November 2014, Issue 11
Sam Gonzales Named Interim VP for Business Affairs
UTSA President Ricardo Romo recently announced the appointment of Samuel Gonzales as interim vice president for business affairs, effective January 17, 2015. Kerry Kennedy, the current vice president for business affairs, will retire January 16.
Fortunately, Sam will also continue in his capacity as our vice president for student affairs. Congratulations, Sam!
Submitted by —
Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
Athletics Etiquette Dinner
On Monday, October 27th, the UTSA University Career Center hosted the Athletics Etiquette Dinner in the Denman Ballroom. Forty-six UTSA student athletes attended the event and were trained in the art of fine dining and formal business etiquette.
The evening began with a networking reception attended by several corporate sponsors as well as Career Center and Athletics staff. Dinner was then served with training provided by an Etiquette speaker. Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey closed the evening with encouraging and motivational comments.
The University Career Center presents Dining Etiquette training to a number of other university departments, student organizations and outside organizations each semester. For more information, contact Program Manager Morris Ellington or call him at x6844.
Submitted by —
Morris Ellington
Program Manager,
Career Center
Karen Lopez Recognized for Her Creativity and Commitment!
The Office of Student Activities at the Downtown Campus would like to recognize and thank student employee Karen Lopez for all of her creativity and commitment she has brought to the office over the past year and a half.
Karen is a senior majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Elementary Education. She will be graduating this December and we know her skills and talents will be a great benefit to her future students.
Submitted by —
Michelle Rocha
Assistant Director,
Student Activities — Downtown Campus
Downtown Graduate Social Hour Builds Connections!
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The Office of Student Activities sponsored the Graduate Student Social Hour on November 12th that featured a “Relaxation Station” with 10 minute chair massages, a “Fall in love with UTSA” Selfie Photo station, and live acoustical guitar music performed by current undergraduate student John Trevino.
Submitted by —
Michelle Rocha
Assistant Director,
Student Activities
Educator Career Fair
The Fall 2014 Educator Career Fair was held on Wednesday, November 5th in the H-E-B Ballroom.
One hundred forty-three student teachers met, networked and discussed teaching opportunities with fifty-six school districts who attended and were seeking to hire UTSA students.
The following is a random sampling of comments from district recruiters and hiring managers regarding the event and UTSA students:
- “Great service – everyone from UTSA was VERY friendly and helpful.”
- “Staff is extremely helpful and students well prepared.”
- “Job fair at UTSA is about the best – excellent customer service, excellent organization and set-up works great! Thank you!”
- “Staff very very helpful. Excellent job fair! Great candidates!”
- “Thanks for a wonderful event!”
Submitted by —
Morris Ellington
Program Manager,
Career Center
Downtown Campus Boasts Its Very Own Pumpkin Patch!
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The Office of Student Activities sponsored a “Fall in love with UTSA” Pumpkin Patch for the first time at the Downtown Campus.
The 200 pumpkins placed in the center of the Bill Miller Plaza became a topic of discussion and was enjoyed by entire campus! Students had fun participating in the Throw Back Thursday event held on November 6th that featured a Selfie Station and information tables for Student Activities, Campus Rec and the TRC.
Submitted by —
Michelle Rocha
Assistant Director,
Student Activities
Berenice Jaramillo Recognized as Roadrunner of the Month!
The UTSA Student Leadership Center announces Berenice Jaramillo as Roadrunner of the Month: Dean of Students Outstanding Leadership Award for October 2014. Berenice was nominated by Katiuzca Loaiza, Graduate Assistant for Volunteer Services.
Berenice is from Granbury, Texas, where she graduated from Granbury High School. She is currently a senior studying Biology. With her degree, Berenice hopes to attend the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. She aspires to one day travel to countries who lack medical facilities and provide services to those in need. As Vice President in VOICES (Volunteer Organization Involving Community Education and Service) Berenice has demonstrated leadership through her efforts as Fundraising Coordinator, raising funds for the organization on campus and with outside agencies.
She also displays Roadrunner Spirit as Membership Director for Roadrunner Productions, where she encourages new and returning UTSA students to get involved on campus to help deepen their college experience.
With both positions, Berenice has educated students about how important campus involvement is and how volunteer work is an essential aspect of the UTSA community. According to Katiuzca Loaiza, “Berenice is an extraordinary student: she is involved in many committees and organizations that support volunteer, engagement, and diversity to campus. Her leadership is not defined by words but through her actions.”
When asked what leadership means to her, Berenice stated, “Leadership is defined as having the integrity to do the right thing when no one is watching. To be passionate about the projects that a leader partakes. To always have a positive attitude towards every situation. Leadership does not mean that the leader must have a position with a title, but someone who sets an example that others will follow.”
