Author Archives: Chris Ardis

Chris Ardis is a retired teacher. She is a freelance writer, editor, and social media manager and works with Tony Roma's and Macaroni Grill to help schools and nonprofit organizations raise money. Chris is also an education blogger, and you can her blog at the link below. You can reach her at cardis1022@aol.com.

Nursing Student Forges Path With VIDA

For Weslaco resident Martha Zuniga, the distance to her destination holds little significance; what matters is reaching it. “The journey can be 1,000 miles away,” Zuniga said, “but you begin with one step.” Zuniga’ journey began in 2008 when she became a certified nursing assistant while in high school. After graduation, she took the next step by becoming a certified medical assistant.  “My parents always said that education is the…

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Therapist Comes Home To Help Children

A large play area inside ABA Connect allows behavior technicians and therapists to apply the individualized behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder as they play.

Roberto Silva is a Mission native and University of Texas-Pan American graduate who left his hometown area before returning in recent months to provide behavioral therapy services for children. Silva began his career teaching special-education students in Mission and La Joya. He enjoyed working with special needs children. Silva yearned to serve them in a different way. He wanted to specialize in applied behavior analysis, a research-based behavioral therapy for…

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Unwavering Support Connects To Promising Career

Brownsville resident Oscar Castillo had a job at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport working as a cashier for the parking vendor, earning $10 an hour. He knew he needed to develop his skillset if he ever hoped to be independent and financially secure, so he enrolled in the electrical program at Texas Southmost College. At TSC, Castillo heard about Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement, a nonprofit organization…

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Grant Addresses RGV’s Nursing Shortage

Members of the VIDA team display a symbolic $3 million check representing the organization’s Nursing Expansion Grant Award from the U.S. Department of Labor. (Courtesy)

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that it had selected 25 organizations to receive grants totaling $78 million to “develop professional pathways to nursing.”  The list of recipients includes only one organization in Texas. It’s the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement, which is based in Mercedes. A grant of $3 million was awarded to VIDA to help train and develop more nursing professionals in the Rio Grande Valley. …

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Nurse’s Healing Opens Doors

Stephanie Johnson

Throughout life, we all make choices. We also face barriers on the way to goals. As Stephanie Johnson looks back on the point where she turned her life around, she sees the two intersecting. “I made choices that put barriers in my way,” said Johnson. Born in Minnesota, Johnson and her family moved around the Midwest throughout her childhood, making their way to Texas when she was 10, first to…

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National Vendor Finds Home In McAllen

Bags checked? Done. Boarding pass and identification ready to show at the gate?  Yep. Cell phone? Check. A good book to read on the flight? Got it. Then you get through security, find a seat near your gate, and take out that book, only to realize you left your reading glasses at home. Airport concessions to the rescue. Travelers at the McAllen International Airport can find an assortment of reading glasses at…

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Reaching A Greater Goal With VIDA

Victoria Rivera

In fourth grade, Victoria Rivera moved in with her grandparents. Despite financial struggles, they provided their granddaughter with a home, stability and love.  In 2017, Rivera graduated from Brownsville Early College High School. She took advantage of the opportunity to take college courses while in high school, graduating with a high-school diploma and dual-enrollment credit from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.  Unlike many high-school graduates today, Rivera did…

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Brewing Up A Dream In McAllen

Howling Rabbits branding is on the beer glasses, the swinging kitchen door, the bathroom wallpaper and the outdoor patio mural.

Andrew Crowe enjoyed his first craft beer at Roosevelt’s at 7 on Main Street in McAllen. Crowe was a home brewer and envisioned partnering with a friend to someday open his own brewery. It could be a place where family and friends could gather. Crowe’s friend changed course and became a firefighter while Crowe went on to work at Roosevelt’s. He would eventually decide to apply for a two-year brewing…

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Long, Winding Road Leads To A New VIDA

Marvelia Saldana

Sometimes a path is straight and narrow; other times it can be winding, making the journey longer but allowing us to see sites and have experiences we would otherwise have missed. Such was the path for Brownsville resident Marvelia Saldana. Being a military wife meant “bouncing around from one state to another,” according to Saldana. With four small children, she didn’t have the time — or, likely, the energy —…

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