindo (BA'12) UT System Regent Brenda Pejovich, UT System Regent Robert L. Stillwell; TSTC student Sotero Regalado III; UTB student Jorge Muñoz; UTB President Juliet V. García; STC student Sissi Yado; and UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa. The students were part of a student response panel at the end of the day.

-Larry King

Larry King, former host of CNN's “Live with Larry King,” packed the UTPA Fine Arts Auditorium on April 3 as the last speaker of the season for the University’s popular Distinguished Speakers Series. The 78-year-old legendary broadcaster shared his childhood stories with the audience and took time to answer questions from UTPA students during the event. He even answered the question regarding which fictional character he would like to interview.

His answer: Superman.

s can r graduate in u o t a th t ere den m anywh feel confi ss progra ams and e r g in s ro u p b r ss sine othe of our bu h grads from any A dean. it una, CoB w z te O e lo fi o e comp T ,” said Dr. dard of the world hest stan ig h e 5 percent th Less than presents . e re of id n o w ti ld a this mark ls wor ccredit ess schoo rams have earned .

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“FESTIBA, TO ME, IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WE DO AT THE UNIVERSITY,” SAID UTPA PRESIDENT ROBERT S. NELSEN ABOUT THE 2012 FESTIVAL OF INTERNATIONAL BOOKS AND ARTS, HELD MARCH 24-APRIL 1. WITH A THEME OF “LITERACY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL,” FESTIBA, CREATED IN 2006, IS FOCUSED ON INCREASING THE INTEREST IN READING AND IMPROVING STUDENT SUCCESS IN SECONDARY AND POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION.

6 | Around Campus

Taking the Lead Veronica Gonzales named new vice president For eight years Veronica Gonzales has represented the Rio Grande Valley in the Texas State Legislature. Now, she will represent the Valley's largest university, UT Pan American, as its vice president for University Advancement.

Gonzales, who will join UTPA July 1, said she is excited to serve her community in this new role and to tell the impressive story of this University, which is among the top five public universities in the state (Forbes, 2011) and one of the most affordable in the country.

As vice president for University Advancement, Gonzales will oversee the Office of Development, which is responsible for fundraising for the University, and the Office of University Marketing and Communications, made up of the Offices of Alumni Relations, Public Affairs and Studio Twelve01, the University's marketing office. Gonzales said she is looking forward to working with the advancement team to further the University’s current fundraising efforts.

“The same skills I developed in elected office – networking and fostering relationships to garnish support – will be instrumental in working for the University. The story I want others in our state and nation to know is that we are doing great things here in South Texas, that we are a growing University, one with extremely high rankings, and that an investment in this University is a sound one that will reap benefits for generations to come,” she said.

Get Ahead

New fully online degrees starting this fall semester In a joint venture with Academic Partnerships, LLC (AP), a Dallas-based higher education service provider, UTPA will begin offering the first-ever accelerated online-based courses in two of its accredited graduate programs this fall.

Master's degrees in business administration and educational administration will kick off the new initiative. In Spring 2013, an accelerated online program to earn a master of public administration degree will be available.

Dr. Cynthia Brown, vice provost for Graduate Studies at UTPA who oversees the project, said the accelerated online programs will primarily target Rio Grande Valley adult learners who are working.

Each program's courses will be offered in seven-week terms, with six terms planning to be offered within one calendar year.

She was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2004, becoming the first female to represent District 41, and has gone on to serve four terms in the House, where she authored or co-authored 82 bills, several of which have benefitted higher education, including ones to help curb dropout rates and allow students to pay for their tuition in installments.

Brown said as enrollment increases, new revenue will be generated for the University.

University administrators also predict this way of offering courses will have a transformative effect on the University and has the potential to attract prospective students worldwide.

During her tenure in the House, Gonzales distinguished herself by passing the highest percentage of bills by any Democratic legislator in the House and was recognized as Freshman of the Year by the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus. Gonzales served as chair of the Border and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee and as a member of the Public Health Committee.

The first courses will begin Oct. 24. Admission and program requirements are available at www.utpa.edu/gradschool.

Marching for Babies:

On April 28, 2012, students, staff and faculty stepped out for a good cause during the March for Babies Walk in McAllen, Texas. One step at a time, the UTPA community, led by UTPA President Robert S. Nelsen, walked 5.5 miles together for stronger and healthier babies.

Broncs get

Broncs take on new challenge with NASA Four UTPA mechanical engineering students embarked on a new frontier in May when they competed in NASA's Third Annual Lunabotics Mining Competition.

Robert Guerrero, Edgar Vela and Hilario Cortez – who graduated this spring – and Adrian Casillas – who will graduate in August – were the first students from UTPA to take on the NASA challenge. The Broncs faced more than 50 other institutions from all over the world. The competition was held May 21-26 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

For the competition, teams were required to design and build remotely controlled excavating robots, called lunabots, to collect as much lunar soil, also known as regolith, as they could within a specified amount of time.

“presidential” advice in D.C. Two UTPA students got some great lessons on social entrepreneurship from none other than former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Xochitl Pablos-Velez, a senior majoring in biology, and Kezia Correa, a junior majoring in premedical biology, attended the fifth annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) held March 30-April 1 at George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C. The ladies brought their vision of improving health care delivery through medical interpreting services to the conference.

There they were joined by more than 1,000 college students from 50 states and 82 countries to learn how to best address local to global challenges from a distinguished list of leaders committed to public service and actions. Built on the successful model of the Clinton Global Initiative, the CGI U engages the next generation of leaders on college campuses around the world.

ing our lunabot actually functioned and ... maybe half or so (of the other lunabots) didn't even move,” Guerrero said.

“(President) Clinton said this initiative is a gathering of people with big ideas but with a small budget. He gets us there to teach us and show us that there is a way and that anything is possible,” Correa said.

UTPA team members said they began working on the lunabot last school year as part of their senior design class. Many times the quartet would begin their task around 9 a.m. and stay until 1 a.m. toiling on their project.

To attend the conference, students were required to make a “commitment to action” to solve an issue in one of the CGI U focus areas of education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health. The commitments

“I feel we did pretty well consider-

Though the UTPA team did not qualify for the final rounds of the competition, team members said they were grateful they had the opportunity to participate.

“We never really experienced some-

thing like this, we've never gone to an international competition where you could meet teams from other countries,” Vela said. “From looking at the other teams we got new ideas for the lunabot to implement future improvements.”

8 | Student Success

The UTPA students heard from former President Bill Clinton, who founded CGI U, during the spring conference in Washington, D.C.

UTPA students Kezia Correa and Xochitl Pablos-Velez had the opportunity to visit George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where they attended the fifth annual Clinton Global Initiative University.

to action can be implemented on campus, in the community, or in a different part of the world.

Pablos-Velez and Correa, both members of UTPA’s Student Association for Medical Spanish (SAMS), shared their organization’s plan to provide free medical interpreting services – called InterpreCorps – to a large underserved population to address the language barriers that affect millions of patients in the U.S. healthcare delivery system every year.

InterpreCorps would provide opportunities for advanced Spanish students to meet the needs of patients at community health centers around the country who cannot afford commercial over the phone, video or face-to-face medical interpreting services. Undergraduate students who complete the Medical Spanish minor at UTPA and achieve national certification would serve as a corps of volunteer video, over-thephone, and onsite interpreters for use by federally qualified health centers.

“We want to start in the Valley, but our goal is for it to be nationwide,” said Pablos-Velez.

“People don’t know how important language is to actually bring about good health care. You are helping them (patients) to understand what the doctor wants them to do. Through this program we are trying to motivate the patients to also communicate with the doctor.”

Crawling with Monsters impacts nationwide

by Gail Fagan “I pray at night every night, and then I pray because I woke up, and I pray because I made it home. What more is there to say?”

Prayer is how one young woman from Reynosa, Mexico says she deals with the never-ending drug cartel related violence occurring in her country.

This young woman’s voice describing the impact of living in daily fear is one of many northern Mexico residents' brought to life in the play “Crawling with Monsters” presented by the Latino Theatre Initiative (LTI) at The University of TexasPan American.

Since its first performance in Fall 2010 at the New Orleans Fringe Festival, this moving depiction of the violence's impact on Mexico's families continues to gain fans nationwide and beyond.

Early this year, New York drama critic David Sheward, a member of the New York Drama Critics Circle and the Drama Desk who writes for the national theatre community magazine Back Stage, named the play's performance as one of the “Memorable Performances” in 2011 on a New York stage. Sheward saw the play when the group was invited to present it at the New York International Fringe Festival, a prestigious Sundance Film Festival-type event but for plays.

It won that festival's Overall Excellence Award for an ensemble and the praise of critics, including Sheward, who called it a “fascinating collage-like portrait of a community in crisis” and a “matterof-fact depiction of life in a war zone, horrifying in its ordinariness.”

This year the 18- to 22-member troupe, comprising primarily of students and recent alumni, drew a full house for their performance in May at San Antonio's juried arts festival Luminaria. In September, it will be performed for Houston audiences at that city's annual Fringe Festival.

The play also gained attention across another border. Professors at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, saw the play at the 2011 National Conference of the American Alliance for Theatre

and Education (AATE) in Chicago. Subsequently, Brock's students viewed a video of the play to learn more about how applied theatre can bring about education and social change. Teachers and students at Franklin High School in Somerset, New Jersey performed the play at their school this year. They said it gave the many bilingual students there an exciting way to express Latino culture while telling the story of what is happening in Mexico, news not often told, even by media. The students donated their proceeds to the LTI. The play originated from the LTI's plans to bring a children's play in Spanish to Mexico border schools. However, when travel restrictions were imposed on UT System students because of dangers there, the tour was cancelled. The troupe and its director, Dr. Eric Wiley, the Henry W. and Margaret H. Hauser Endowed Interim Chair in Communication and associate professor of theatre, chose to turn the play into a multi-media docudrama that includes music and testimonials the students transcribed and translated from Mexico's residents – sometimes the actors' own friends and family – on what they have experienced. To remain safe, the production's authors and actors remain nameless on its playbill. The play's notoriety has also drawn the attention of UT Austin's theatre program faculty, who recently met with Wiley to discuss future collaborations in Latino theatre development.

Wiley said the play will continue to evolve and he is thrilled by the way people are “joining the project.”

“They become part of spreading the word,” Wiley said.

South Texas residents can look forward to seeing the play locally in October 2012 when “Crawling with Monsters” will be the first production in UTPA's Main Stage season at the University.

To check out the the schedule for the University Theatre, visit www.utpa.edu/theatre.

Mariachi Aztlán to perform at Smithsonian festival This summer, UTPA's 16-member Mariachi Aztlán will be showcasing their talents for a national audience at the the 2012 Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., June 27-July 1 and July 4-8.

UTPA was among 21 universities selected out of 100 grant proposals to participate in the Smithsonian’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of land grant universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

More than a million visitors regularly attend the annual summer festival held on the National Mall.

Mariachi Aztlán is grateful to their many supporters, who have cheered them on throughout the year, including Southwest Airlines, proud airline sponsor of the Mariachi Aztlán, that is providing airfare for the group.

This spring, the group also captured the top prize for a second year in a row at the challenging Houston Rodeo Mariachi Invitational Competition, the biggest competition for mariachi groups in the state of Texas.

In addition to a trophy cup, the mariachi performers took home $7,500 for the University’s program and performed for a crowd of more than 74,000 at Reliant Stadium.

In the past two years, these outstanding student musicians performed in the White House for President Barack Obama, with the Houston Grand Opera in the premiere of the first mariachi opera ever, and as the only university group of five mariachis invited to play at the Hollywood Bowl.

www.utpa.edu/los-arcos | 9

BALLET FOLKLÓRICO

wows at Nation's capital

Broncs to play in Austria Time, dedication and a passion for playing have led eight UTPA euphonium and tuba players on the trip of a lifetime to Linz, Austria in June.

The Broncs will perform with musicians from around the world at the 2012 International Tuba Euphonium Conference. The UTPA group was one of only seven collegiate tuba euphonium ensembles from the United States invited to perform.

In addition, the RGV Tuba Euphonium Quartet – comprising of Abel Ocañas (euphonium), George Sanchez (euphonium), Osvaldo Lopez (tuba) and Victor Rodriguez (tuba) – will compete in the finals of the ensemble competition at the conference.

Selected through a competitive recording submission, the quartet will vie live against top student groups from some of the best music universities in the U.S. and groups from England, France and Spain.

UTPA freshman Jesus Ruiz was also selected as a finalist in the Young Artist Tuba competition for students 19 years or younger and UTPA alumnus Saul Regalado (BA '09), now a graduate student at UT Austin, advanced to the finals in the Artist Euphonium competition for students who have not yet gained a full-time performance position. Other UTPA students who will participate in the ensemble performance include Alexis Alba, Loida Guerrero, and Amy Guzman.

Former President John F. Kennedy would be proud of UT Pan American’s Ballet Folklórico as they contributed a little to the human spirit and the arts that he so loved.

On May 27, the dance group of 24 performed in one of the nation’s busiest arts facilities – The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The dance troupe was in the nation’s capital to represent the Ballet, the University, and the Rio Grande Valley at the 2012 National College Dance Festival, held May 24-27, and presented by the American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA).

UTPA was among 30 schools in the country selected to participate in this prestigious national-level event that put a spotlight on the extraordinary choreographies and performances that are developed at U.S. colleges and universities.