The Roadrunner of the Month Award is sponsored by the Student Leadership Center to recognize outstanding UTSA student leadership contributions.
Nominees for this award must meet these criteria:
- Full-time UTSA undergraduate or graduate student
- Cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher at the time of nomination
- Demonstrated excellence in leadership above and beyond typical expectations
- Nominations should be for actions that positively impact the UTSA community
Submit nominations at the UTSA Student Leadership Center Website. www.utsa.edu/slc/
Submitted by —
Vincent Perez
Program Coordinator,
Student Leadership Development
Tri Club Has Impressive Showing at Trifecta Race!
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A few pictures from a recent triathlon that our Tri Club participated in! We're super proud of everyone for competing; check out these results:
- Leah Taylor: Olympic Collegiate Division 4th place collegiate females, 9th overall female (top 10 fastest women including pros)
- Garrett Kneese: Olympic Collegiate Division 12th place collegiate males
- Heather Garza: Sprint Age Group Division 3rd place in her age group (20-24), 10th overall female
- “Tri-hards” Ryan Sewalt, Mark Arishita, Peter Nguyen: Olympic Relay Division 7th place
Submitted by —
Leigh Darilek,
Assistant Director, Communications,
Campus Recreation
Federal Week
During the last week in October, the UTSA University Career Center Downtown campus office hosted “Federal Week”. Seven events were held highlighting career opportunities in the Federal Government. Participating federal government agencies included:
- U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
- U.S. Marshals Service
- U.S. Secret Service
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Each federal agency provided information on career opportunities as well as what makes a competitive candidate. Rodney Leonard of the OPM presented a workshop discussing how to create a federal resume and use USAJobs.gov, the U.S. government job search site.
One hundred fifty-nine students attended and learned about the excellent employment opportunities in the federal government.
Submitted by —
Morris Ellington
Program Manager,
Career Center
Veterans Day Ceremony at Downtown Campus
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The Office of Student Activities sponsored a Veterans Day Ceremony at the Downtown Campus on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour which featured the reading of 605 names of Texas fallen heroes from the National Roll Call. Paul Benevides, Student Veterans Association Downtown Campus Representative was the Master of Ceremonies and served on the planning committee, along with Fred Hample, Tom Hawthorne, Kevin McCollom and Juan A. Cantu, who have all served our country.
Submitted by —
Michelle Rocha
Assistant Director,
Student Activities
Thank You Letter from Long Distance Parents
This note was sent to Dr. Graham about the impact Roadrunner Days and the Student Affairs team had on this family and their student. It is a testament to the professionals and programs at UTSA! It is exciting to know that we make this type of impact.
Dear Ms. Graham, Greetings from NH.
First, let me apologize for this long overdue note of gratitude to you and your staff for all their hard work and efforts that was put into Roadrunner Days for incoming freshmen in August.It was truly a pleasure to meet you and your colleague, Charlin during this time and we want to express our sincere gratitude for the hospitality and warmth you both extended to me and my husband. As you may remember, we were there helping our son get established, and doing so from the long distance from home in New Hampshire was somewhat overwhelming. However, you gave us a great sense of assurance that UTSA would really be a welcoming and supporting environment in which he would excel and have many opportunities to succeed.
As we mentioned to you when we were there, our son has always dreamed of going to college in Texas, it has been a childhood dream for him. When he started looking more closely at the schools where he had been accepted, we had one more to consider, and that was the furthest away, UTSA. As parents, we wanted him to consider all his options, so we made the long trip this past April to Accepted Students Day to explore this possibility. He was so excited, that when we landed and had settled in at a nearby hotel, we took a walk to the campus (at nearly midnight) to explore…and well, the excitement hasn’t ended since then.
As a student, he was very excited about the Engineering program, the campus, the dorms, and all the amenities, especially the Rec Center. He learned about all the different activities, particularly the club teams and hoped that his next goal of playing baseball in Texas may be possible as well.
As a parent, I was truly impressed with the excitement, patience and sincerity from everyone we met on campus. We talked to many departments and groups during these events and it was remarkable to see the genuine spirit and pride everyone we spoke with had about UTSA. It is very uncommon to find such consistent and genuine pride throughout an entire organization, UTSA should be very proud of this achievement. Each department we spoke with never made us feel rushed, was very patient and always truly available.
