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Sombrilla

The University of Texas at San Antonio Online Magazine

From the Trenches of War

After losing a limb in Iraq, a soldier rebuilds his life as a college student.

Faithfully Yours

Places of worship, often called sacred, are the heartbeats of the communities that surround them.

Ten Years Later

A decade after the terrorism attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the university has responded to changing national priorities.

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The Paseo A Stroll Around Campus

There's an App for That
There's an App
for that

A program designed for high school students delivers iPads with a lesson.

Stolen Childhood
Stolen Childhood

College of Public Policy students learned about the dark world of sex trafficking of minors.

Of Peacocks and Porsches
Of Peacocks and Porsches

Researchers find that men who adorn themselves with bling aren't the most committed boyfriends.

Boom or bust
Boom or Bust

Eagle Ford Shale communities facing unprecedented growth work to prevent a bust economy.

Overheard
By the Numbers
In Brief
Dig This

Imagine life on the shores of the San Antonio River 9,000 to 10,500 years ago.

At the Micro-Level

UTSA's South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases will receive $4.6 million over five years.

Commissioned

President Romo was appointed to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

All Business

Students in the College of Business may now earn a degree in sport, event and tourism management.

Going Bookless

UTSA Libraries begin lending eReaders to students, faculty and staff.

Building Bone, Rebuilding Lives

Researchers create a scaffold that can be used to mend or regrow bone.

From B.S. to M.D.

Pilot program helps doctor of medicine students earn their degrees faster.

Special Collection

Donation makes new papers available to researchers.

Roadrunner Sports
Athlete Spotlight

Mark Waters is one of only two seniors on the UTSA football team.

Sports Briefs

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Community Uniting Our Alumni

Call of Duty
Call of Duty

A strand of beads helps one soldier form strong connections around the world.

Bullfrogs and Butterflies
Bullfrogs and Butterflies

A doctoral student takes her love of nature into the classroom and the lab.

Class Notes
In Memoriam
Alumni Association News
And the Money Keeps Rolling in

Gala raises a record $150,000 for scholarships.

UTSA Diploma Dash

Join as a runner, walker, spectator or sponsor on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012, at the UTSA Main Campus.

Alumni Profiles
Master Multitasker

Helen Wolf M.Ed. '77

Nuevo Tejano

AJ Castillo B.B.A. '08

Mission to Serve

Steven Sano M.P.A. '11

Editor's Note

Thanks from a chicken

I’m afraid to fly. The thought of being so high up terrifies me so much that I do almost anything to avoid planes. Alumnus Marty Contreras also is afraid of heights, so when he joined the Army, he signed up for airborne school. His reasoning: if he’s scared of it, he’s going to make himself get over it—with a parachute.

You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.

- Aristotle

I’m afraid of pain. If I hit my thumb with a hammer, you’d better believe I’m going to avoid all hammers for at least a year. Student Anna King knows pain. When a mortar hit her base in Iraq, it dislocated her jaw, broke her wrist and caused traumatic brain injury. She almost died from the swelling in her brain. She now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. But she’d give anything to go back and continue the fight.

When Tony Doyle’s Humvee hit an improvised explosive device in Iraq, he was flung from the vehicle and pinned under it. He lost his leg. His world changed in an instant. He came back home and rebuilt his life and now is an undergraduate student studying history. Unbelievably, he’d do it all again. Because, he says, his life now is richer than it was before.

This is courage. True courage.

What drives them? It may be honor, duty, a need to serve. But what makes them actually do the things they do and not just say they will? What is it that pushes them to move beyond fear, trauma, pain, stress, grief, and make their lives even better because of what they experienced?

They are made from a different cloth than me, and all I can do is thank them. I wish I was more like them. But because of them, we are here living comfortably and confidently. Our children, grandchildren and future generations will live with a greater sense of security because of what they’ve done. But it goes even beyond that. It’s the will, the determination to make their own lives a sacrifice to something they truly believe in that I admire the most.

Marty, Anna, Tony and all veterans and military personnel out there—you are heroes. Thank you for everything you do.

Saludos,

Lety Laurel

NOW & Then

before
after

Happy anniversary, UC! Twenty-five years ago, the University Center was situated on the edge of the "core campus." Today, it is tucked in the heart of the university that grew up around it and is the pulse of the campus with more than a million visitors each year. For more information on its history or anniversary events, go to utsa.edu/uc/uc25.

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