In a festival primarily filled with modern dance and ballet performances, the Ballet Folklórico’s piece entitled Estado de MexicoLos Mazahuas wowed the audience and the other dance groups. The festive dance number, based on the traditions of the Mazahua, an indigenous people of Mexico, even garnered a standing ovation from audience members said Issac Peña, a member of the Ballet.

Peña said with their dance they were able to transport the audience to a place in time in Mexico City and bring a story to life through their colorful costumes and dance. The group performed two shows the during festival.

“We showed some people something they have never seen before in their lives,” said Peña, a junior dance major. “No one was expecting a Mexican folk dance to be presented. To bring that from Mexico to a national stage in the United States was a humbling experience for everyone.”

Performing on a national stage at the Kennedy Center and visiting Washington, D.C. was a life-changing experience for Peña and his fellow dancers, who visited D.C. landmarks like the White House and the Lincoln Memorial during their free time. Francisco Muñoz III, artistic director of the group, said he was so proud of his dancers when he saw them take the stage.

“As I viewed our dancers on stage at the Kennedy Center, I witnessed a passion and commitment that radiated cultural pride, historical perspective, and excellent artistic interpretation through an unprecedented medium of Mexican folkloric dance,” Muñoz said.

For the Ballet Folklórico, the opportunity to perform at America’s living memorial to President Kennedy came after they were chosen as one of three best choreographies at the South Central American College Dance Festival hosted by Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas in March. Nationally recognized adjudicators selected the group based on artistic excellence and merit. The dance troupe advanced to the national dance festival along with universities from nine other ACDFA regions.

“The Tuba Euphonium Studio here at UTPA is really doing some remarkable stuff,” said Dr. Scott Roeder, assistant professor of music who directs the groups. “I am always amazed at what these students have accomplished and am so proud of them for it."

Roeder said the international conference is held every two years and is the pinnacle event in the world for tuba and euphonium musicians.

10 | Student Success

Ballet Folkórico performers included Robert Alvarez, Vanessa Balderas, Jossue Barajas, Alejandra Barrenechea, Sandra Cantu, Magin Cervantes, Esther Colin, Ricardo Fernandez, Ricardo Flores, Juan Antonio Garcia, Ana Karen Garcia, Zeidy Garza, Erika Gonzalez, Aracely Longoria, Juan Lopez, Monica Martinez, Tanya Miller, Issac Peña, Miguel Angel Peña, Cristobal Rojas, Maria Elena Sanchez, Norma Silva, Andrew Smith, and Max Tijerina.

Bronc Country goes to

P aris

Twenty UT Pan American students in The Rafael A. “Felo” & Carmen Guerra Honors Program (GHP) spent an amazing three weeks studying abroad in one of the most romantic and exotic cities in the world – Paris.

The GHP students traveled the city on foot, taxi, and subway to visit many museums and historic places – the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, Versailles – during their mini-mester abroad. Dr. Kenneth Buckman, former GHP director and current associate provost for Student Engagement and Experiential Learning, led the group of students from all disciplines.

For Abby Chavarrilla, a junior in the honors program studying communications, visiting the capital of France and taking in all the culture, history, food, and fashion was a surreal and life-changing experience for this South Texas girl. She said she discovered so many interesting facts about the city that she never knew. Chavarrilla said she was most intrigued with the city beneath the city of lights, known as the Des Égouts de Paris or the Paris sewer system, which is a major tourist attraction.

Chavarrilla said she is thankful to the International Women's Board (IWB) at UTPA for awarding her a scholarship to help cover some of the trip's costs. Every year, IWB raises funds to help UTPA students enrich their higher education experience through study abroad. This year, the group awarded 48 scholarships.

The trip was not all play; all 20 students had to physically research different areas of Paris and historical locations and then report to the class what they discovered on their mini-expedition. In addition, the students served as experts for the day on their topic of research and were asked to keep a journal and write about each day’s events and their interactions with the Parisians.

“I never dreamed that I would go to Paris, but thanks to the honors program and UTPA I think I see myself doing more traveling and just seeing what the world and other cultures have to offer,” Chavarrilla said.

“I would so do it again.”

In 2013, GHP students will study abroad in Turkey. The Office of International Programs at UTPA estimates that this summer more than 150 UTPA students have studied or are planning to study abroad in destinations such as France, Germany, Spain, Peru, Morocco, and Italy.

To learn more about the GHP, visit www.utpa.edu/honorsprogram or to find out where students will be studying abroad next, visit www.utpa.edu/oip. To help support UTPA study abroad travel, contact the IWB via email at accantu@utpa.edu.

12 | Los Arcos • Summer 2012

Dazzling Violinist NEW ENDOWED CHAIR IN FINE ARTS

by Gail Fagan

Music reviews of major concerts held across five continents have praised violinist Daniel Andai as dazzling, sensitive, passionate and mesmerizing.

The New York Times described him as an “exemplary leader” when he performed as concertmaster with members of the New York Philharmonic and the Manhattan School of Music in Carnegie Hall. Andai, who has made special appearances with top artists, including Plácido Domingo, is also concertmaster of the Miami Symphony Orchestra.

In fall 2011, the soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, recording artist and concertmaster was selected in a national search to bring his musical artistry and teaching talents to fill the Marialice Shary Shivers Endowed Chair in Fine Arts at UT Pan American. The endowment supports and enhances the arts on campus and in the community by bringing outstanding artists to the University.

Orlando De Leon, a music education major from Edinburg, said he looked up Andai's biography on the Internet when he heard he was going to be teaching at UTPA and found it amazing. “To work with him, I felt was going to be an absolute honor,” said De Leon, a violinist with UTPA's awardwinning Mariachi Aztlán.

Plugging in Tomorrow UTPA partners with South Korean University

UT Pan American is expanding its influence overseas by entering into a partnership with one of the leading universities in South Korea – Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

Dr. David Allen, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and Dr. Miguel Gonzalez, interim vice provost for research and sponsored projects, traveled to South Korea on May 13 to sign a memorandum of understanding with KAIST, located in the city of Daejeon, which is about 100 miles south of Seoul. KAIST President Dr. Nam Pyo Suh signed the agreement May 17.

The memorandum establishes a wide variety of projects and initiatives the two higher education institutions will collaborate on, including student exchange programs, research and commercialization of technologies the universities have developed.

At UTPA, Andai leads the applied instrument course primarily for performance and music education majors.

He said he wants students to leave his studio brighter than when they came in and ready to handle any challenge or opportunity that comes their way.

"This means opportunities for students, faculty and everybody involved," Gonzalez said. "KAIST is one of the most prestigious Korean institutions."

“The class is an intensive one-on-one hour of instruction, critique, emotions, and technicalities that are experienced on a weekly basis,” he said. “I tell my students to think of me more as a personal trainer, since they are the ones who have to lift those weights or in this case, practice. I try to tap into their enthusiasm and give them the tools they need to play the pieces they are performing.”

Visit www.utpa.edu/music.

Celebrating Inspiration Forty-one book authors and writers of 82 grant awards totaling more than $31 million from the past academic year (September 2010 to August 2011) were recognized at the first UTPA authors recognition reception at the University Library on April 10. Pictured left to right Dr. Hávidan Rodríguez, vice president/ provost for Academic Affairs; Dr. Farzaneh Razzaghi, Library dean; Dr. Karen Watt, professor of educational leadership honored for $41,950 grant from College Spark; Dr. Robert S. Nelsen, UTPA president; and Michael Minor, professor of marketing honored for his textbook "International Business – 2012."

One such project in which UTPA is involved with KAIST involves testing electric vehicles using technology invented by Suh. The project is one of many the University is working on as part of The North American Advanced Manufacturing Research & Education Initiative. The City of McAllen, the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, and South Texas College are also collaborators on this project.

The two institutions have been developing their research and manufacturing collaboration for the past few years.

Although the MOU is an overarching document that establishes the beginning of the working relationship between the two institutions, joining forces with KAIST will benefit UTPA greatly, Allen said.

Faculty News | 13

The Beauty A NEW VIEW OF MATH

of

“You don’t have to be a poet laureate to appreciate a poem and you don’t have to be a mathematician to appreciate some math.”

- D R. S EA N LAWTO N Assistant Professor of Math

Where some people see math as a string of numbers, Dr. Sean Lawton sees art. His tools of captivating others to recognize math’s beauty are novel. Lawton uses crochet hooks, skeins of yarn and a lesson on crocheting that enables people to better learn and appreciate the math in our world.

“I’m trying to motivate the people who are scared of math completely. I’m trying to get people to recognize that there is more to it than they thought and that they are capable of doing it and that it is interesting,” said Lawton, assistant professor of mathematics. “You don’t have to be a poet laureate to appreciate a poem and you don’t have to be a mathematician to appreciate some math.”

Lawton initiated the Hyperbolic Crochet Project last year as one of the first outreach activities in the Experimental Algebra and Geometry Lab (EAGL) he founded when he came to UTPA in 2009. Since then, Lawton and his student assistants have traveled to numerous area middle and high schools, as well as museums and libraries, to provide a different perspective of math.

The hundreds of crocheted exotic-looking creatures that have been created in a myriad of colors, sizes and degrees of floppiness (curvature) as a result of the project are models of the hyperbolic plane - a non-Euclidean form of geometry discovered in

by Gail Fagan the early 1800s. Models of the hyperbolic plane have shapes with negative curvature similar to a horse saddle or a Pringles potato chip. In nature, hyperbolic forms can be seen in the curly edges of kale or in the shapes of sea slugs and some types of coral.

However, a durable, tangible representation of a hyperbolic geometric model didn’t come about until 1997. That’s when Daina Taimina, a researcher from Cornell University and an experienced crocheter, devised a crochet pattern for a model that put the advanced mathematics concepts of hyperbolic geometry readily in the hands of researchers as well as students to study. Lawton based the EAGL’s project on Taimina’s model, which he says encourages conversation while crocheting and a sense of fun about learning.

“We are trying to make these ideas more accessible to a larger audience. This is one of the mechanisms we are using to motivate and inspire,” Lawton said.

Lawton’s lab assistant Jesus Chavez, a freshman majoring in computer engineering, helps students with the algorithm the crochet pattern is based on as they begin their models. Chavez thinks Lawton’s project is an innovative method of creating greater interest in math.

“Personally, I wasn’t even aware of such applications until I became involved with this project, now I ‘see’ hyperbolic geometry everywhere!” he said.

While the lab primarily focuses on outreach, EAGL also supports undergraduate research in pure and applied mathematics. It is affiliated with similar labs at the University of IllinoisChampaign/Urbana and the University of Maryland-College Park, where Lawton earned his bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. in math.

To learn more about the project, visit the Experimental Algebra and Geometry Lab at http://eagl.wikidot.com/.

The

Write Stuff Books by UTPA Faculty and Staff

Say It Hot: Essays on American Writers Living, Dying, and Dead Dr. Eric Miles Williamson Professor, Department of English PUBLISHER’S NOTES

Williamson collects for the first time the essays of his famed and infamous literary column, “Say It Hot,” which ran monthly for two years in the French magazine Transfuge.

Cuadernos Para Un Huérfano Dr. Elvia Ardalani Associate Professor, Department of Modern Languages and Literature

Crime and Criminality: Causes and Consequences

Edinburg, Texas (Images of America Series)

Dr. Mark Dantzker Professor, Department of Criminal Justice

Janette Garcia Archivist and Librarian, UTPA Library

PUBLISHER’S NOTES

It is a poetic collection written around the spiritual condition that we all face. The book reminds us the search for light is a privilege for all, from sunflowers to human beings.

PUBLISHER’S NOTES

This publication defines, examines and explains crime and criminal behavior, and presents various new theoretical perspectives on crime causation.

PUBLISHER’S NOTES

Read a story of a town with two locations and multiple names.

Edinburg was established on the Rio Grande River

by John Young, from Edinburgh, Scotland.

Honoring UTPA's Finest

Faculty were recognized for their hard work and dedication to UT Pan American at the fourth annual celebration of faculty excellence in teaching, research, service and mentoring on May 4. Co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the UTPA Foundation Board, the awards recognize faculty in each of the four categories at the college and University level. New this year was the New Faculty Mentoring award that was presented to Dr. Jessica Lavariega-Monforti, associate professor of political science and assistant dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Pictured left to right are University Faculty Excellence Award recipients Sandra Tijerina (Service), associate professor in the Clinical Laboratory Sciences program; Dr. Mircea Chipara (Research), associate professor in the Department of Physics and Geology; Dr. Constantine Tarawneh (Mentoring), associate professor of mechanical engineering; and Dr. Cheryl Fielding (Teaching), associate professor and Educational Diagnostician Program Coordinator and practicum supervisor in the Department of Educational Psychology.

www.utpa.edu/los-arcos | 15

Preserving

the Past

UTPA students turn Edinburg family’s history into book

by Melissa Vasquez

“This is

something that is beyond us. It is about what we could help make happen in our community.”

- CA R R O L N O R Q U EST J R. (BA '58)

est Sr. A. Norqu d Carrol Lydia an

3 circa 197

Drive north on Sugar Road, pass UT Pan American and the baseball stadium and you will discover a patch of land that is a window to the past. For Carrol Norquest Jr., also known as Kelly, it’s more than just real estate, it’s his family’s heritage.

Known as the Norquest Farmstead, this strip of land still includes the family home dubbed the “The Big House,” which was a Sears, Roebuck and Company home kit built in 1913. Kelly’s grandfather Peter Magnus Norquest acquired the home in 1925 after trading his Kansas farm for 80 acres in South Texas.

