A decade of voices

Many programs at UTRGV are celebrating a decade since the university’s founding in 2015. Among them is Student Media, a program whose roots stretch back long before UTRGV existed.

Before the university’s creation, its legacy institutions, the University of Texas–Pan American, the University of Texas at Brownsville and UTB/Texas Southmost College, laid the foundation for what Student Media is today.

At UTB/TSC and, later UTB, Student Media included The Rolling Stone, The Collegian, The Scorpion Sting, The Palmegian and El Charro newspapers, as well as The Collegian News Webcast and UTB Radio.

At UTPA, El Sol, The Beacon and The Pan American newspapers, as well as Panorama magazine, Gallery magazine, Bronc TV and Bronc Radio made up student media.

Former Student Media Director Azenett Cornejo played a key role in expanding the UTB Student Media department. Hired in 1997 as student publications coordinator and later promoted, she grew the program from a single newspaper into a multimedia operation that included television and radio.

Clarissa Martinez, former editorial cartoonist for The Rider, said Cornejo’s experience and leadership left a lasting impact on students.

“She knew her stuff,” Martinez said. “… She liked to get straight to the point to work efficiently and get things done.”

She added working under Cornejo helped shape how students approached their work.

“It was fun,” Martinez said. “… It was hectic, though, because it was a real job, and we had to meet very real deadlines.”

Gregory Selber, former adviser for The Pan American newspaper at UTPA, described pre-merger student media as more experimental and less structured than it is today.

“We were a little more hit or miss … we were a little more artsy,” Selber said.

He said student publications at the time often took creative risks in layout and content, sometimes prioritizing visual storytelling and entertainment over traditional news structure.

When the legacy institutions merged in 2015, their media programs combined to form what is now UTRGV Student Media. Today, that includes The Rider newspaper, Pulse magazine, KVAQ-TV (formerly UTRGV-TV), Vaquero Radio (formerly UTRGV Radio) and a newly formed marketing department. While not formally part of Student Media, Gallery magazine remains a closely affiliated publication.

Cornejo continued as director through the transition, leading Student Media for nearly a decade after the merger before retiring in 2024.

Director Jesus Sanchez, who began as the first newspaper editor-in-chief back in 2015, has led the department after Cornejo’s retirement. 

Donna Pazdera, former Panorama and Pulse magazine faculty adviser, recalled the transition into UTRGV Student Media as both unfamiliar and formative.

“It was weird,” Pazdera said. “Nobody really had a great idea about how you merge two distinct campus cultures together.”

She said the merger was the beginning of a new era, as staff worked to build a shared identity across campuses.

“We tried to include the people from Brownsville to make them feel like they’re a part of it,” Pazdera said.

P.J. Hernandez, former copy editor for The Rider, worked as a student employee during the early years of the department and said it felt like watching something take shape in real time.

“[We] kind of saw it being built from the ground up … the campus in Edinburg and the campus in Brownsville being merged into one,” Hernandez said.

He, who was based in Edinburg, said one of the biggest challenges during the time was the physical and cultural distance between campuses, often working with staff members he had never met in person.

“We didn’t really know who the Brownsville staff was,” Hernandez said. “You would just see names or talk to them on the phone.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Student Media adapted to a fully remote workflow, something former Pulse Social Media/Online Editor Michael Gonzalez experienced firsthand.

“It was all online, a lot of text messages, emails and Zoom meetings, just trying to stay as connected as possible,” Gonzalez said.

Despite the challenges, he said the experience became a turning point in his career.

For Fernanda Gonzalez Salazar, former KVAQ-TV news director, Student Media was as much about people as it was about production.

“My time at Student Media was amazing,” Gonzalez Salazar said. “I wouldn’t be the person that I am today, and I wouldn’t be the working person that I am if it wasn’t for Student Media.”

She said one of the biggest changes she has seen over time is the sense of collaboration across programs.

“I feel like now all of [Student Media is] really connected, supporting each other in the best way [students] can,” Gonzalez Salazar said.

Delma Olivarez, associate dean for the Center for Student Involvement, said Student Media’s growth over the past decade is reflected in both its students and its evolving resources.

Olivarez said recognition at competitions, such as the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conference, which she attended this year as an adviser, highlights how far the program has come.

“I could tell that people were in awe … and looked forward to seeing our students compete,” she said.

At the 2026 TIPA conference, the program earned its fourth consecutive and fifth overall Director’s Cup, the highest honor awarded by the association.

“Student Media has evolved significantly over the past 10 years,” the associate dean said. “… The talent of our students seems to elevate every year.”

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