FAN scholarships total $18,000 to graduating seniors across the area

The Friends and Alumni Network (FAN) at Southwest Texas Junior College has announced the awarding of $18,000 in scholarships to 25 recent high school graduates from across the region.



Individual scholarships for the 2014-15 school year were awarded to students from CC Winn, Crystal City, D'Hanis, Del Rio, Nueces Canyon, Pleasanton, Sabinal, Shoemaker, Utopia and Uvalde high schools.



“We are extremely pleased to be able to help these deserving students as they pursue their higher education at SWTJC,” said FAN treasurer Wade Carpenter.


Class of 2014 Uvalde High School recipients of $1,000 FAN scholarships include Cristian Perez, Diego Ruiz and Illiana Silva.



Area recipients of $1,000 FAN scholarships include Neuces Canyon High School graduate Danielle Irwin, Daniel Dickson of D'Hanis High School and Sabinal High School graduates Katherine Alejandro and Korlee Allen.



Also receiving $1,000 scholarships were Utopia High School graduates Tyler Cox and Maria Selene Vega Muñoz.



FAN scholarships were also awarded to graduates of Del Rio High School, with Selena Torres and Daniela Velazco each receiving a $1,000 scholarship.



Crystal City High School 2014 graduates Roel Mata, David Puente, Sarah Sanchez and Rocio Santos each received $1,000 scholarships.



Class of 2014 graduates Brayden Bauer of Pleasanton High School and Lorenzo Fraga of Shoemaker High School received a $1,000 scholarship.



CC Winn recipient of a $1,000 FAN scholarship was Karla Garcia.

Law enforcement academy recognizes spring 2014 graduates

(Bottom row L-R) Jonathan Saldana, Izanel De La Cruz, Gilberto Ibarra, Jose Pargas Sr., Daniel Harris, Victoria Lopez, Jesse D. Casillas, Yaneth Rivera, Johnny Hernandez. (Second Row L-R) Coordinator Mike Leavene, Academy Secretary Teresa H. Zamarripa, Rodolfo Ramirez, Leonardo Sada, Roberto Gutierrez, Jose Armando Reyes, Jesus Vasquez, Jesus Alejandro, Jeremy Ruiz, Richard C. Moore, Romaldo Ramirez, academy instructor Kara A. Lands. (Top Row L-R) Jose Gomez, Carlos Espinoza, Beco Diaz, Daniel Villarreal, Antonio Rios, Reyes Leal, Albert Salazar,
David Castillo, Francisco Balvantin Jr.

A total of 27 cadets received certificates of completion during spring graduation ceremonies for the Middle Rio Grande Law Enforcement Academy at SWTJC.

The ceremonies were held Friday, May 30, in the Matthew’s Student Center Ballroom on the SWTJC Uvalde campus.

Alpha Class graduates include Jesus R. Alejandro, Francisco Balvantin, Jr., Jesse D. Casillas, David Castillo, III, Izanel De La Cruz, and Beco M. Diaz, Carlos M. Espinoza, Jose M. Gomez, Roberto R. Gutierrez, Jr., Daniel O. Harris, Juan J. Hernandez, Gilberto F. Ibarra, Reyes Leal, III, Victoria Ann Lopez and Richard C. Moore.

Non-traditional student overcomes slew of obstacles to earn degree

Imagine coming to this country from Mexico with a 4-year-old child, no education and unable to speak a lick of English. Throw in the emotional distress of having recently separated from your spouse of 12 years and you get some sense of what Maria del Rosario Torres faced when she arrived in the U.S. over two decades ago.

In 1993, after her 12-year marriage ended, Torres made the difficult choice of uprooting herself and young daughter Celia Guadalupe Aboytia, from her hometown of Navojoa, Sonora, MX, to make the long journey to the United States.

“I went to Perry, Florida to live with my sister because I felt I needed to lean on family while going through such a rough time in my life,” Torres said. “My time there was short, a little over a month to be exact. I never felt comfortable there, so I decided to move to Dilley to live with my other sister.”

UTSA to feature artwork of SWTJC instructor Abel Ortiz

SWTJC art instructor Abel Ortiz is one of 52 artists selected to exhibit a work of art in UTSA's juried exhibition, "New Art/Arte Nuevo: San Antonio 2014". The exhibition runs from June 4 through June 25 in the Arts Building Gallery on the UTSA Main Campus. 

Ortiz's piece "Alas" was selected from a total of 293 works submitted by 78 artists who live, work or have roots in South and West Texas.

"I am always proud to represent SWTJC with my art, I always tell people where I work because I want them to know that even though we are geographically isolated out here in Uvalde, there are people with an appreciation for the fine arts," Ortiz said.   

Ortiz earned his Masters of Arts in 2001 and Master of Fine Arts in 2002 both from the University of Iowa, and has been teaching at SWTJC since 2003.

Large crowd attends 2014 commencement

A total of 329 graduates participated in the 67th Annual Southwest Texas Junior College Commencement Ceremony held May 10 before a standing-room-only crowd at the Uvalde Honey Bowl Stadium.

Taking part in the ceremony were December 2013 graduates, May 2014 graduates and August 2014 candidates for graduation.

“It could have been cooler, but considering we had a storm come through the day before, sunny and warm was perfect weather for a commencement ceremony,” said SWTJC Registrar, Luis Fernandez. “This years commencement ceremony ran smoothly and all due to our staff’s hard work. It was a great day.”

A total of 743 graduates were listed in this year’s commencement program, with 406 receiving the associate of arts degree in general studies and 24 awarded the associate of science degree. An additional 79 students earned the associate of applied science degree and 244 students received basic certificates and certificates of completion.

Rozlyn Reeves is Southern Region barrels champion

(l-r) Catherine Asmussen, Colton Nelson, Morgann McDonald, Wesley Troyer and Rozlyn Reeves

Rozlyn Reeves is the 2013-14 Southern Region barrels champion and will represent Southwest Texas Junior College at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) on June 15-21 in Casper, WY.


Reeves finished third in the women’s all-around for the Southern Region and ranks 15th in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association national standings with a total of 749 points over 10 rodeos.



Morgann McDonald, last year’s barrels champion, finished second and Catherine Asmussen finished 14th in barrels; both will also be representing SWTJC at the CNFR in June.



In the men's team, Wesley Troyer finished second in the team roping header division and Colton Nelson finished second in the team roping heeler division. Both will also travel to Casper, WY to represent SWTJC at the CNFR.



SWTJC commencement scheduled this Saturday

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Weather permitting, Southwest Texas Junior College will hold its 67th Annual Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, starting at 9:30 a.m. at the Uvalde Honey Bowl.

Derek Sandoval, associate vice president for the SWTJC Del Rio campus, will be master of ceremonies at this year’s event.

SWTJC Uvalde student Julia Quiroga, secretary of the Catholic Club will deliver the invocation. SWTJC student ambassador, Ruth Alcantar, will lead the singing of The National Anthem.

Hector Gonzales, Ph.D., SWTJC president, will introduce college trustees and honored guests, and Vice-President of Academic Affairs, Mark E. Underwood, Ph.D., will introduce the keynote speaker.