Still standing on that land is an 83-year-old oak tree Kelly’s father, Carrol A. Norquest Sr., planted after the death of his father in 1929. The tree has grown into a strong oak, very much like the University's 1927 oak that stands today on the original campus. The Norquests' tree provides shade for “The Big House” and symbolizes the family’s rich history and roots in Edinburg, Texas.

The family’s ties also extend to UT Pan American because of Carrol Norquest Sr.’s mission to keep the campus in Edinburg. Kelly said his father struck a deal with land owners who had property on the west side of Edinburg which he was farming. He paid option money to hold their land until the citizens of Edinburg gathered enough funds together to buy the property for the college.

“My father was always behind the scenes. He never liked being out in public and he could be blunt when he was talking to people,” said Kelly, who earned his agricultural degree in 1958 from Pan American College. “I think if he could look around today, he would see the small things he

did in his life turned into a bigger impact than he envisioned.”

To date, at least three generations of Norquests have attended or graduated from the University.

Kelly's aunt Florence Norquest-Hancock was in the first graduating class of Edinburg College in 1928. Carrol A. Norquest Sr. also attended when the college opened in 1927.

With such a deep-rooted history in Edinburg, Kelly and his family archived their history and stories on the farm in their own personal records. Kelly said archiving their history is important for the next generations of Norquests and Nordmeyers, his mother's family, to know.

“I think the first priority for everyone should be to save your own family’s history,” he said. “Go back and talk to as many older people as you can. Then, if there is an opportunity to share it with others, don’t hold back because other people may realize there is an importance there that you may not have realized.”

Taking his own advice, Kelly and a few of his siblings decided to share their history and property with UT Pan American students taking a class called “Discovering the Rio Grande Valley: The Natural and Cultural History of South Texas."

The course is the first interdisciplinary class offered by the CHAPS (Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools) program headed by the Dr. Russell Skowronek of the archaeology department and Dr. Sonia Hernandez of the history department. CHAPS, developed in 2009 and funded through grants and gifts from friends of the University, is geared toward creating archaeologically and historically literate citizens who are aware of their local cultural and natural history and of its importance to the fu-

ture economic development of the Rio Grande Valley.

For five months, undergraduate and graduate students worked together alongside UTPA faculty members in the disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, biology, geology, and history to record an in-depth history of the family and the property.

The report ultimately led to the students and Skowronek deciding this history would make a great book, which they title “The Norquest Family: A Porción of Edinburg.” Sandra Hernandez-Salinas, a graduate student in anthropology and the book's lead writer, said she is excited about the publication that she and eight of her fellow graduate students put their heart and soul into.

lives for their families and generations to come.

“The Valley is a blending of cultures and it was sure blending around here,” he said.

The story of the Norquests will be available at the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg and will serve to educate Rio Grande Valley students about their community's history.

Skowronek said this project is just the first of many for CHAPS. “The Norquests are one family who built Edinburg and UTPA. They have supported education and churches. They are the story of Edinburg,” Skowronek said. “Working with the Norquests also reaffirmed my belief that there are good people everywhere who want to help others.”

“We worked real hard on this. We were able to uncover so many connections between the family, city, and University. That was just incredible,” Hernandez-Salinas said.

Kelly, who enjoys studying Spanish Colonial history and is a member of Las Porciones Society, a local genealogical and historical society, said he really enjoyed sharing his experiences with the students.

Skowronek said the Norquests, who are of Swedish-German descent, once farmed 50 acres the University is located on today alongside Mexican-American, Mexican and German workers. Kelly said he had not realized until now how many different cultures, including his own, had come together on one property all with one common purpose – to provide better

“They really dug into the land and the people who lived on it and they dug below the land with geology. So the book really is about the history of the land, which in turn is the history of Edinburg, UT Pan Am, and the Valley,” said Kelly. “This is something that is beyond us. It is about what we could help make happen in our community.”

Top to Bottom: Carrol A. Norquest Jr. (BA '58) with his wife Odie Peña-Norquest (center) and daughter Caroline Norquest-Twist (BA'96); Florence Norquest-Hancock, member of the first graduating class of Edinburg College in 1928; wedding photo of Lydia and Carrol Norquest, Sr.; Norquest children in the front yard of "The Big House."

“The Norquests are one family who built Edinburg and UTPA.” - D R. R US S E LL S KOWR O N E K Professor of Archaeology and History

To learn more about CHAPS, visit www.utpa.edu/chaps or to help fund future CHAPS projects, visit www.utpa.edu/givenow.

Broncs

celebrate the best

Torre and Maree take top honors The best and brightest UTPA Broncs were honored for their stellar performances both on the playing field and in the classroom at the annual student-athlete banquet. The UTPA Department of Intercollegiate Athletics recognized 14 award winners and 11 athletic endowment honorees.

A Broncs Tale comes to a close The nation got a unique and personal view of Broncs basketball in ESPN The Magazine this 20112012 season.

Men's basketball head coach Ryan Marks' column appeared every two weeks throughout the season and followed the challenges and triumphs of the Broncs basketball team as they faced both nonconference and Great West Conference opponents.

“I'm abundantly thankful to the staff at ESPN The Magazine for giving me this opportunity to share a snapshot of UTPA men's basketball,” Marks said. “Hopefully throughout the season, our Bronc supporters and basketball fans around the country gained a greater appreciation for the rigors of being a Division I studentathlete at this level. There were definitely some good anecdotes to share and a lot of laughs as well.”

In Marks' 11th and final column he asked readers “to remember the small schools," like UTPA, whose players go out on the court and play their hearts out every day for a sport they love.

To read Marks' columns, visit www.espn.com.

“We are proud of all of our student-athletes for their accomplishments this season. Their hard work and dedication as both students and athletes are apparent, and while we've only honored a select group tonight, they are all deserving of recognition,” said UTPA Director of Athletics Chris King.

Athlete of the Year honors went to senior Jared Maree of the men's basketball team and junior Bianca Torre of the women’s basketball team. Torre also won the Ms. Bronc title along with senior baseball player and veteran leader Mike McCarthy, who was crowned Mr. Bronc. Mr. and Ms. Bronc are voted on by student-athletes and awarded to the most spirited Bronc. Torre has already forever etched her name in the women's basketball record books in 11 different categories. After scoring her 1,000thcareer point in early December, the guard went on to up her total to 1,226. Maree put together an outstanding senior season to lead the men's basketball team to their highest win total in four years.

He was second on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg), first in rebounding (4.1 rpg), and earned Great West Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors. In addition, he scored his 1,000th-career point on February 2, 2012.

The men's tennis team compiled a 3.296 GPA to earn the Male Academic Team of the Year honor while the women's tennis team compiled a 3.377 GPA to earn Female Academic Team of the Year.

Winners included: Mr. Bronc – Mike McCarthy (baseball) Ms. Bronc – Bianca Torre (women's basketball) Athlete of the Year (Male) – Jared Maree (men's basketball) Athlete of the Year (Female) – Bianca Torre (women's basketball) Rookie of the Year (Male) – Bryan Maxwell (baseball) Rookie of the Year (Female) – Jasmine Davison (women's track and field) Breakthrough Athlete of the Year (Male) – Jonathan Sa (baseball) Breakthrough Athlete of the Year (Female) – Samantha Garcia (women's golf) Performance of the Year – Baseball's 5-2 win at No. 8 Texas A&M (3/14/12) Team of the Year (Community Service) – Women's Track and Field Academic Team of the Year (Male) – Tennis Academic Team of the Year (Female) – Tennis Assistant Coach of the Year – Norberto Lopez (baseball) Student Trainer of the Year – Rey Buendia

A Legacy of Champions

ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME INDUCTS NEW CLASS Congratulations to the newest class of the UT Pan American Athletics Hall of Fame, which was inducted on Jan. 28. The Class of 2012 included former track and field and cross country coach Reid Harter, former women's track and field star Monica Wesley Swift (BBA '91, M.Ed. '94), University President Dr. Ralph F. Schilling, Hall of Honor honoree and represented by son Ralph Schilling III, former men's golfer Mike Brisky (BBA '87), and former baseball players Jesse Trinidad (BS ' 82) and Ron Edquist (BS '77).

Visit www.utpabroncs.com for full story.

Mike McCarthy

Catching Up with

by Melissa Vasquez

Life as a Bronc can get stressful at times, however Mike McCarthy doesn’t mind it at all. Almost three years ago the catcher for the Broncs Baseball team found himself without a dugout to call home after The University of Vermont shut down its baseball program at the end of the 2009 season catching McCarthy, a freshman at the time, by surprise.

“At the time I found out about the program being shut down I was just learning the ropes at Vermont. I expected to be there for the next four years. The toughest part was not knowing where we were all going to end up that next year,” he said.

Figuring out where to go next for McCarthy was an easy decision; he made plans to start his sophomore year as a UTPA Bronc. He said meeting UTPA Assistant Baseball Coach Norberto Lopez, who he called a “straight shooter,” and realizing how much the coaches cared about their student-athletes was a grand slam for him.

just about winning games but getting their college degrees. On road trips Head Coach Manny Mantrana is known for designating a certain amount of study time on the bus, he said.

On the field, McCarthy’s career statistics with the Broncs in 117 games (108 starts) include a .336 batting average with 22 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 80 RBI. He has also recorded a .978 fielding percentage. He describes his style of play as a “work hard, get down and dirty style.”

As a catcher he finds the mental aspect to be the most difficult part of the game. “Being in the game every game, pitch by pitch gets difficult sometimes, especially if you’re having a tough day at the plate,” said McCarthy, who one day hopes to play pro ball.

“I decided UTPA was where I wanted to continue my college baseball career because of the connection that I had with the coaches from day one. I felt that UTPA was the right place for me to be,” McCarthy said.

He said playing in the majors is something that he has worked for since he was a four-yearold little leaguer who used to practice hitting with his dad and grandpa. McCarthy plans to graduate in December with a major in English and history, and would like to pursue a master’s degree and a career as a teacher/coach. He said he is not sure at what level he would coach, but he does know that he wants to share his love of baseball with others.

Even though life as a Bronc can be challenging, McCarthy said the coaching staff keeps him and his teammates' priorities in check, which is not

“I love the game. It’s been a part of me my whole life and I don’t know what I would do or where I would be without it,” he said.

5 Fun Facts About Mr. Bronc: 1. In Spring 2012, McCarthy

was recognized by his fellow Broncs and named "Mr. Bronc" during the annual UTPA student-athlete banquet.

2. When it comes to the type

of glove he uses on the field, he goes with a Wilson catcher’s mitt.

3. As for what he uses to hit

those homeruns, McCarthy sticks with a wooden bat like the pros use.

4. He is a big fan of the Boston Red Sox team and its legendary Fenway Park.

5. When asked what four

people, living or dead, he’d invite to dinner? McCarthy said “My grandfather, Megan Fox, Taylor Swift, and one of my roommates.”

Athletics | 19

A S t o r y o f a P a n A m E x W o r t h Te l l i n g

Walter Yates AND HIS ROAD TO SUCCESS IN LIFE

by Dr. Greg Selber

Yes, he did play in three NAIA postseason tournaments as a Bronc, winning one national championship. And yes, he is one of the most successful coaches in Texas high school basketball history, with nearly 1,000 wins. And so yes, he is definitely one of the greatest all-around achievers to ever come through the University's athletic program.

But there once was a time when Walter Yates (BS '65) wasn't a sure bet to become a champion and leader of men at all.

“ I guess I was meant to come down to Pan American, to play for Coach Williams.”

- WALT E R YAT E S (BS '65)

Interviewed extensively as part of my upcoming history of Pan American basketball book, “Bronc Ball,” due out in 2013, Yates shared the story of how as a Houston junior high kid he was about to quit the basketball team and school. Having grown up in the 1950s without a father in the notoriously rough and underprivileged Fifth Ward, Yates was about to check it in and go do who knew what. If he had followed through, he knows his career trajectory might have been vastly different, and he probably would not have gone on to become a fine forward with Pan American College or compile 973 lifetime coaching victories.

“I was having a pretty rough time, so I decided to quit school in junior high,” said Yates, now retired and living in his hometown. “The coach at O.E. Smith was Frankie Brazos, a great man, everyone respected him. He told me that if I thought I was going to quit school, I would have to fight him first. Well, looking at him, I could tell he was serious, so I went back. From that point on, I decided that I wanted to coach, and I wanted to be like Coach Brazos.”

Yates first told that story to The Houston Chronicle in 1993, and that is somewhat ironic, because when he was coming up in Texas, the newspapers of the time seldom mentioned anything about the black schools that, of course, were still denied an even playing field with the white ones. It was as if they didn't exist.

Though he was a super frontcourt star at legendary Wheatley High, one of the greatest

20 | Athletics

powerhouses in state high school history, he never got any attention from the media. At his school, the kids were lucky to make it through four years of education, such that there was.

“They called it separate but equal but there was really nothing equal in high school,” said Yates, who eventually followed older Wheatley alums Walter Sampson and Howard Montgomery to Edinburg to play for Coach Sam Williams. “It isn't equal when you're using old, ratty textbooks in old school buildings. But there was nothing we could do about it but keep working, and try and get somewhere in life anyway.”

Strong guidance and basketball talent allowed Yates, by then 6-foot-7, to escape the smothering hopelessness of the ghetto, and he leapt at the chance. Recruited by traditionally black universities such as Grambling and Texas Southern, he took a chance on Pan American after deciding to “do something different. We didn't even know where Edinburg was at first,” he said. Doing his bit was Montgomery, later to become the first Bronc ever drafted by the NBA (Warriors, 1962), who convinced Yates to come south by sending news clippings of his Bronc achievements in the Valley.

