MAY 14, 2024 — This month, 270 seniors in the Honors College are expected to graduate from UTSA, making them the largest graduating class in the college’s history.
Most of the students in this semester’s graduating class didn’t have a typical start to college life, nor have they experienced a traditional graduation ceremony. Due to the pandemic, their high school senior year and first semester of classes at UTSA were held nearly entirely online, leaving them socially isolated. Despite that, these Roadrunners demonstrated resilience, creativity and determination throughout their time at UTSA.
Many of these Honors College graduates already have impressive jobs lined up or will be starting graduate school in the fall.
Conrad Finos, who is earning his bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, will participate in an international internship in Panama on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, before joining the agency full time in Washington, D.C. this fall as a diplomatic information specialist. His engagement with the U.S. Department of State began in 2022, when he was one of 15 students in the country to be awarded a Foreign Affairs Information Technology Fellowship. That experience set him on a path to a career using his technology skills to support U.S. diplomacy abroad.
Johan de Greef, a graduating senior in mechanical engineering, will be moving to Missouri for a career at Whiteman Air Force Base to work on its B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and support base infrastructure.
Grace Johnson, a graduating senior in psychology and art, will be starting a master’s degree in art therapy at Syracuse University in New York this fall.
Mechanical engineering senior Noah Hernandez has accepted a job at aerospace company Blue Origin in Huntsville, Alabama.
Top Scholar Tejas Narayanan will be moving to Colorado to begin work as an environmental consultant for Ernst and Young’s climate change and sustainability services division, where he completed a summer internship in 2023. At UTSA, he was a member of the student organization Plant the Future, he served as a student representative on the university’s Sustainability Council and he interned with the Office of Sustainability.
Many of this year’s Honors College graduates are choosing to stay in Texas to begin their careers or attend graduate school.
For example, cybersecurity senior Catalina Cardenas, will be starting her career in the security and resiliency division at Dell Technologies in Austin, Texas, in July.
Joana Contreras, who is earning her bachelor’s degree in interior design and is preparing for the interior design certification exam to become a licensed interior designer will be working at Texas Wilson, a commercial office design company, in San Antonio.
Finance senior Syndey Scott has accepted a job as an accountant with TC Energy in Houston, Texas.
Camryn Kubicek, an anthropology major with minors in archeological practice and museum studies, will begin a M.A. in Heritage and Museum Studies at Texas Tech University this fall.
Jennifer Cervantes, a microbiology and immunology senior, has been accepted into Texas A&M University’s pharmacy school in College Station.
There are also Honors College graduates who will continue as Roadrunners this fall, pursuing graduate degrees in accounting, architecture, artificial intelligence, business administration, biomedical engineering, computer science, criminology and criminal justice, health, community and policy, information technology and mechanical engineering, to name a few.
Other notable Honors College graduates this semester include:
Home to more than 2,000 hardworking, achievement-oriented, conscientious students across all majors, the UTSA Honors College offers one of the most unique experiential honors curricula in the nation. Its practical, hands-on approach to learning allows students to chart their own path and achieve their highest potential.
To graduate from the Honors College, students complete a combination of honors courses and signature experiences, which can be fulfilled by participating in activities inside or outside the classroom such as service projects, professional development programs such as internships and fellowships, intellectual achievement projects such as thesis development and research, study abroad or other cultural exploration experiences, engaged living, skill development, independent study, honors contracts, or by taking additional experiential learning honors courses.
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This academically rigorous mathematics-based summer enrichment program prepares middle and high school students for advanced studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Participants learn about problem-solving systems, develop greater awareness of STEM careers and strengthen their research skills.
UTSA Main CampusArchaeology 101 will introduce campers to archaeology and build on learned skills through experimental activities (like cave painting, weaving, and garbology).
Center for Archaeological Research, UTSA Main CampusThe camp exposes rising high school juniors, rising seniors and incoming college freshman to the many facets of the criminal justice system. Students will have opportunities to learn the functions of police in society and apply scientific theories to criminal investigations by examining a mock crime scene.
UTSA Main CampusThe Academy for Teacher Excellence Research Center invites you to join us for the Summer Bridging Institute. This institute will focus on being lifelong growers and continually seeking to increase our skills as educators.
UTSA Downtown CampusArchaeology 201 will briefly go over the foundations of archaeology and related skills, followed by a different topic over the course of this week (like skeletal analysis, global cultures, and more).
Center for Archaeological Research, UTSA Main CampusCraft a comic to create your own narrative and find your voice through storytelling. Participants will learn to create characters that are self-reflective and through a community lens.
REGSS Community Room (DB 3.202,) UTSA Downtown CampusCome enjoy a discussion on art as a self expression in the age of moving technology and telling your story with a community.
REGSS Community Room (DB 3.202,) UTSA Downtown CampusThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
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UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.