As a parent, I knew that his mind had been made fairly early in the day. As a parent, I knew we had to consider all the options, particularly financial. When we visited Financial Services and met with Erika Cox, she only continued to affirm the UTSA spirit and patience we had encountered all day. Even though there was a long line of students and families waiting, Erika took the time to answer all our questions and offer options to seriously consider UTSA. As an out of state student, the financial considerations were significant for us and she was helpful in navigating us through the options.
Once he had made the final decision and selected UTSA, there were many components that had to be processed, particularly because of his non-residency. And again, all departments were so patient, helpful and genuine in helping us through the logistical constraints to coordinate testing, orientation and housing requirements from across the 2,000 mile distance.
And once again, in August, it was affirmed that he had made the right choice with UTSA; as my husband and I strolled on campus, and we met you, Patricia. Even in the midst of the biggest freshman orientation in UTSA’s history, you stopped and took the time to graciously and sincerely welcome my husband and I to the UTSA family. Thank you for giving us the sense of security that he made the right decision and that even though there is 2,000 miles between us, that he will be surrounded by a new nurturing, supporting family here at UTSA.
We truly applaud the efforts of you and all your fellow faculty that can cultivate this type of culture, keep up the great work UTSA!
Submitted by —
Barry McKinney
Assistant Dean of Students &
Director of Student Activities
UTSA's Lynn Hickey Selected as President-elect of National Association
The National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) membership has selected UTSA Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey as incoming NACWAA president-elect and executive committee member. Enjoy reading all about her accomplishment in this UTSA Today article.
The four-year board term began when elected candidates were announced at the recent NACWAA national convention in Louisville.
Submitted by —
VPSA Media
Panhellenic Council Spurs Effort to Remove Unseen, YikYak
On Monday, November 10, 2014, the Panhellenic Council kicked off their Panhellenic Pride Days with a social media firestorm! During their weekly Panhellenic meetings, the chapter delegates decided to take a stand against cyber bullying and anonymous apps such as Unseen and Yik Yak that have plagued the Fraternity Sorority Life community.
Through discussion and research, the Panhellenic community decided to utilize social media to spread their message and challenged their Panhellenic sisters and the Fraternity Sorority Life community to delete these apps, post it to social media and use the hashtag #UTSAActualSororityMove.
After utilizing an analytics tool, the community found that the hashtag was used 270 times and that this message reached approximately 60,000 people in three countries.
Submitted by —
Amanda Ramon
Program Advisor,
Fraternity & Sorority Life
Student Worker, Julie Diaz, Receives 2014 Outstanding Latina/Latino Student Leadership Award
Congratulations to Julie Diaz for being the recipient of the 2014 Outstanding Latina/Latino Student Leadership Award!
This year, the Student Center for Community Engagement and Inclusion received the largest ever number of nominations for the Leadership Award with a total of 26. Nine (9) of those nominations were for Julie Diaz submitted by faculty, staff, and peers.
Julie is a Senior and a Communications major. She has been named to Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, is a mentor with the Black Student Union Mentor Program, is a McNair Scholar, has held leadership roles with the Multicultural Greek Council, and with Kappa Delta Chi Sorority Incorporated. She is also a NASPA Undergraduate Fellow, and serves on the Diplomás Collegiate Leadership Council. In addition, she has also engaged in over 200 hours of service to the community over the past two years.
When talking about her motivations, Julie stated,
"Coming to UTSA as a first generation college student I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but today I am truly blessed to be a Roadrunner… I am proud of the woman I am becoming because I have no doubt that one day I will make an impact in my community; I am rewriting the history that my ancestors didn't have the opportunity to. I am a proud Mexican American who values the culture and heritage of my family. Most importantly I look up to my ancestors for their struggles to become successful in this country. Education is power. ¡Si se puede!"
Submitted by —
Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
Warm Thanks for Supporting the Cold Weather Tailgate!
A big "Thank You!" to our Rowdy Crew, Hillel, Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Lambda Chi Fraternity, and Student Government Association for braving the cold weather to participate in the tailgate on November 14, 2014!
Submitted by —
Lydia Bueno
Associate Director,
Student Activities for Student Organizations & Programming
Making the Call!
In early November, UTSA Campus Recreation reached another milestone when Cy Fondal, an Intramural Sports Official, received a bid to officiate at the NIRSA Championship Series (NCS) National Flag Football Tournament to be held in Pensacola, Florida at the University of West Florida. Cy, a senior from Houston, Texas, became the first Intramural Sports Official from UTSA to be selected for a national tournament.
Submitted by —
Leigh Darilek,
Assistant Director, Communications,
Campus Recreation
UTSA Housing and Residence Life Presents at the 2014 ACUHO-I Business Operations Conference
This October UTSA Housing presented two program sessions in Kansas City, Missouri, at the Association of College and University Housing Officers International Conference.