“People talk a lot about Glory Road and UTEP, how Don Haskins integrated college basketball in the mid-1960s, and that's a great story,” Yates said. “But the truth is, Coach Williams was bringing in black players long before that, we could have had five black starters, I think we ended up with three, sometimes four.”

The program had first integrated back in 1957, and when Williams came aboard shortly thereafter, Pan American became a haven in the South for kids who could not join teams in the Southwest Conference, SEC, or any number of other whites-only leagues. And besides being a monumental move from a civil rights standpoint, the recruitment of players of color helped turn the Broncs into a big winner. Yates, his cousin Mitchell Edwards, and future NBA star Lucious Jackson were at the fore of the club's rise to prominence. The first group of Sampson,

Montgomery, and Detroit's Ellis Appling started it off, as from 1957-65, PAC was an early trailblazer.

In Yates' last three seasons, the program won 79 games and lost just 17, advancing to the NAIA Tournament three times in a row, winning the whole ball of wax in 1962-63. Yates still chuckles when recalling the diverse makeup of the unit Williams put together.

“We had a nice mix of people and we all fit well together eventually,” he said. “We had blacks, Hispanics, a Jewish guy from New York, and an Irish guy from New York too. A real international team! Sometimes folks would come to see us play and figured that this was some kind of team specially created to push integration.”

When his playing days were over, Yates found himself a tad shy of completing all the work needed for a degree in education. Traveling with the hoops team so often had made it difficult to keep current. He had just about decided to go back to Houston without a diploma until Williams stepped in with a solution: finish his credits while coaching the newly created Bronc freshman team for 1965-66, to be known as the Ponies. Perfect!

Yates going in for two, circa 1962.

“Coach Williams talked to me like I was his own son,” Yates recalls. “And he was always that type of person, the guy was really interested in us as people. It meant a lot to me that he was concerned about me finishing my schooling, and I took the lessons he taught me to heart after I started coaching. It's what I'd wanted to do anyway.”

A successful stint as a newbie coach under his belt, Yates then secured a ringing endorsement from Bronc athletic luminary Lou Hassell, who helped the youngster land the head coaching job at Jeff Davis High School in Houston. That was 1967 and the rest is history, Texas basketball history.

Yates was to get close to the 1,000-win mark in a fabulous career that lasted until 2002, when he finally decided to retire, giving some other young bucks the chance to make their bones in the business, as he had. His long and successful tenure at three Houston schools enabled him to become an expert at giving back, mentoring troubled kids, and teaching them to work hard to overcome their difficulties. He'd gotten the same help, way back when, as every step of the way his talent and determination had been leavened with doses of sage advice and courageous leadership from dedicated men who cared.

“I guess I was meant to come down to Pan American, to play for Coach Williams,” he mused. “It has all worked out so well for me, I am truly blessed. A lot of people had an impact on me being successful, and I always wanted to help young folks do the same sort of things. I think I have.”

www.utpa.edu/los-arcos | 21

E H T “ I am very reluctant to say goodbye to our old stomping grounds, but I am very excited about the future of the performing arts at UT Pan American.”

- D R . DA H LI A G U E R R A ( B A ' 76 ) Dean, College of Arts and Humanities

22 | Los Arcos

L A W N I O F B

In 1970, the Pan American College campus experienced “The Year of Construction.” It was a time of rapid growth in the student population with 4,600 students enrolled and nearly a dozen new buildings, costing a total of $12 million, being erected across campus grounds.

Five years after acceptance into the state system in 1965 and out of regional college status, PAC officials embarked on the first phase of expansion, dubbed the Big Building Program, for one of the state’s youngest colleges.

Dr. Frederick (Ted) von Ende, a retired faculty member from the Department of English, said he used to walk the campus grounds in the late 60s and scope out the construction of the buildings.

“It was fascinating to watch the school grow during that period,” von Ende said.

Von Ende, who began his career at UTPA in 1968, saw the campus sprout its modern buildings that were part of a “village concept”

by Architect Kenneth Bentsen of Houston and included the modern Spanish design of arches, open hallways and courtyards you see today.

From a multi-million dollar physical plant to the Health and Physical Education Complex, nothing compared to the Fine Arts Center.

One of the largest buildings to be constructed on campus at that time, the Fine Arts Center

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became the heart of the arts at UTPA and the Rio Grande Valley.

At a cost of $1.2 million to build, the Fine Arts Center included a small theater, music labs, art studios, and the showplace of the complex – a 1,000-seat Fine Arts Auditorium that will be demolished later this summer to make way for a state-of-the-art Academic and Performing Arts Center scheduled to be completed in 2014.

Before UTPA rolls out the welcome mat for its new resident and embarks on the next phase as a center of culture in South Texas, the University gave the auditorium a proper sendoff on June 3, 2012. Before the lights went dark, UTPA celebrated with a free and public event – CODA, The Final Concert. The name “coda” came from the musical term signifying the end of a piece, and for many in attendance the ending was bittersweet. Organizers of the event said “coda” was a fitting name to mark the end of an era and prepare for a new one.

Von Ende, who retired in May 2010 and also attended the CODA activities, returned to say goodbye and catch one last show at the auditorium.

“I had mixed feelings about it being torn down, but buildings don’t last forever,” von Ende said.

“I’m sort of thinking of it as part of our retirement – a retirement of this building.”

Also having mixed emotions was Dr. Dahlia Guerra (BA ’76), dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, who has been performing on that stage since she was a college student. For her, the memories are plenty and happy too as it was the stage where she met her husband; the aisles are where her son used to run up and down as a child; and the seats are where her parents sat for more than 40 years to see her play the piano.

“I am very reluctant to say goodbye to our old stomping grounds, but I am very excited about the future of the performing arts at UT Pan American,” Guerra said.

Standing ovations were frequent during the two-hour long concert that featured both UTPA student groups, alumni, and current and former faculty who excel in the arts.

For UTPA alumna Linda Musollari (BA ’04, MA ’08), who once performed with the Operafestival di Roma in 2001 when she was a UTPA senior, the day was very emotional. She sang one last time at the CODA concert from the opera “The Atonement” by UTPA faculty emeritus Carl Seale with her eight-year-old son Laert accompanying her.

“It is very bittersweet to say goodbye because we grew up in these halls. This is where my friends and I wanted to be and to see it go is very hard, but at the same time it is going to be very exciting to see the new building,” said Musollari, who hopes to return and perform in the new home of UTPA arts.

“I ask you to be involved and help us raise that money so that we can have the very best, because the arts are what make us human; the arts are what make us feel; the arts are our best way we communicate,” he said.

There are numerous opportunities to support this project from donations to namings. Everyone can participate and contribute to the new center.

Us Bu ild Thi ll Ha tal eci sR

Though the new center will have more space for

That is why he and the University are asking for the community's help to raise $3.8 million to build the recital hall. A group of more than 50 special individuals dedicated to the arts in the Rio Grande Valley got together at the CODA brunch to kick off a fundraising campaign to support the recital hall.

lp

UTPA President Robert S. Nelsen thanked patrons, who filled the auditorium, and shared with them how the new facility will accommodate more performances. “I wished we could have saved her, but we couldn't, because she's not in good shape, but she is our hermana (sister) and we will miss her,” he said.

“Without a recital hall, our students, all of whom have to give a final recital in music or dance, will not have a place (to perform),” Nelsen said.

He

The new 1,000-seat auditorium will have state-of-the-art acoustics and lighting and be fully handicapped accessible. It will provide support space for four rehearsal halls – one for band, orchestra, choir and other groups such as the mariachi and dance troupes. Two adjacent buildings will be renovated to provide more practice and small ensemble rooms. The community will be invited to participate in a “wrecking ball” ceremony and celebration that is tentatively scheduled for late September.

performances, it is missing a very vital piece – the recital hall, which the University had to cut from the original plans to stay within budget.

Give Now www.utpa.edu/givenow

W Bronc Pride ear Your

for Life

Chanting “Semper Porro, Broncs Forever” as they entered the UT Pan American Fine Arts Auditorium were more than 200 current alumni and students who became the first recipients of the University’s official Bronc Ring on May 4.

Designed by UTPA students, the University ring was presented to its first beneficiaries at the inaugural Bronc Ring Ceremony, which included the touching of the Bronc Ring touchstone and the signing of the official ceremony book by recipients.

For Harlingen residents, fraternity brothers and longtime friends Gustavo Grajales and Daniel Cardenas III, participating in the Bronc Ring ceremony was about honoring longtime traditions and starting new ones.

“This University is a part of my family heritage. My great grandfather was on the Board of Regents back when this was still Pan American College, before they joined the UT System,” Grajales, a senior majoring in political science and history, said. “I care a lot about this University.”

Grajales said he was thrilled when the Bronc Ring became a reality because it had taken a long time for students and other stakeholders to find the perfect design.

The entire process took 30 students, led by assistant professor of art Donna Sweigart, 60 designs, nine Ring Committee members, and more than a year and a half to complete.

UTPA President Robert S. Nelsen, who received Brong Ring No. 1, said it was important for him to initiate a new campus tradition that would symbolize the unbreakable bond alumni and students have for their

24 | Los Arcos

by Melissa Vasquez & Jennifer Berghom

alma mater. The ring was unveiled to the University community during Homecoming 2012 in February.

“We needed to come forward with new traditions and new ideas and just have a real sense of what it means to have Bronc pride,” Nelsen said.

The fraternity brothers said they love the ring's design and all the little details it includes.

“The best part about it is how it has the covered walkway on it; that's a big signifier of Pan Am,” Grajales said. “That's one of the best parts about this University.”

Cardenas, a first-generation college student who participated in the ring ceremony, said the ring is about starting a new tradition for his University and fraternity family. Both members of Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE), the friends said they and their “brothers” had their scroll numbers – the numbers they received when they were inducted into the organization – inscribed inside their rings.

Senior art student Esteban Lopez, who was the lead designer on the project and received Bronc Ring No. 2 during the ceremony, hopes Broncs everywhere wear their rings with pride. He said he plans to bestow his ring to his baby boy Alejandro Esteban, who was born during the ring design process.

“For sure and without a doubt, I will be passing down my Bronc Ring to my son,” Lopez said.

To view the making of the Bronc Ring, check out the video at www.youtube.com/utpa.

Top to Bottom: President Robert S. Nelsen addresses recipients; alumna Elisa Flores (BBA '03, MBA'05) signs the ceremony book; UTPA student and SGA president Stephanie Corte poses with Bronc Ring; SGA vice president George Galindo (BA '12) flashes a smile and his ring; the Bronc Ring touchstone.

join THE YEAR 1927

the

UTPA

THE MEMORY STOLE

Marks the origin of our institution of higher education.

Is in remembrance of our educational family, the dedication of administration, faculty, staff, and families, who support our accomplished students.

THE BRONC

Our mascot defines our independence and unrestrained spirit as well as our proud agricultural history.

THE STAR

Relates to the seal of the state of Texas and our relationship to the entire state system.

SEMPER PORRO

tradition THE HERALDIC SHIELD An architectural detail from our historical auditorium.

A reminder of our beginnings and venerable history of serving the city of Edinburg and the Rio Grande Valley. Honoring the accomplishments of our graduates.

This Latin phrase articulates our alma mater “Forever Onward.

today THE UTPA LOGO

A compass symbolizes the four points – north, south, east and west. The directions represent access and students coming from every corner of our region and from every corner of the world.

THE ARCHES

A campus architectural theme that links our campus village and visually portrays the bridging of cultures in our University community.

THE LAUREL & STAR:

THE BOOK & RAYS OF LIGHT

Details from our official seal affirm victory and triumph.

Elements of our official seal that illuminate education and research.

THE OAK

Planted in the premier year of our college, the oak tree illustrates the legacy of planting seeds of wisdom and the growth to both the University and the individual.

THE ENSIGN SHIELDS Protects our educational journey.

THE WALKWAY

YEAR OF GRADUATION

A unique architectural distinction of our campus.

This artery embodies a protective journey, lifelong learning, and community.

DEGREE OF STUDIES

claim your

Bronc Ring

The Bronc Ring captures the essence of our Univerity and gives alumni and new graduates the chance to take the spirit of Bronc Country with them wherever they go. Designed by a group of UTPA art students just for you, the Bronc Ring is more than just a piece of jewelry, it's a reminder of the personal growth and unforgettable friendships you forged as a Bronc. Our Ring is reserved exclusively for alumni and students who have achieved a minimum of 60 credit hours. For one year, you can also trade in your old class ring for a new Bronc Ring. This special ends May 2013. We invite you to be a part of this new tradition in Bronc Country.

To purchase the Bronc Ring, visit the University Bookstore online at

www.utpa.edu/bookstore

Alumni

take the (cup)cake

Sugar and spice sure does make everything nice for three UT Pan American alumni, who own one of the hottest cupcake shops in the Rio Grande Valley – the RGV Cupcake Factory.

Sabrina Rodriguez

Sisters Sabrina (BS ’06) and Erica (BS ’02, MS ’04) Rodriguez and best friend Johanna Saenz (BS ’08, MS ’11), decided to take a chance and go into business together baking some of the sweetest and most original cupcakes in town named after celebrities.

“It’s been going really well for us. It has been very busy and it just keeps getting busier and busier,” Sabrina said.

