Growing up, Donna resident Mariana Lozano watched how hard her parents worked and yet how they struggled just to make ends meet. As she watched, she made plans. Her plans were to finish college so she could help them as her family’s first college graduate. “A friend told me I needed to apply to VIDA,” Lozano said. VIDA is the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement. The nonprofit organization was…
Erica De la Garza Lopez got right to work when she took over as president of Friends of IB for the 2021-2022 school year. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization brings awareness about the McAllen ISD International Baccalaureate school at Lamar Academy. It also develops partnerships between IB parents, local businesses and the community. Additionally, members raise money and provide other means of support to the school and its students. McAllen ISD…
Growing up, Cristina Martinez witnessed her mom’s financial struggle and her resilience every day. Martinez’ mom did not graduate from high school, and yet, as a single mother with three children, she had to find a way to provide for them. “She worked as a custodian for many years to be able to provide,” Martinez said. In January 2020, Martinez, a resident of Pharr, was earning $10.50 an hour working…
Liam Arney decided to become a Cub Scout after hearing about it at Garza Elementary School in McAllen. Five years later, he crossed over from Cub Scout to Boy Scout. Now a senior at McAllen High School, Liam looks back on the past 12 years and how they have prepared him for Scouting’s pinnacle, the rank of Eagle Scout. “I’ve been in Scouts since I was 6,” Liam said. “I…
When you learn, teach. When you get, give. ~Maya Angelou Weslaco native Gilda Lee Sauceda grew up with a single mom who became disabled when her daughter was just 10 years old. She felt grateful that they had a roof over their head and their basic necessities, but the struggles were real. The labels were there — eighth-grade drop-out, GED holder, low-income — but Sauceda did not allow labels to…
On Aug. 16, Marcos Silva, a college counselor for IDEA Public Schools, posted a note about his brother on Facebook. “My brother is an electrician/builder by trade,’’ he wrote. “After building restaurants across Texas and Oklahoma for others, he threw in his bid and made himself one.” It’s Wing Zone Grill & Tap, which Marcos said “represents a lot more than a wing place.” “It’s the efforts, sacrifice and fight…
When McAllen resident Maria Delgado first applied to the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement in 2012 after learning about it from an outreach counselor at South Texas College, the VIDA staff knew she was an excellent candidate. Delgado was a single mother with two daughters, ages 11 and 5, unemployed and on public assistance and a first-generation college student. She served in the National Guard for two-and-a-half years. But…
It is said that “once a teacher, always a teacher.” The same can be said about a school librarian. Both are on point in the case of Dr. Michael and Carole Bell. Mike taught Spanish and history, including a three-year stint at Edinburg High School, the Hockaday School in Dallas and Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD. He earned one master’s in education and another in library science before claiming the ultimate educational achievement,…
Most mornings, while enjoying a cup of coffee, Kim Edwards-Garza spends this quiet time before her workday with God. “I fill up my soul with His Word, and it enables me to tackle any problem or stress I may have that day,” she said. Born and raised in McAllen, and a graduate of Memorial High School, Edwards-Garza earned a degree in marketing at St. Edward’s University in Austin. She later…
Adela Tann had her future all figured out. She completed the Patient Care Technician program at South Texas College in 2013 and enrolled in the college’s Vocational Nursing program, graduating in 2015. Next on her list was earning the title of registered nurse. But before she could pass the National Council Licensure Examination, Tann moved to Iowa to help care for her sister, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In…