An ambitious five-day festival coming to McAllen in July will celebrate the past, present and future of Latino culture and its influence on the Rio Grande Valley. “We see the need to create a destination festival in the summer,” said Luis Cantu, vice president for international business and community development with the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. “It’s kind of a compilation of a lot of events we have done, but…
Every city has a story to tell and San Benito, with the new San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum, is now better able to tell it while also attracting traveling exhibits that can bring new insights to the city. The 7,000-foot-square museum opened in November 2018 and has already featured photo and artistic elements highlighting border life and culture. Luis Contreras II, the city’s cultural arts director, says those exhibits are…
One local college and four independent school districts are the recipients of $850,892 in grants from the Texas Workforce Commission. The funds are for programs that focus on supporting high-demand occupations through the Jobs and Education for Texans grant program. The award total for 27 JET grants is $5,718,073 in 27 grants. Funds go to multiple public community colleges, technical institutes, state colleges and ISDs for programs. “I congratulate these JET recipients as…
It was months in the making and took a community-wide collaboration, but after a busy Saturday on April 27, the organizers of the 2019 Mission Arts Festival look back on the event with delight. “We’re incredibly happy with the turnout in the community,” said Ariel King, the owner of the Historic William Jennings Bryan House. King also led the efforts for the first annual arts festival. “It’s all about networking…
The UTRGV School of Nursing recently welcomed eight students from the Project HEAL2 program. The students hail from the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District and are prospective UTRGV nursing students Project HEAL2 is a program from the Region One Education Service Center. The program provides high school students with an interest in a nursing career educational opportunities and experiences to kick start their career. Students who successfully complete the program can graduate with an associate…
South Texas College is gearing up for summer camps that will enable students to engage in fun and interactive activities led by field professionals. Week-long sessions will run throughout June and July for older elementary to high school students. June camps Campers at STC’s Technology Campus and Pecan Plaza can choose from a variety of camps. Each is designed to keep minds sharp and teach new skills while campers also…
It’s the 20th anniversary of South Texas College’s Dual Credit Programs. Over the years, more than 106,000 high school students have participated and earned college credit. This has saved families more than $200 million with tuition-free college classes. The program features four options in which students can take college courses while still in high school. Many receive their associate degree weeks before their high school graduation. This then puts them on…
Going from one classroom to another, Janie Garza Reyes gives a tour of a barber school that started with a handful of chairs 30 years ago, and is now the largest school of its type in the Rio Grande Valley – and one of the largest in Texas. “We opened this school from zero,” Reyes said, referring to the longtime partnership between herself and Angie Moreno in starting and building…
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will host the NSF INCLUDES Symposium for ADVANCING Latinas in STEM Academic Careers on May 16-17 at The Pearl South Padre Resort. The event will address best practices and lessons to enhance successful STEM careers, This is the first part of a two-part series on Latinas in STEM academic careers. The series addresses how work-life issues, policies/practices, mentoring and climate affect their pathways/pipelines, recruitment, retention and…
IBC Bank-McAllen employees are spending this spring using their professional expertise to teach local students the fundamentals of financial literacy. McAllen is joining IBCs across Texas and Oklahoma partaking in Financial Literacy Month and the American Bankers Association’s Teach the Children to Save initiative. IBC Bank-McAllen is providing 17 presentations to a total of 300 students. The presentations include real-life exercises like paying a mortgage, buying groceries and budgeting for emergencies. Bank…