Erica Rodriguez

Johanna Saenz

This June, the trio celebrates a year of being in business. Their storefront, located at 1414 North 10th Street in McAllen, Texas, opened on June 18, 2011, and since then the ride has been pretty sweet for the UTPA graduates, who will appear on the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” in pursuit of a $10,000 grand prize. The teams are judged by the queen of cupcakes Candace Nelson, owner of famous Sprinkles Cupcakes, and acclaimed pastry chef Florian Bellanger, chef and co-owner of MadMac, an online macaroon company.

“Every single day was just intense,” said Sabrina, who spent a week in California with Erica prepping for the big production. “It was a tough show to be on.”

She described their “Cupcake Wars” experience like walking into a war zone. “People just think it’s a little one-hour cupcake show, but it’s not, it’s very demanding from start to finish,” she said.

“You really have to be strong (able to take criticism) and have a fast working body and mind because it’s really hard.”

by Melissa Vasquez

These ladies are no stranger to hard work though, on a daily basis they not only work with flour and sugar, they also have their careers in pediatric and adult rehab as speech pathologists. All three earned their degrees in communication sciences and disorders from UTPA. The Rodriguez sisters currently own Rise N Shine Therapy, LLC in Mission, Texas where they work with younger clients while Saenz works in the home health industry with adults.

Even though they work from 9 a.m.- 7:30 p.m. in rehab services, before the day is done all end their day at the cupcake shop. You can find all three at the shop on weekends baking up their delicious creations. The natives of Donna, Texas said they are always looking to create new flavors and love to hear customers’ ideas on fun and crazy concoctions. As for a cupcake named after their alma mater, Sabrina said there is not a UTPA cupcake on the menu yet, but it’s a great idea to consider.

During the week, Sabrina estimates they bake more than 1,000 cupcakes a day and usually sell out before 5 p.m. Weekends are the busiest as the threesome fill orders that range from 50 to 500 cupcakes. The trio said they are grateful for the support their shop has received from the community. Plans are in the works for a second location in the Valley said Sabrina. They are not sure where yet, but they know it’s time to expand, she said.

Hopefully our Broncs take the crown, but we have to wait to watch the episode as the ladies are sworn to secrecy. Tune in on June 24 to the Food Network to find out if these cupcake divas bring home the big prize.

To connect with the RGV Cupcake Factory, “like” them on Facebook.

Meet a few of their celebrity cupcake concotions – the Nutty Professor, a milk chocolate cupcake with a ganache filling, light cream cheese frosting topped with roasted almonds; the Hugh Hefner, a red velvet cupcake with a delicate cream cheese frosting dressed with red crumbs; and the Kim Kardashian, a chocolate cake with a cream cheese filling, cream cheese frosting, drizzled chocolate and red heart on top.

Where are they now?

1960s

Pete Vela (BA ’69) will be inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame on June 30. His career included 25 years in coaching and 15 years as an athletic director. He was inducted into the Texas Athletic Directors’ Hall of Honor in July 2011.

1970s

Luis Rivera (BA ’74, M.Ed. ’80) serves as the vice president of sales operations for Coca-Cola Refreshments-San Antonio/Austin.

Carmen Lara (BBA ’75) elected president of

the UTPA Alumni Association.

Eva Tristan Torres (M.Ed. ’79), an experi-

enced secondary principal, has been named by the Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees as principal of Robert R. Vela High School, scheduled to open in August 2012. She is currently working toward her doctorate in educational leadership at UT Pan American.

1980s

Ramiro Guerra (BS ’80, M.Ed. ’89), Edinburg North High School principal and 32-year veteran educator, is the Secondary Principal state winner of the 2012 H-E-B Excellence in Education Award.

Iris Iglesias (BS ’80) is one of seven to be

honored June 30 as a new inductee into the 2012 Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame. She is a three-time Valley Coach of the Year and was instrumental in starting the softball program at Mission High School.

Rogelio Saenz (BSW ’81), the dean of The

University of Texas at San Antonio College of Public Policy, selected to serve as chair of the executive council of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).

David Chavana (‘83) recently retired as the

race director for one of the premier races in Texas, the Edinburg All-America City 10K Run. He has led the race for the past 30 years.

Johnny Collins (‘83) opened his second

MOOYAH franchise in Mansfield, Texas in December 2011 serving up more than a million customizable ways to enjoy a burger in the Dallas area. Collins is looking to expand the franchise to South Texas and share the MOOYAH experience with his hometown of McAllen.

Robert Kirby (BS, '84) joined the Louisiana State University basketball program as an assistant coach.

Carlos Ramos (BBA ’84) is the regional cus-

tomer care director for Coca-Cola RefreshmentsSan Antonio/Austin area.

Eva Woodfin (BBA ‘85) named Small Business Administration's Financial Services Champion of the Year for her work as a loan coordinator for the Community Loan Center Corporation in Brownsville, Texas.

Javier Palomarez (BBA ’86),

United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, selected as one of Washington Business Journal’s 2012 Minority Business Leaders of the Year.

Mike Brisky (BBA ’87),

wplayed on the PGA Tour for seven seasons and professionally for 15 years, will be inducted into the 2012 class of the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame June 30.

Dr. Rene Gutiérrez (BBA ’87, M.Ed. ’91, Ed.D. ’08), Edinburg CISD superintendent, received the Excellence in Educational Leadership Award from the University Council for Educational Administration in May. Dianne Willis (BS ’89, M.Ed. ’95) named the new principal for Edinburg CISD’s Macaria de la Garza Gorena Elementary School and is the vice president for the UTPA Alumni Association.

1990s

Beatriz Espinoza (BS ’90) named president of Coastal Bend College in Beeville, Texas.

Steven Escobar (BA ’93),

a freelance film/TV editor and producer, recently broke the Guinness World Records record for the highest body count in a slasher film. “The Summer Massacre" was released on DVD, Blu Ray and OnDemand Video in January 2012.

David Vasquez (BBA ‘94, MBA ‘00) appointed as finance director for the City of Donna, Texas. He previously served as the senior financial analyst for Valley Baptist Health System in Harlingen, Texas.

Laura Garcia Kakar (BS ‘97, MPAS ‘08),

vice president for the Dallas Center for Sleep Disorders, published a children’s book titled “No Limits!” The publication is about staying focused on your education and not letting tough circumstances or distractions keep you from achieving your dreams.

Christine Phillips (BS ’99), played two

seasons for the UTPA volleyball squad, and was recently inducted into the 11th class of the Long Beach City College Hall of Champions.

2000s

Priya Govind (BBA ’02) is the owner of Kumon Math and Reading Center in Edinburg, Texas. The center is designed to help children develop a love for learning.

Joe Resendez (BS ’03) was picked up as the Los Angeles Clippers new assistant athletic trainer/assistant strength and conditioning coach in December 2011. The Brownsville, Texas native spent the last four seasons as the athletic trainer/ strength and conditioning coach for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League.

Clara Rodriguez (BSN ‘04) director of the

Wound Center at Knapp Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas where she and her staff tend to patients’ chronic and hard-to-heal wounds.

www.utpa.edu/los-arcos | 27

Class Notes

In the Spotlight

Edgar Sandoval

New York Daily News Reporter

by Jennifer Berghom

Ever since Edgar Sandoval graduated from UT Pan American in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in journalism, he has been living his childhood dream of becoming a newspaper reporter.

“Growing up in Mexico and going to high school and college in South Texas, I always had this childhood fantasy of working for a major newspaper and living in a Metropolis like Superman did in the comics and movies,” Sandoval said.

Throughout his career Sandoval has worked at newspapers throughout the country including The Monitor, the (Allentown, Penn.) Morning Call, the Los Angeles Times, and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He is now a reporter for The New York Daily News and in 2012 he published a book called "The New Face of Small Town America: Snapshots of Latino Life in Allentown, Pennsylvania.”

The book focuses on the growing Latino community in Allentown, Pennsylvania where Sandoval spent three years writing about the small American city. His publication consists of 31 stories that discuss not just Latinos in Allentown, but Latinos everywhere, he said.

Sandoval said he wrote the book because many small towns throughout middle America were seeing an influx of Latinos in their communities and the growth of the Latino population throughout the country was receiving much attention from mainstream media.

"Their stories reminded me of what I had written about when I was covering Latinos in Pennsylvania," Sandoval said. "I thought my book could help educate non-Latinos about their fears of the new arrivals. I hope people see that there is nothing to fear. Latinos want what every human has wanted from the beginning of time, to go to a place that can offer their offspring a better life."

Sandoval said he has received mostly good feedback and his book was chosen for the Authors Showcase at this year’s UNITY, the largest gathering of journalists in the nation.

Not bad for a kid from Zacatecas, Mexico, who kick-started his journalism career as a UTPA student writing for the campus newspaper – The Pan American. The local daily newspaper The Monitor, located in McAllen, Texas, quickly recognized his talent and offered him a part-time news reporter job while he was a college student.

His advice to fellow Broncs thinking of breaking into journalism is, first of all, to realize you don’t go into this business to make money, and second, you better love what you do.

“Never lose focus. Make a road map of what you want and follow the steps from A to B to C. Don't take rejections personally from employers either. Just keep knocking on doors. Your knuckles will end up a bit sore, but a door will open sooner than later,” he said.

28 | Los Arcos • Summer 2012 Alumni

Jorge Aaron Lozano (BA ’05), a teacher at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial High School was honored as the 2011 TASC District 16 Student Council Sponsor of the Year.

Savannah Tucker (BA ’05) opened her own

counseling practice, Centex LPC, in Belton, Texas earlier this year.

Janie Caballero (BBA ’06, MBA ’10), a senior business adviser at the UTPA Small Business Development Center, was honored as the 2012 “State Star” winner by the Association of Small Business Development Centers. She will represent Texas and be recognized at a national conference in New Orleans in September.

Jaime Cavazos (BS ‘04,

MS ’06) currently owns and operates the 2,000-squarefoot Cavazos Sports Institute in McAllen, Texas. Over his six years as a certified trainer, Cavazos has trained more than 300 student-athletes.

Bea Florez (BSW ’06) is completing her

concentration year at Baylor’s Master’s in Social Work (MSW) degree program where she is a continuing Hogg Foundation Scholar.

Samantha Jarvis (BA ‘07) was one of six

students recognized as a Public Service Scholar with the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest at the University of Texas School of Law. For her commitment to studying, promoting and working in public service, Jarvis received a $4,000 scholarship and got the opportunity to work closely with the center on publicservice initiatives.

Michele Piszczor (BA ’07), a Chicago native, entered the Illinois State House District 22 Democratic primary race against Speaker of the House Michael Madigan in the hopes of bringing change and fresh ideas to the community. Piszczor, who earned her degree in political science, said her first involvement in politics was as a UTPA student.

Alex Del Barrio (BA ’08) landed the job of a

lifetime as a public address announcer for the internationally renowned clown princes of basketball, the Harlem Globetrotters. He began the U.S. tour with the Globetrotters on Christmas Day 2011 and wrapped it up with a European tour this spring.

Class Notes JUST MARRIED

BRONCS WE’LL MISS Liza L. Longoria (BA ’01), an award-winning

photojournalist, passed away June 2, 2012 in McAllen, Texas. She worked for The Brownsville Herald for seven years and The Monitor.

John McDowell (BS ’77, M.Ed. ’79), former Broncs basketball player, coach, administrator and teacher, died May 29, 2012 at the age 57.

Dr. Norman Browne, a former professor of art at UTPA and an award-winning illustrator, passed on March 28, 2012 at the age of 77.

Connie Alicia Vasquez (BA ’09) and Danny

Elizabeth Rodriguez (BS ’08) wed Colin Lien (BASC ’07) in Galveston, Texas on July

Gloria got hitched on June 25, 2011 in Mission, Texas.

16, 2011. Proud parents of the bride are UTPA Broncs Julio Rodriguez (BA ’78) and Rosie Rodriguez (BBA ’80).

Cindy Davila (BA ’03) said “I do” to Romeo

Casanova on December 20, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Lamar De La Garza (BS ‘10) married Hugo Garza, Jr. (BS ‘09) on February 4, 2012 in

Myriam Tapia (BIS ‘06, M.Ed. ’09) wed

Edinburg, Texas.

Danny Romeo Rios on December 17, 2011 in McAllen, Texas.

Marysol Mireles (BS ’06) married Dr. Ernesto

Gerardo Trevino on January 21, 2012 in McAllen, Texas.

Rebecca Elizabeth Ramirez (MSSW '07)

and Warren Paul Stocker were united in marriage on November 4, 2011 in McAllen, Texas.

Maday Avila (BBA ’05) married Daniel

Eduardo Avila on December 30, 2011 in McAllen, Texas.

Donald Alton Ball, 88, perished on March 8, 2012, at his home in Portland, Ore., after a brief illness. He taught marketing and international business at UT Pan American.

Maria “Cris” Garza (BA ’69) ended her

courageous journey against cancer on Feb. 18, 2012. She was extremely involved with the UTPA Houston Alumni Chapter.

Betty Ann Wiech Novak (BA ’86), age 83, died Nov. 28, 2011 in DeWitt, Ark. She was employed at the University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers Rice Research Facility where she retired at the age of 72 as a researcher.

Lt. Kevin Petit (BS ’08), 27, a U.S. Army Reserve Officers Training Corps instructor at UT Pan American, passed away Dec. 13, 2011 in Pharr, Texas.

FUTURE BRONCS

Dr. Edward E. Heckler, who served as a

professor in the English Department at Pan American University/UT Pan American for 29 years, passed away at his home in McAllen, Texas on Oct. 17, 2011.

