From students to alumni - The Rider Newspaper

Bash brings Vaqueros back together

The Vaquero mascot greets alumna Diane Teter, who graduated in 1993 with a Master of Science in information systems from legacy institution University of Texas at Brownsville. The UTRGV Alumni Bash took place Tuesday afternoon in the University Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. Angel Ballesteros/THE RIDER

Dozens of people gathered Tuesday for the UTRGV Alumni Bash, reconnecting with old friends, creating new connections and learning about the alumni resources the university offers in the University Ballroom on the Edinburg campus.

“I feel like a lot of students think of the cost of attendance as a sign that maybe UTRGV isn’t inspiring to create better and greater things,” said Joel Corte, who graduated in 2023 with a Master of Arts in political science. “But I think what UTRGV understands is that if you can attend university at a low cost of attendance, you free yourself up to spend more of your attention on other facets of your life and develop holistically, whereas I think other universities require much more of you.”

In 2020, Corte, who works as the events coordinator for University Marketing and Communications, earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations and affairs from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

What drew Corte to UTRGV was its accessibility in terms of the cost of attendance for a master’s program coming from a school in the Northeast.

He said even though he did most of his master’s degree remotely, his experience in UTRGV was “great.”

UTRGV President Guy Bailey gives a speech during the UTRGV Alumni Bash Tuesday afternoon in the University Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. Angel Ballesteros/THE RIDER

“It’s interesting because I started my master’s during the pandemic, so most of my classes were online,” Corte said. “But I think what I really appreciated about UTRGV was their ability to be flexible with me because I was still working in Washington, D.C., when I entered my master’s. So, I did a year to two years remote, but I still really enjoyed the class settings and getting back to physical spaces with my classmates.”

UTRGV President Guy Bailey told the attendees the university will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2027. Bailey said everyone who graduated from legacy institutions, the University of Texas at Brownsville and the University of Texas-Pan American, is part of the family.

“Would you have ever thought 10 years ago that many students would be at UTRGV?” he asked the attendees. “Would you have thought 10 years ago that we would have graduated over 55,000 students? Think about that. That’s the equivalent of almost 3% of the [Rio Grande] Valley’s population. I want you to think about that. That’s a university that’s making a major difference.”

Stephanie Segura, senior financial aid coordinator at UTRGV, graduated from the university in 2018 with a Bachelor of Business Administration and in 2020 with a Master of Business Administration.

The fact UTRGV is in her hometown, Brownsville, made her take the opportunity to stay in the Valley and still have the college experience at home.

“My favorite memories would definitely be being part of student organizations and working as a student employee on campus,” Segura said. “That allowed me to grow not just personally, but as a professional. And thanks to those opportunities, it led me to eventually becoming a full-time employee here within UTRGV.”

She decided to come back to the university because her “heart was always at UTRGV.”

Gael Figueroa (from left), Jalynne Garcia and her husband Eduardo attend the UTRGV Alumni Bash Tuesday in the University Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. Figueroa graduated from UTRGV in 2023 with a Master of Arts in political science and Jalynne Garcia graduated from UTRGV in 2020 with a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies. Angel Ballesteros/THE RIDER

“I think every experience I had in college, whether it was hanging out or staying late with my friends or working as a part-time student employee, really helped me shape the person I am today, especially as a professional,” Segura said.

She encourages current students to “always keep your end goal in mind.”

“Always keep pushing forward, be involved on campus, have that Vaquero experience with UTRGV, attend as many events [and] create awesome memories with friends,” Segura said. “At the end of the day, you know, we’re all a family here at UTRGV. Don’t ever forget that it is an amazing, amazing school.”

Elisa Mares, external relations director in the Division of Institutional Advancement at UTRGV, said the purpose of the event was to raise awareness of all the different alumni opportunities the university has and reunite deans with alumni.

“Once people graduate, they feel like, ‘OK, I’m done,’” Mares said. “However, the university has a lot of different services that are still available to them post-graduation, like career services, the use of our library resources. They have discounted prices for our UREC programs, just a vast variety of resources that are still available to them post-graduation that they’re just not so familiar with.”

She said UTRGV representatives plan to travel to San Antonio, Houston and Dallas to reconnect with alumni who are no longer living in the Valley “to make sure alumni feel part of the university that they attended.”

Mares said the dates are not set but encourages alumni to stay updated with their emails and the UTRGV Alumni and Legacy social media accounts.

A UTRGV Alumni Bash was also hosted Wednesday in the PlainsCapital Bank El Gran Salón on the Brownsville campus and featured special guest speaker UTRGV Football head coach Travis Bush.