Building a Legacy

Alumni Association scholarship recipient aspires to impact the medical community and the world

Ask Alexis Amos how many organizations she belongs to, and she loses track as she ticks them off on her fingers.

"It’s a lot," she laughs.

Indeed, the sophomore biology major is a member of several student organizations, including Women of Honor and the Latin Dance Society, as well as others affiliated with her major. Then there’s the marching band, to which she was recently named a drum major.

"I have really big goals for myself," she said. "With anything I do, I go above and beyond, and I give it my all. Every class and every organization gets every part of Alexis. I’m just trying to stand out some kind of way."

It’s working. Amos was recently awarded an Alumni Association scholarship, which will pay $2,000 each year for four years. She was one of 75 from more than 850 applicants.

"It’s the only scholarship I have, and it makes me feel like I did something right," she said. "This scholarship means a lot to me and my family."

Amos’s scholarship is from Cathy Starnes ’92, CEO of the Employee Benefits Consulting and PEO Divisions at SWBC, and her husband, Troy Torres, a cadet and probationary training commander for the San Antonio Police Department Training Academy.

They said their decision to fund student scholarships stems from their passion about education and the opportunities it has given them.

"We hope that [scholarship recipients] have the same experience, that through their education and the opportunities at UTSA that they will get a well-rounded character, learn a lot, and ultimately have a great career and give back to the city of San Antonio and give back to UTSA," Starnes said. "And, we hope that they do the same and pay it forward for the generations that come after them."

That’s exactly what Amos plans to do.

She hopes to someday be a pediatrician. To get there, she knows she must work hard at UTSA, graduate at the top of her class, and excel in medical school. It’s not an easy road, and as the first in her family to attend college, it’s a path that she expects will be riddled with twists and challenges.

Once she’s an established pediatrician, Amos plans to open her own practice, then travel to provide medical support in developing countries.

"I just have this compassion for people and a passion for helping others," she said. "I’ve always been that way."

That compassion is focused first on her own family. Amos is the oldest of six siblings; her youngest brother is 3 years old. Her role as the trailblazer is one she takes seriously.

"In certain areas of my life, I didn’t always have that good example to follow. It was something that I searched for and couldn’t find," she said. "It means a lot to me that those that come up after me have an example to look to. If it’s academics, if it is extracurricular activities, if it is life in general. They have an example of some of the major aspects of what they will go through in life."

–Lety Laurel