2

4

Juanita Elizondo Garza (BA ’84, MA’ 84), a lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy, 72, passed away Nov. 20, 2011 in Edinburg, Texas.

1

3

5

6

1. Jennifer Marie Vasquez (BS ‘05 and BSN ‘10) and David Flores (BS ‘05) welcomed the arrival of their baby girl Mila Alessandra Flores on October 28, 2011.

2. Julie Nava Villarreal (BA ‘00) and Ruben Villarreal welcomed the birth of Israel Levi Villarreal on Oct. 13, 2011.

3. Melissa Vasquez (BA ’98) and Efrain Martinez (BA ’99) celebrated their future Bronc's, daughter Emma, second birthday in December.

4. Mirta Ramirez Espinola (BA ’97) and Staff Sergeant Carlos Espinola are the proud parents of Armando Luis, who came into the world on August 26, 2011.

5. Edgar A. Alcantara (BA ’08) and Carina Y. Alcantara (BA ’05) celebrated their baby girl Gianna Yvette’s first birthday on November 2.

6. Gabriela Barajas (BA ‘03) and Saul Garza announce the birth of Paul Gabriel Garza on August 23, 2011.

Alejandro “Rey” Davila Jr., a building attendant I for the UTPA Physical Plant, died Nov. 1, 2011. He lived in Edinburg, Texas most of his life.

Miguel “Mike” Federico Zárate, assistant

director of UTPA Human Resources, passed on at his home in Edinburg, Texas on Oct. 21, 2011 at the age of 57.

Adalberto “Kiko” Martinez, 53, building

attendant for the UTPA Physical Plant, perished Dec. 15, 2011 at his residence in La Blanca, Texas.

YOU HAVE NEWS? WE WANT IT. UTPA wants to hear from you and find out what you have been up to since graduation. Send us your news and photos about what is going on in your professional and personal life. Email us at losarcos@utpa.edu.

Please include your degree and graduation year with your information.

www.utpa.edu/los-arcos | 29

Pillars of Success 2012

Racing legend Mario Andretti once said, “Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”

Determination and a commitment to excellence are the driving forces behind the recently inducted five Pillars of Success at UT Pan American, whose career and personal triumphs have made their alma mater proud.

Recognized during the 2012 Alumni Ball on February 17, the 2012 Pillars of Success are a distinguished group of individuals, who were chosen among their peers for their personal and career successes, will stand as role models for current and future Broncs. The Pillars of Success is the official "Alumni" annual award presented during Homecoming Weekend. The Pillars for 2013 will be honored on February 15.

Ruben A. Perez (BBA ‘77) As a trailblazer in the medical industry and one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the state, Ruben A. Perez has developed an impressive résumé over his 35 years in the field of health care. Perez is the president and CEO of the CIMA Healthcare Corporation, which owns and operates four hospice agencies in Texas. In October 2011, CIMA Healthcare merged with Jordan Health Services and together employ more than 10,000 employees in the state. Throughout his career, Perez has established several start-up companies, which were some of the largest health care providers in the nation and traded on the New York Stock Exchange for billions of dollars.

“We celebrate individuals who prove that you can be successful in the (Rio Grande) Valley and you can do it through education,” UTPA President Robert S. Nelsen told nearly 400 attendees about the five honorees this year.

This group is the fifth class to be inducted into this exclusive club. As Pillars of Success, their photos and stories are on display at the UTPA Visitors Center for the next year.

Other Pillars of Success over the years have included Javier Palomarez (BBA ’86), president and CEO, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Valente Rodgriguez (BA ‘86), actor, featured on the “George Lopez Show” and in films; Lucious “Luke” Jackson Jr. (BS ‘73), Olympic gold medalist and former forward with the Philadelphia 76ers; and Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (MBA ‘80), elected to Congress in 1996 from the 15th District of Texas.

To read more about the 2012 Pillars of Success, visit www.utpa.edu/pillarsofsuccess.

30 | Alumni

Elcira Bermudez (BSMF ‘04) After earning her engineering degree, Elcira Bermudez found a perfect fit for herself at the Raytheon Company in McKinney, Texas. As a manufacturing engineer, Bermudez rose up the engineering ranks and is now a driving force behind the company, a major defense government contractor for the armed forces and a global leader in defense and homeland security. She works on the contractor’s multi-spectral targeting systems as the operations lead. Despite her demanding career, Bermudez always returns to her alma mater, especially during the annual Hispanic Engineering Science, Technology (HESTEC) Week, to share her story and encourage young females to consider pursuing degrees in engineering.

Alonzo R. Peña (BS ‘78) Before he retired in December 2010, Alonzo R. Peña served in the second highest spot in the nation for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency as its deputy director. He oversaw 20,000 employees, a $5.7 billion budget, and on several occasions, he briefed White House staff and delivered congressional testimony.

Currently a consultant for a Washington, D.C. firm that targets border security issues and violence in Mexico, Peña is credited with the creation and expansion of ICE’s Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) initiative, which has became a national model and has produced 21 of these task forces across the country.

Jesus ramirez (BA ‘80) With a passion for writing and the law, Jesus “Chuy” Ramirez is a practicing attorney in San Juan, Texas, who published his first fictional book of short stories in 2010. In “Strawberry Fields, a Book of Short Stories,” he shares the culture of South Texas with his readers while telling the tale of an adolescent farmworker. Since releasing his book, Ramirez has established his own publishing company. As an attorney, he has served as general counsel to numerous private and governmental entities, and, as a bond attorney, he has assisted with the public financing of numerous governmental projects in South Texas.

Macaria de la Garza Gorena (AA '39, M.Ed. '77) In her distinguished 47-year career as an educator, Macaria de la Garza Gorena has inspired many students to make education a priority in their lives. Retiring in 1989 from Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, de la Garza Gorena is credited with pioneering the school district’s special education program. Called a “determined soul,” she served in numerous educator roles while at Edinburg including classroom, Spanish and special education teacher. To honor her legacy, Edinburg CISD named one of its newest elementary schools as the Macaria de la Garza Gorena Elementary School on October 15, 2011.

Nominate a Pillar of Success

The UTPA Office of Alumni Relations is currently accepting nominations for its 2013 Pillars of Success. Please visit www.utpa.edu/alumni. Nominations may be submitted online, via email, or mailed to the Alumni Center, located at 2402 S. Closner, Edinburg, Texas; by fax to (956) 665-2385; or by email to alumni@utpa.edu. Individuals selected will be honored February 15, 2013 during the Alumni Ball. Please submit your nomitation by August 1.

www.utpa.edu/los-arcos | 31

Spirit of Bronc Country comes to life at

HOMECOMING 2012

Homecoming 2012 at UT Pan American was much more than a basketball game at the end of the week. It was about alumni returning to campus to reconnect with their Bronc family; for current students it was about creating new traditions and memories. A week, February 1218, filled with celebration and spirit, had a little something for everyone, from past Broncs to new Broncs, including the traditional crowning of the Homecoming Queen and King and the unveiling of a new campus tradition, the Bronc Ring, during the pep rally on February 17.

The week capped off with an all-alumni weekend that hosted numerous events for past Broncs including a 50+ Reunion, Alumni Association Breakfast and an Alumni Ball. Broncs and the public joined the fun at the the Bronc Madness Tailgate Party outside the UTPA Fieldhouse February 18. About 1,000 people wearing their green and white were in attendance to enjoy South Texas hospitality at its best. Homecoming finished on a high note as the Men’s Basketball team defeated Chicago State 74-70 in front of a packed arena. Get ready for Homecoming set for February 11-17, 2013.

Sandy Pollock

Serving Up Chic and Tasty Casseroles

by Melissa Vasquez

The first casserole Sandy Pollock (BA ’95) remembers fixing was the King Ranch Chicken casserole, a Texas favorite and a one-dish meal that her mother often made to feed her family of six around the dinner table.

“King Ranch Chicken was such a staple in Texas and one we ate a lot of as kids. I would say that one (casserole) is the nearest and dearest to my heart,” Pollock said.

For Pollock, the tastes and smells of casseroles take her back to her childhood in Hargill, Texas and are how she makes a living today as one half of the culinary duo known as the “Casserole Queens” in Austin, Texas. Pollock and her business partner, Crystal Cook, have become quite the celebrities around Austin. They are known for delivering fresh-from-scratch casseroles to their customers’ doors dressed in 50s garb – from the frilly aprons their grandmas used to wear to the high heels. The combination of casseroles and Austin, where they are known for keeping it weird, was the perfect fit for their casserole delivery business, Pollock said.

“It really just took off in Austin. They embraced two chicks dressed as 50s housewives serving up casseroles. …We just rode the whole success of people liking our brand and then staying and ordering again because they liked the food. We caught them with the kitsch, but we kept them with the food. We are very proud of that,” she said.

Pollock, who studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, recalls how the business idea came to her after visiting her family in Hargill, located about 18 miles from The University of Texas-Pan American, and partaking in a holiday feast of casseroles galore that her mother

28 T H E U N I V E R S I T Y 34 | Los Arcos • Summer 2012

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had prepared. At that point she thought to herself “my God, everybody here loves what is on this table, and I do too.” Once she returned to Austin, Pollock and Cook discussed the business venture over what she called “ideagenerating” margaritas and decided to go for it and take this culinary adventure together.

“I think there is just a real need for comfort foods and getting back to your childhood and what made you comfortable as a kid,” she said of the one-pot meals.

Since taking the leap from the world of advertising and marketing to casseroles six years ago, the bubbly twosome have appeared on the Food Network’s show “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” where they went face to face with Flay in March 2009 in a chicken pot pie challenge. Flay won the challenge, but in the end the Casserole Queens proved to be the real winners as that appearance helped catapult their small business into major success. Their fortune includes having a vintage dress named after them, coining their own word called “sophistakitsch,” and publishing their first cookbook in 2011 titled “The Casserole Queens Cookbook,” which was on The New York Times bestseller list for three weeks. The cookbook includes some of Pollock’s childhood favorites like the King Ranch Chicken, Meatball Casserole, and a tribute to her Tex-Mex roots in the Rio Grande Valley, a Valley-style Arroz Con Pollo recipe.

“It is very exciting for two scrappy girls from Texas to make the list three times and our (summer) book tour went remarkably well,” she said.

The ladies have made numerous national television appearances since launching their cookbook including “The Today Show” on NBC and QVC. In the summer of 2011, they embarked on a 20-city book tour that brought Pollock back home to South Texas. Pollock, who studied communications with an emphasis on TV, radio and film at UTPA, said her time spent at the Department of Communication taking part in plays and the University-produced summer movies every year allowed her to be comfortable in front of the cameras today. She said the UTPA theatre department was her second family while she was a college student.

“I loved my time there (at UTPA) and it really did get me ready for what I am doing now, which is TV and media stuff,” Pollock said.

Today, Pollock splits her time between Austin and Washington, D.C., where she lives with her fiancée and is working on her second cookbook – on casseroles of course – with a few added surprises for her fans.

Has the fame gotten to the Casserole Queen’s crown? Absolutely not, said Pollock.

“TV is great and has allowed us some awesome opportunities, but we are still a small business at the end of the day. We are still struggling to make it work and that is something to bear in mind because business owning can be so lovely and it can bring so many rewards, but at the same time, it’s hard work. But when you love it, you love it, and we do love it,” Pollock said.

So what’s next for the Queen of Casseroles?

World domination? A franchise, maybe? Or, perhaps, a cooking program on the Food Network/Cooking Channel? “Who knows,” Pollock said. For now she plans to keep working on her second cookbook and continue delivering the most delicious retro-chic casseroles to Austinites all while donning her signature 50s look.

“I loved my time there (at UTPA) and it really did get me ready for what I am doing now, which is TV and media stuff.”

- S A N DY PO LLO C K (BA '95)

“Who knows where it will go. We try not to get too excited. We just keep moving forward and see what happens,” she said.

Follow these queens of kitsch on their Facebook page.

Lunch Lady D oris’ Spicy Ma c & Cheese

MAKES 8 SE RV 1 cup dried elb INGS ow macaroni 2 1/2 cups fre sh or frozen, th 1/2 cup sundried tomatoe awed broccoli florets s 2 tablespoon s unsalted bu tte 1/3 cup slice r d green onio ns, green parts 2 tablespoon only s all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons cayenne pepp er 1 teaspoon dr ied basil 1 teaspoon sa lt 1 cup whole milk 6 ounces shre dd 4 ounces shre ed sharp cheddar cheese dd (1 cup) 4 ounces shre ed Gruyère cheese (1 cu p) dded Gouda cheese (1 cu p) PREHEAT TH E Cook the mac OVEN TO 350˚F. ar If you are using oni according to package ins fresh brocco water for 5 m li, blanch in ho tructions. inu t salted broccoli, thaw tes then drain. If you are using frozen and drain broc Set aside. coli, and add to macaroni.

Meanwhile, pl ac bowl and add e the sun-dried tomatoes in en for 10 minute ough warm water to cove a small s or until softe r. ned. Drain we Let stand into 1/4-inch ll, then chop pieces and se t aside.

L O S

Melt the butte r in a medium sa medium heat . Add the gree ucepan set over n on tender, about 8 minutes. Stir ions and cook until in the flour, ca pepper, basil, yenne and salt. Add th stirring, until slightly thicken e milk, and cook, ed and bubbly. cup of the ched Ad dar, the Gruy ère, and Goud d a at a time, stirri a, a ng cheeses are me well after each addition, un little til the lted. Stir in th e macaroni an mixture and th d broccoli e softened su nTransfer to a 9 x 13-inch ca dried tomatoes. sser the top of the casserole with ole dish and sprinkle the remaining cheddar chee 3/4 cup of se.

