Texas State Technical College is starting a new school year with the opening of an 84,000-square-foot Transportation Technologies Center on the western end of the Harlingen campus. The new building opens up to big spaces on the major halves of the facility. The west side of the facility will be the work and training space for students in the diesel technology field that specializes in repair and maintenance of large…
Samuel Garcia’s career as an educator has taken him across the American South and Caribbean Islands in connecting students and teachers to the wonders of space and science. Garcia works from his home base at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He is an education outreach specialist representing NASA. Garcia has travelled throughout Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in conducting seminars, workshops and interactive sessions to a…
Kylie Sikes was making her way to the Rio Grande Valley and travelling down U.S. Highway 77 through King Ranch country. “You go through so many miles of open country and then all of a sudden you see this big mix of cities in the Valley,” she said. Sikes is the director of youth programs for the Junior Beefmaster Breeders Breeders Association. The destination in mid-July was the Rio Grande…
McAllen ISD is now offering the Step-up Program, a free diploma completion program for adults ages 18 to 26 who left school before graduating. The program accommodates flexible scheduling, allowing students to attend in the morning or afternoon, Monday through Friday, to match their personal commitments and to proceed at their own pace. The program is planning to launch with approximately 50 students early this fall at McAllen ISD’s Lamar…
The clock was ticking down over the summer to an Aug. 30 kickoff on the sports websites of the nascent UTRGV Vaqueros football program. A “T-minus” ticker was going until a Saturday evening kickoff under the summer lights of a converted soccer stadium in Edinburg. It was the UTRGV Vaqueros versus the Sul Ross State Lobos in the first ever college football game in Rio Grande Valley history. It was…
Isidro Lerma, a theatre arts teacher from McAllen ISD’s James “Nikki” Rowe High School, has earned Regional Secondary Teacher of the Year honors by the Region One Education Service Center. In the past 35 years, McAllen ISD teachers have earned 23 Regional or State Teacher of the Year titles – the most in the South Texas Region. This year, the Region One Education Service Center celebrated 51 district teachers of…
Gina Cano-Monreal, Ph.D., is the new provost of Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen campus, effective July 29. Cano-Monreal previously served as the college’s associate vice chancellor for instructional shared services, supporting TSTC’s 12 campuses across the state. In that role, the Harlingen native oversaw curriculum quality and alignment, instructional design and support, and instructional resources and solutions. “TSTC is making significant investments to expand premier technical training in the Rio…
South Texas College Continuing Education is currently holding free Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Basic Life Support and first aid classes with certification from the American Heart Association. Registration is now open to anyone in the community including health care professionals, police officers and community members who seek training that can help save lives in emergency situations. The free CPR courses are funded by a grant from Texas Mutual, which has been providing…
South Texas College Assistant Professor of Psychological Science Liza Veliz has been appointed to serve on the Committee on Associate and Baccalaureate Education, a national-level committee under the American Psychological Association’s Board of Educational Affairs. Veliz will officially begin her term in January 2026, representing psychology faculty at two-year colleges nationwide. Her position comes from being nominated by colleagues from across the country recognizing her leadership, advocacy and commitment to…
The International Museum of Art & Science invites families to celebrate the start of the school year at its annual Back to School Bash on Aug. 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The family-friendly event offers free admission and a full day of interactive learning, creativity and community connection. Back to School Bash, supported by McAllen Public Utility, H-E-B Helping Here and Wonderful Citrus, will feature hands-on art and…