Pam Le has a story to tell of a mother who came to the United States at age 17, knowing no one and speaking only her native Vietnamese. Hoa Le is the daughter of a U.S. serviceman she never met and a Vietnamese mother who died when Hoa was only eight years old. Coming to Houston through a sponsorship program, Hoa Le went about building an American life that would…
The Spirit of McAllen shone brightly during McAllen Day at the Camino Real Polanco in Mexico City on Feb. 29. The city’s delegation included 150 travel agents who arrived at a breakfast coordinated by three leading city officials. They are Daniella Plata, the director of international relations for the City of McAllen, Jeremy Santoscoy, McAllen International Airport’s director of aviation and the McAllen Convention and Visitors Bureau led by Leigh…
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley opened under its new name on Aug. 30, 2015 to mark a fresh start toward becoming a comprehensive regional university. On Aug. 30, 2025, UTRGV kicks off another new chapter in its nearly 100-year history when the university’s Vaqueros football team plays a Division I football game in Edinburg. “It will be 10 years to the date we opened the university,” said Guy…
Daniel Silva spent 19 years at the Mission Economic Development Corporation, starting as a fresh college graduate and ascending to being the organization’s chief executive officer. The climb to the top job was fulfilling, but eventually there was an aspiration for another challenge. In 2022, when the opportunity to serve more than one Rio Grande Valley community came along, Silva took it in seeking to have a bigger footprint. In…
Esmeralda Estrella’s students in a Texas State Technical College classroom are huddled around incubator equipment used to support newborns in neonatal intensive care units. The students on the Harlingen campus are enrolled in TSTC’s biomedical equipment technology program. Students jot down notes and confer in teams as if they were in real-world hospital settings. Maintenance and repair of this sort of equipment is critical to sustaining and saving lives. “The…
Futuro RGV, the City of McAllen and McAllen District 4 Commissioner Rudy Castillo host the first-ever “Government for a Day” initiative on April 6. The event is for all City of McAllen District 4 residents, symbolizes the city’s commitment to ensuring that every resident feels connected to the services available to them. Government for a Day takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Palmview Community Center, 3401 Jordan…
Eloisa G. Tamez has worn many hats over the course of her life: an American civil rights leader, a professional nurse, a lifelong learner, a professor and an officer of the United States Army’s Nursing Corps. In 2024, she added another accolade to her list of achievements: “Leader and Legend of Texas Nursing.” The Texas Nurses Association recently selected Tamez, professor and associate dean for Student Success & Engagement at UTRGV School of Nursing,…
The Rio Grande Valley’s well-deserved renown for being a national birding hotspot overshadows another element of wildlife that attracts eco-tourists to the region. The Valley has a stunning array of butterflies. Almost 40 percent of the over 700 species of butterflies in the United States live in the region. The National Butterfly Center south of Mission is at the forefront of this brand of eco-tourism. The center’s 100-acre site features…
What do you think your body language communicates to others? When used properly, body language can be your key to greater success. Your body language can help you build positive business relationships, influence others, motivate others and help you communicate more effectively with others. An effective leader understands the power of using body language as another effective communication tool. Understanding how to communicate with more than words is critical to…
The Texas labor market marked record-breaking growth with January over-the-month increases in jobs, Texans employed and the civilian labor force. Following annual benchmarking revisions to the 2023 labor market data, Texas’ seasonally adjusted job count increased by 18,900 in January to reach 14,053,400 jobs and achieve growth in 43 of the last 45 months. According to the revised data, Texas’ total nonfarm employment grew by 263,900 jobs from January 2023…