Bake for abou t 30 minutes or melted and th until the chee se is e casserole is heated throug h.

A R C O S

Recipe courte

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2 0 1 2 29 www.utpa.edu/los-arcos | 35

S P R I N G

Love Stories BRONC

by Melissa Vasquez

EDITOR'S NOTE: Longtime UTPA supporter and Bronc Maria Cristina "Cris" Garza died on February 18, 2012. To celebrate her life and the love she and her husband David shared for each other and UTPA, Los Arcos is privileged to share their love story with you.

“Not only

did I get my education at Pan Am, I also got my wife.”

-DAVI D G AR Z A (BA '70)

Who knew that a chance meeting at the flagpole on the Pan American College campus in August 1967 would take David (BA ’70) and Maria Cristina “Cris” (BA ’69) Garza on one of the most beautiful journeys of their lives – a marriage made in Bronc Country.

are if it had not been for our education at Pan Am,” David said.

David said he knew he was going to marry Cris from the instant he laid eyes on her.

David shares his wife’s sentiments about their alma mater and how it played a big role in their courtship. He loves to tell the story of how he once spoke on behalf of the Houston chapter at one of the University’s commencement ceremonies and told the graduates, “Not only did I get my education at Pan Am, I also got my wife.”

His “love at first sight” began an idyllic summer day in front of the flagpole, which stands today near the campus chapel, David said.

He had not even been introduced to Cris yet, but he remembers telling himself “This is the woman I am going to marry, she just doesn’t know it yet.” The Elsa, Texas native said Cris didn’t give him the time of day when they first met – turning him down twice when he asked her on dates.

More than 40 years later, the Garzas love for each other and UTPA is still going strong. The couple is very involved with the UTPA Alumni Association – Houston Regional Chapter – the University’s largest alumni chapter, and has been instrumental in starting an endowment scholarship through the chapter. To show their Bronc pride, the couple also changed the University name on their diplomas from Pan American College to UTPA. “I don’t think we would be where we

“I think Pan American gave us the opportunity to meet each other, learn about each other and understand each other,” Cris added.

As you get to know the Garzas, you quickly realize who is the more romantic of the two –that would be David. He can remember lots of little details of their romance in the 60s, from what they ate on their first “so-called” date, enchiladas that cost $2.50, or the first movie they ever saw at an Edinburg theater, “Doctor Zhivago.”

“I’m the romantic one here – not her. I remember everything,” David said with a little giggle as they reminisced about their days as young PAC students.

He said a pivotal moment in their relationship was the day Cris finally asked him out on a date during a flag ceremony celebration on campus.

David remembers standing there and suddenly feeling a tug on his shirt. When he turned around he saw it was Cris. This time he didn’t have to do the asking, she asked him to be her date to the Newman Club Beach Party at South Padre Island. The Newman Club was a catholic student organization on campus of which Cris was a member of.

“Because of my pride I told her 'no' and told her 'I don’t go out with strange girls.' Of course I followed that up with 'you want to have lunch,'” he said.

After the beach party, David said they had an off-again and on-again relationship that he was

not about to give up on. So he continued his pursuit of the lovely Cris, who lived in McAllen, Texas at the time and was majoring in math and minoring in physical education at PAC. In December of 1968, the couple got engaged and were married on August 2, 1969. They have been inseparable since then. Today, they are the proud parents of five and grandparents to 10 grandchildren.

“The fact that my parents were strict and he was able to put up with their rules, that showed he cared about me. That helped me decide it was good enough for me. It turned out great and now with my illness – I have cancer – I don’t know what I would do without him, he takes good care of me. He is such a blessing in my life,” Cris said.

David, who retired from his job in federal services in 2004, now dedicates himself to helping the love of his life fight her illness. Cris retired in 2003 from Houston ISD, where she was a teacher and counselor.

“Right now is when we spend the most time together. Ever since her cancer came back we both decided to retire. These last few years have been a blessing for us because we have gotten closer and really have gotten to know each other and battle this thing together,” David said.

So what is the secret to this successful Bronc marriage? The Garzas said, “It doesn’t take 50-50 to make the marriage work, it takes a 100-100 each. We make every day count.”

“Being at Pan American together at the same time and growing in love and planning for the future helped me understand that we were looking in the same direction,” Cris said. “That is so good to be able to plan your marriage and look in the same direction because you always want to be together as one.”

On Saturday, February 18, 2012, the final day of UTPA's Homecoming Weekend activities, Cris passed away after her long battle with cancer with David by her side, showing that true love does exist and it truly is everlasting.

BRONCS IN L VE

It was a breezy October evening when Cruz Rios and I first met each other. Cruz was serving as the UTPA University Program Board senator for the Student Government Association and I was a senator-at-large. It was at a senate meeting that the two of us had our first face-to-face encounter. It wasn’t very friendly and was definitely not love at first sight.

Our second encounter proved to be more fruitful. I had been working for the Department of Residence Life since I was a freshman. At the close of that fall semester, I was preparing for graduation and decided that a move from the residence halls to Bronc Village was a wise move for a graduating senior like myself. Evidently, Cruz, although not a graduating senior, had a similar idea. We met again in the intermission of our interviews for community advisor (CA) positions at Bronc Village.

We were both hired and excited to begin our new roles as CAs. The Spring 2006 semester proved to be a fantastic semester for the CA staff at Bronc Village, and Cruz and I developed close friendships with the other CAs and each other. That same semester, both of us decided to change our majors from biology to English (me) and communication (Cruz). Our dreams of one day becoming doctors had quickly faded as we both realized that working with college students was a growing passion for us as we both were very involved student leaders on campus. This delayed graduation a little bit for both of us, but that was not a problem, since we both shared a love for UTPA and the Bronc Spirit! Let’s just say that the Spring 2006 semester helped establish a beautiful friendship and a love story of a lifetime.

I graduated in December 2006 and Cruz in May 2008. We both completed our Master of Science in Higher Education Administration/Student Affairs degrees from Texas A&M University and we both currently work there. Cruz and I were married on May 16, 2012 at UTPA's Chapel of the Lord's Prayer. It made perfect sense getting married there. It's just one more thing that will forever connect us to our wonderful alma mater.

Like many great love stories, ours is one filled with wonder, thrilling roller coaster adventures, marathon medals, and rodeo events.

Dianella Cantu and I met for the very first time back in December 10, 2010, weeks after we found each other on Facebook. I knew of Dianella during my last year at UTPA, and always remembered her beautiful smile when we passed each other in the hallways of the communication building. During the entire year of 2004, I never did get chance to interact with her and before I knew it the semester was over. After graduation in December of that year, I left the Rio Grande Valley to work at a corporate job in Dallas.

But something happened along the way; six years later we crossed paths again.

It was November 26, 2010 and there I was at my parent’s house in Ruidoso, New Mexico browsing away on Facebook and I noticed under “Suggested Friends,” a picture of that same beautiful smile from the RGV with the name “Dianella Cantu.” It took me less than three seconds to submit a friend request, and less than 15 minutes to get a friend request approval back. We found out we had many things in common. It was too good to be true.

We officially became a couple on the day of the Fiesta Marathon 2010 in McAllen where we completed a 5K together. Since we did not live in the same city we spent almost every weekend together. We were inseparable. We grew as one – two hearts, one dream. Almost 17 months later, our relationship is stronger than ever. If there is one thing that I have learned in this relationship is that destiny does act in mysterious ways. I never thought that this beautiful woman would come into my life six years later and touch me in ways that no one has ever done. I love you sweetheart!

This April, we became the proud parents of Christian Ryan, who is a reflection of our love, and truly blessed to be a part of this experience with my sweetheart. I am ready to take this relationship to the next step and want the opportunity to share this following request in front of my UTPA friends and family.

Dianella – Will you marry me? www.utpa.edu/los-arcos | 37

Let’s Stay Connected!

Join the UTPA Alumni Association

Membership in the UTPA Alumni Association is all about pride in Bronc Country. Whether you’re an alum, friend, or student, membership in the UTPA Alumni Association is a great way to show your Bronc spirit.

Through your involvement in the Alumni Association – with chapters in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Rio Grande Valley, and the newly formed Dallas/Ft. Worth chapter – you will be able to do great things for your alma mater, students, and alumni.

Throughout the year, the Alumni Association sponsors numerous events including the biggest weekend of the year – Homecoming, set for February 15-17, 2013.

Your time is now! Join the UTPA Alumni Association and stay connected to Bronc Country.

-

Don’t Forget to Be Counted!

As a Bronc you were born to make a difference. So start today and join us by August 31 and be counted for FY 2012 in our annual Count Me In! campaign. A gift from you, no matter how large or small, will make a big difference for UTPA! It’s about the number of graduates who give rather than the amount given. So, whether $5, $50, $500 or $5,000, every gift counts.

Carmen Lara

UTPA Alumni Association President

JOIN TODAY!

www.utpaalumni.com/

BE COUNTED!

www.utpa.edu/countmein

Pictured from left to right are: Velinda Reyes, UTPA director of corporate and foundation relations; Dr. Havidán Rodríguez, UTPA provost and vice president for Academic Affairs; Lydia Aleman, UTPA associate vice president for University Advancement; Dr. Kenneth Buckman, UTPA associate provost for the Office of Student Engagement and Experiential Learning; Dr. Robert S. Nelsen, UTPA president; UTPA Mascot Bucky the Bronc; UTPA student Yamely Jahzel Barrios; Luis Rivera (BA '74, M. Ed.'80), Coca-Cola San Antonio/Austin vice president of sales operations; Carlos Ramos (BBA '84), Coca-Cola regional customer care director; and Chris King, UTPA director of Athletics.

SWEET DEAL: Coca-Cola invests $750,000 in UTPA UTPA President Robert S. Nelsen had a “Coke and a Smile” on June 5 when the University announced its partnership with the Coca-Cola Foundation to help more Broncs achieve their dreams of becoming the first in their families to graduate from college.

The Coca-Cola Foundation awarded the UTPA Foundation a grant for $500,000 — payable over four years — for the Coca-Cola First Generation Scholars Program at the University. Nelsen told members of the media and the UTPA community jokingly that the contributions of Coca-Cola Refreshments and its Foundation made every Dasani water and Diet Coke he ever drank worthwhile.

“These scholarships are going to go to first-generation students, students whose parents never went to college, who never had that opportunity,” Nelsen said. “Every child we help, every student we help, every first-generation student is one less family that will be in poverty, one more family that will lift this Valley and help us in all ways. Coca-Cola Foundation and Coca-Cola know that and they're willing to reach out and help.”

In addition to the scholarships, Coca-Cola Refreshments showed its generosity to UTPA by providing for a $250,000 video board – which is the largest in the Rio Grande Valley at 34.45 feet by 11.81 feet, including two 6-foot by 2.5-foot and 12-foot by 2.5-foot sponsor panels – to be installed in the UTPA Fieldhouse this summer.

Calling the partnership between the beverage giant and the University a great fit was Rudy Beserra, vice president for Latin Affairs for Coca-Cola Refreshments who also serves on The Coca-Cola Foundation and the UTPA Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the University through fund raising and other charitable contributions.

“Coca-Cola Refreshments is proud of the relationship and association we have with UTPA,” Beserra said. “Coca-Cola prides itself in aligning itself with respected Latino brands and there is no better respected brand than UTPA in the Latino community, especially in South Texas. This is just part of the process of making UTPA not only a local, but a national and global destination.”

Saving Lives, Changing Lives

$100,000 grant to give PHC a boost

Edinburg native Dr. Michael Gorena (BS '98) said he and his wife Dr. Maria Lozano-Gorena (BS '99) may not have been where they are today without UTPA’s Premedical Honors College (PHC) Program.

The PHC combines an academically challenging undergraduate program at UTPA with conditional acceptance to BCM in Houston.

The couple met while PHC students at UTPA. He was a student in the PHC's first entering class in 1994, she in the class of 1995. They both graduated from the Baylor College of Medicine in 2003 and are practicing anesthesiologists at Rio Grande Regional Medical Center in McAllen.

“It really helped guide us in what to do, how to prepare for medical school. I feel like the education I got here at Pan Am was incredible. When I got to medical

school I felt very well prepared,” Michael said.

Michael said he and his wife enjoy being back home and helping patients in the community that they grew up in.

“It would be nice to see more Valley kids in the program and hopefully get some of them to come back here,” he said.

Thanks to a recent $100,000 grant from The Hearst Foundation, students following in the Gorena’s footsteps will be able to accomplish their goals of being medical physicians one day. The funds will go to support the successful initiative begun in 1994 to improve the matriculation of underrepresented minorities to medical school and increase the number of physicians practicing in the medically underserved South Texas region.

TAKING CARE OF THEIR OWN

Helping Broncs Soar Just last year, Andres Medina (BSEE ’06) was flight testing a Boeing 737-700 in 40 below freezing temperatures in Yakutsk, Russia, as a member of Flight Test Ground Operations for The Boeing Company.

While in Russia, Medina was part of a crew that was “chasing cold weather,” as he puts it, to find out if the airplane could withstand extended periods of cold temperatures.

Traveling to locations like Russia is one of the many perks he enjoys as an engineer at Boeing.

Medina has “moved around a lot” in positions within the company, from designing electrical installation to circuit analysis techniques to flight testing.

Today, he works in the company’s San Antonio facility.