The first UTSA program, presented by Andrea Johannes - Business Manager, and Kim Ellicks Center - Associate Director, Operations, was titled "StarRez Assignments and Financial Internal Controls: Can they Co-exist?." The program demonstrated how UTSA Housing has provided efficiently a separation of duties within the StarRez assignments, billing, and contracts.
The second program, presented by Andrea Johannes and Roger Kissam - Associate Director, Facilities, was titled “Finance and Facilities: Stepping out of the Silos to Work Together.” These programs demonstrated the 4 C’s in action within the department and the conference participants.
Submitted by —
Kim Ellicks Center
Associate Director,
Housing & Residence Life Operations
7th Annual Homecoming Golf Tournament a Big Success!
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One hundred twelve UTSA students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends came together Friday, Oct. 10 to participate in the annual UTSA Homecoming Golf Tournament hosted at Quarry Golf Club in San Antonio.
The tournament coincided with a collection of other homecoming and game-day programs aimed to strengthen student, faculty, staff, alumni and community relationships and create bonds to The University of Texas at San Antonio. The money raised from the event assists students employed at Campus Recreation to attend national and regional conferences and workshops, which further their education and give them exposure to the fields of leadership development, university recreation, higher education, fitness and wellness, facility management, intramural and club sports, and marketing and outdoor recreation.
"It was great to connect back with UTSA and socialize with other alumni, faculty and staff. Great weather, great course, great memory, already looking forward to next year," said UTSA alumnus Luis Guerra.
Congratulations to Mark Garza, Manuel Maldonado, John Babiarz and Larry Ramos for shooting a 56 to win the tournament, as well as Closest to the Pin winners Wade McDonald and Ryan Sensiba, and Longest Drive winners Michelle Maston and Jason Drago.
Special thanks go to UTSA Head Football Coach Larry Coker for his opening remarks, as well as the UTSA Campus Recreation staff, the student organization volunteers from Pro Rec, and some of the organizations and businesses that made this tournament a success: Pabst Brewing Co., Enterprise Rent-A-Car, State Farm, Life Fitness, Crown Trophy, Rialto Jewelry, UTSA Athletics, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Blackmon Mooring, AstroTurf, UTSA Bookstore, UTSA Alumni Office and Alamo Tees.
Submitted by —
Leigh Darilek,
Assistant Director, Communications,
Campus Recreation
8th Annual Rowdy Rec Run 5K
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On Saturday, November 8, UTSA Campus Recreation hosted its annual 5K – the Rowdy Rec Run. Out of a total of 219 registrants, 47 were non-students. The largest group to register together was with Professor Anderson. His group included over 60 students from his stats class! More than $200 was raised in donations towards our Pro Rec Student Organization. These funds assist students employed at Campus Recreation to attend national and regional conferences and workshops. These professional activities further their education and give them exposure to many fields, including: leadership development, university recreation, higher education, fitness and wellness, facility management, intramural and club sports, and marketing and outdoor recreation.
Submitted by —
Leigh Darilek,
Assistant Director, Communications,
Campus Recreation
Our Work Across Student Affairs Has a Lasting Impact on Students
A UTSA graduate and former work study student recently reached out to us after seeing a Student Affairs sweet tweet.
She said “you all taught me much more about processes, protocol and structure than my current job.”
Such an encouraging word from a successful UTSA graduate! It was also good to see she is still following UTSA Student Affairs on Twitter!
Thank you for all you continue to do to reach out to staff and students!
Submitted by —
Norma Scalf
Administrative Associate II,
Student Life Office
UC Student Superstar Award Winners!
The UTSA University Center would like to announce the UC Student Superstar Winners! This month’s winners include Daniela Pena Reed for Excellence in Customer Service, Juan Zuniga for Excellence in Professional Performance, Victor Aguero for Excellence in Professionalism, and Alicia Aranda for Excellence in Teamwork.
UC student staff are nominated for going above and beyond their assigned job duties and for truly leading through service. Recognizing excellence among our students aligns with the core values of UTSA, “We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered”.
Each month one student is selected from the nominations for the following categories: Professionalism, Customer Service Skills, Teamwork, and Performance. Student recipients receive their name and photo added to the UC employee leadership wall and a gold superstar pin. Each of the recipients consistently show exceptional leadership qualities, as well as the willingness to go above and beyond. Our Superstars truly shine!
For more information, please Jana Schwartz at 210-458-5099.
Submitted by —
Jana Schwartz
Associate Director,
UC Communications & Programs
See previous Points of Pride