With the many blessings of travel, promotions and job satisfaction that Medina has received throughout his career at Boeing, he felt in his heart it was time for him and other UT Pan American alumni who worked with him at the company to start giving back to the University that had the most positive impact on their lives.

With one email, Medina, a graduate of the electrical engineering program, asked his fellow Broncs to “pony up and give back.” He was successful in hooking 15 other alumni to pull some funds together to establish a scholarship fund for current electrical engineering students.

“I don’t see a limit to the number of students who get this scholarship. Obviously, if I help one, that is an accomplishment in my eyes,” he said.

ALUMNI FUND SCHOLARSHIPS

by Jennifer Berghom

Some of the happiest moments of Patsy Gayken's (BA '75, MBA '78) life were those spent at Pan American University. In the 1970s, Patsy, a wife and mother of two daughters, returned to school to earn a bachelor's degree in government and a master's degree in business administration.

During her tenure at the University, Gayken was very involved at both the University and the local community level as a member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the Edinburg Junior Service League. She often found time to take part in University programs geared toward women’s issues at that time, the era of women’s liberation, she said.

“It was just a very exciting, interesting atmosphere because the MBA program was new,” said Gayken, the only woman in the MBA program at that time. “It was a very exciting time to be a college student.”

Today, Gayken lives a busy life as a partner in the Bliss-Moore-Gayken Real Estate Firm, an internal auditor for the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, and as a certified CPA and fraud examiner. The Edinburg native, who was born where the Echo Hotel now stands, said her strong ties to the city and the University prompted her to establish the Patsy and Donald Gayken Scholarship Fund after her husband’s passing. The scholarship benefits students from Edinburg's high schools who attend UTPA. Since she and daughters — Cynthia (BS '72) and Dawn, who took classes in the summer at UTPA and graduated from Texas A&M University — were products of Edinburg High School and UTPA, the idea to help local students reach higher and earn their degrees was important to her.

“I have great hopes for Pan Am,” said Gayken. “I foresee it as being a school that will be the caliber of UT at Austin. I think it has shown fast that it's going to be one of the major schools in the U.S.”

Gayken is among a growing number of UTPA alumni who have decided to give back to their alma mater by establishing scholarships to help students achieve their educational goals.

The University has seen a steady increase in giving by former students to the institution over time, and there has been a noticeable uptick in recent years, said Yvette Padilla, UTPA director of stewardship and annual giving. “The reasons for donating money to the University are as diverse as the people who give the money,” Padilla said.

Donors range from former students wanting to help the program from which they received their degrees to starting scholarships in honor of family members or other loved ones to thank them for their support during their educational journey, she said.

Maria Almanza Zuniga and her husband Richard established a scholarship in honor of Maria's sister, Estella Almanza de Schoenwise (BS '85), who earned her doctorate of philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in May 1999 to honor her accomplishments in a permanent way. “We wanted to give her the 'perfect graduation gift' to celebrate her receiving her Ph.D.,” Zuniga said.

Though the Zunigas have not met scholarship recipients yet, they have received several “Thank You” letters from those who have received the scholarship. Those letters have encouraged the Zunigas in their determination to continue giving annually to the endowment.

“The University continues to change the lives of many students and families in the Valley by providing an excellent education and college experience,” Zuniga said. “Establishing a scholarship endowment not only provides much needed financial assistance to students, but also lets them know that both alumni and the community support their efforts to continue their education.”

For more information on how you can support the advancement of UTPA, contact the Development Office at (956) 665-5301.

40 | Philanthropy

RAUL L. AND EARLENE LONGORIA ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP AT UTPA

by Arnoldo Mata (BA '81)

Raul Longoria Road in Hidalgo County, like many Texas roads, runs as straight as a ruler from the bustling Expressway 83 to University Drive, where UT Pan American is located. For several decades, students in South Texas have travelled that road en route to UTPA. Like the road that was named after the former Texas state lawmaker, the Raul L. and Earlene Longoria Endowed Scholarship at UTPA has led students to earn college degrees.

Raul L. Longoria’s commitment to education goes back to one of the last conversations he had with his mother, who died when Raul was only 12 years old. She told Raul he was a smart boy and that education would be his road to success.

Raul, a native of the small Starr County town of La Grulla, earned a bachelor's degree in business from The University of Texas at Austin in 1950. While attending UT, he met his future wife, Earlene Moorman, also a UT graduate.

After Raul completed UT Law School, the couple returned to the Rio Grande Valley to set up a law practice in South Texas. Though she never attended law school, Earlene was able to take and pass the State Bar exam after an intense apprenticeship in Raul’s law firm and having worked alongside her husband as an attorney. They had five children: Samuel Glenn, Janiece Maxine, Roy Alan and twins Martha Elaine and Cecilia Joyce.

“My parents expected all of their children to go to college,” Elaine Longoria Mustard recalled.

“My father always told me from the time I was knee-high to a grasshopper, ‘You have to get an education because nobody can take that away from you.’ My parents were firm believers in not only graduating from college, but also acquiring a professional degree that could be utilized regardless of where you live.”

In 1960, Raul was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, eventually gaining a seat in the Texas Senate in 1972. While serving in the Texas Legislature, he supported many pieces of legislation to help the University. Although it was not successful

at the time, Longoria sponsored legislation to merge Pan American University with the UT System.

In 1980, Raul was elected to a district judgeship in Hidalgo County. He retired in 1994, but his interest in promoting UTPA did not end with his retirement. Earlene and Raul created an endowed scholarship at UTPA. That dedication to higher education was passed onto Raul’s and Earlene’s children. Janiece Maxine Longoria served on the UT System Board of Regents from February 2008 to February 2011.

“They wanted children from the Valley to have the same opportunities as those in other areas of the state,” Elaine said of why her parents picked UTPA for the endowment. “My father’s family was among the original Spanish land grantees here, so he had very deep roots in the area.”

The legacy left by Raul and Earlene Longoria, like that road, will continue to lead students on their path to new areas of success.

To support the advancement of the University, visit www.utpa.edu/development.

Prescription For Success Dr. Lydia Aguilera, a firstgeneration college graduate, knows firsthand the monetary burden of going to pharmacy school.

“I experienced the social, financial and academic challenges that most of my students face every day,” Aguilera said.

The UTPA educator wants to alleviate that load for her students, and has found a great way to do it. Aguilera has established a new scholarship fund for UTPA pharmacy students.

“It is a big decision, in terms of finances. I will have to make adjustments in my personal life to fulfill the commitment, but it had to be done. My students need help,” she said.

The $10,000 endowment over five years, set up by Aguilera, a clinical assistant professor of the UTPA/ University of Texas at Austin Cooperative Pharmacy Program (CPP), will help students in their spring semester before going to a cooperative pharmacy school.

Aguilera has also prepared an appeal letter that will be mailed out, challenging alumni of the cooperative program to donate.

“Including the Class of 2012, we have had 67 graduates of this program. They all know how hard it was to get into and get through the program. They are all Doctors of Pharmacy now, and can look back on their years in the CPP with a sigh of relief and a huge sense of accomplishment,” Aguilera said.

Aguilera said she hopes the endowment will encourage those former students to help future pharmacists.

www.utpa.edu/los-arcos | 41

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN The President’s Circle is composed of generous donors who give unrestricted annual gifts of $1,000 or more to assist President Robert S. Nelsen in his quest to address what he is calling the signature themes of his administration.

These include:

BUILDING THE STATURE OF THE UNIVERSITY GENERATING RESOURCES TO BUILD NEEDED FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS CREATING A CULTURE OF STUDENT SUCCESS SERVING THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY To join the President’s Circle, contact Yvette C. Padilla, director of Stewardship and Annual Giving, by calling (956) 665-5301 or emailing development@utpa.edu.

WWW.UTPA.EDU/PRESIDENTSCIRCLE MEMBERSHIP LEVELS

GOLD CIRCLE $5,000 SILVER CIRCLE $2,500 BRONZE CIRCLE $1,000 42 | Philanthropy

PRESIDENT'S CIRCLE MEMBERS GOLD CIRCLE

SILVER CIRCLE

Victor H. and Sandra C. Gonzalez* R. David Guerra Carlos and Stephanie Manrique de Lara* Robert and Jody Nelsen* Raul A. and Suzanne Peña Joe and Sylvia Ramirez* Julio C. (BBA ’78) and Rosie (BBA ’80) Rodriguez * John Schrock*

Yvonne Anderson* Al Beltran (BBA ’75) (Security First Federal Credit Union)* Ruben and Dardanella G. Cardenas* Linda Matthews and John Sargent* Jaime and Carmen E. Ramon* Marian F. Monta* Edward H. and Susan E. Muñoz* Melynda Nuss and José Skinner* Janice and James E. Odom* Cyndy Ramos (Security First Federal Credit Union)*

BRONZE CIRCLE Lydia P. (BBA '87 MBA '99) and Hector (BS '90) Aleman* Alejandro R. and Vivian Badia* Cayetano and Yolanda Barrera Theresa Barrera* Wanda L. Boush* Joe Brown (BBA '84) (Border Capital Bank) Omar J. (BA '86 MA '94) and Martha A. (BA '85 MED '90 Ed.D. '02) Cantu* Tina Casares (MED ’95) (United Case Management and Rehabilitation) Jane Cross (MA ’94) Charles J. and Josie (BBA '89) Ellard Bill and Patricia (MA ’99) Ellis* Kenneth A. Everhard (BAA ’64)* Yno and Yolanda Gonzalez* Jeffrey A. (MBA ’98) and Rosario Graham Jim Langabeer and Susan Griffith* Gary and Bailey Gurwitz William C. (BBA ’74) and Jodi E. (BA ’04) Hamer* Tobin Hickman and Blanca Chow-Hickman* Maggie Hinojosa* Albert L. and Mary Lea Jeffers* Rajdeep and Laura (MPAS ’08) Kakar* Kenneth and Carolyn C. Landrum* David C. and J. Rachael (BA ’72) Loman* Cullen R. and Carol Lynn Looney* Roy and Aida Martinez* Doug and Dolores Matney*

Robert and Margaret McAllen* Modesto and Yvette C. (BA ’00) Padilla* Velinda (BS ’94) and Armando Reyes* Ed Rivera* Havidán Rodriguez and Rosa M. Lopez* Humberto (BBA ’75) and Norma Rodriguez Sara Saldana (International Women's Board) Tony (BAA ‘83) and Evelyn (BAA ’84) Sanchez Kimberly and Greg Selber S.J. (MBA ’92) and T.J. (MBA ’92) Sethi Frank A. and Joyce G. (BA ’63) Smith* Morgan and Jane (BA ’74) Talbot* Martha Tevis* Tom and Nina Torkelson* Norma Linda Villarreal (BBA ’85) Lynn and S. G. Vincentnathan* Frederick (Ted) and Catharyn Von Ende Janet H. Wallace Thomas Waters (BA ’63) Kenneth and Sibyl Wells* Gustavo (BA ’61) and Rosa (BS ’63 MED ’73) Zapata*

*FOUNDING MEMBERS * CHARTER MEMBERS ALL OTHERS ARE MEMBERS

portrait of

Philanthropy

As products of the UTPA Department of Accounting, the Sanchezes, over the years, have mentored a dozen accounting and business students, who they agree are “well suited for the profession.”

opened many doors for them as successful accountants in South Texas.

To return the favor, they are now helping open a gateway to a culture of student success at UTPA through their philanthropic efforts – ­ a scholarship endowment starting in Fall 2012 for COBA students, gifts to fund travel and expenses for student competitions, and, most recently, their decision to join The President’s Circle as the 100th and 101st members.

The couple, who met in the Fall of 1981 after taking a business calculus class together, believe their UTPA education

“We truly believe in higher education,” Evelyn said. “We can’t help every student, but we can help some and do our part.”

When Tony (BBA ’83) and Evelyn Sanchez (BBA ’84) need assistance in their accounting firm, Tony Sanchez, CPA in McAllen, Texas, the couple looks to the UT Pan American College of Business Administration.

GUIDED BY A MISSION. P O W E R E D BY D R E A M S .

For information about how you, too, can make a difference, visit www.utpa.edu/giving or contact us at (956) 665-5301 or development@utpa.edu.

®

LOS ARCOS

The University of Texas-Pan American 1201 W. University Drive, VWOB1.101 Edinburg, TX 78539-2999

We are the champions!

FLASH BACK

The year 1963 was an exciting time for Pan American College. The Broncs won the first National Intercollegiate Basketball Championship (NAIA) for the college, the campus saw growth with the construction of the first campus dorms – Southwick Hall, and PAC held its first-ever Homecoming activities on campus. The Senior Class of 1963 was the first to sponsor the Homecoming activities, which included selling mums with green and white ribbons, a big dance, and, of course, the selection of royalty. The first elected PAC Homecoming Queen was Miss Rina Blanca Garza, who was a Junior Class Favorite and a busy PAC student as she was involved in many campus organizations and activities. What a great time to be a Bronc, especially for our basketball players, who defeated the NAIA title-holders Grambling 90-83 in the semifinals of the NAIA Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. Way to go Broncs! At the time, the student body heard the news “Pan Am won!” through ear plugs attached to transistor radios. Today, you can catch Bronc scores or game highlights on the web at www.utpabroncs.com.

There was plenty to be proud of that year, and we hope members of the Class of 1963 can join us February 15-17, 2013 for our Homecoming Weekend to see how far we have come since you started the annual tradition. To be a part of Homecoming 2013, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at (956) 665-2500 or email alumni @utpa.edu.