Editor’s note: The Bridge staff would like to congratulate each one of the outstanding students. Well done!
Tradition dictates that a day before the commencement, honor cords and graduate hooding should be presented to distinguish outstanding graduating students. On Dec. 10, 2009 the College of Arts and Sciences hosted their Honor Cord and Graduate Hooding Ceremony at the Student Center Ballroom. During the ceremony, a total of 17 undergraduate students were honored with the Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, and Cum Laude. In addition, 15 graduate students were presented with the graduate hooding. All 32 students represented a variety of academic departments of CAS. Dr. Jerry Thompson, Regent Professor Department of Social Sciences, was the guest speaker at the event. TAMIU Silverwind Ensemble performed during the ceremony.
The ceremony was attended by Dr. Pablo Arenas (Provost/VP for Academic Affairs), Ms. Mary Treviño (Associate VP for Academic Affairs), Dr. Thomas Mitchell (Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences), Dr. Peter Haruna (Associated Dean College of Arts and Sciences), Dr. Daniel J. Mott (Associate Dean and Chair Department of Biology and Chemistry), Dr. Hoonandara Goonatilake (Interim Chair Department of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics), Ms. Bede Leyendecker (Chair Department of Fine and Performing Arts), Dr. Manuel Broncano (Chair Department of Language and Literature), Dr. Mohamed A. Ben-Ruwín (Chair Department of Social Sciences), Dr. Roberto Heredía (Chair Department of Behavioral Sciences).
The undergraduate students who received the honor cord were: Brenda Briones, Elizabeth Flores, María Gloria, Sandra Hernández, Brenda Nuñez, Erika Vázquez, Nancy Garza, Sandra Sánchez, Josefína Zarazúa, Aída Arandía, Armela Mariano, Cristina Criel, José De la Cruz, Jessica Rodríguez, Rolando Santos, María López, and Amanda Torres. The graduate students who received the graduate hooding were: Enrique Manrique, Alexander Soler, Melanie Somerville, Iris Contreras, Jaclyn Juárez, Leonor Calderón, Richard Edgerton, Miguel Herrera, Mario Martínez, Katherine Cogburn-Pérez, Daniel Domínguez, Gowtham Chandra Dronavali, Ernesto Elizondo, Lisa Ruiz, and Priscilla Smith.
Sandra Sánchez, student and mother of three children, commented “it was a enormous sacrifice for me, I hardly had time to see my children and my family, because I was studying the majority of the time. My husband supported me, at times when I wanted to quit school, he kept me motivated to continue. He told me that I could not stop until graduation. This experience united us more as a couple.” Sánchez dedicated her award to her husband and children.Jessica Rodríguez received her main support to achieve this goal from three different standpoints. First of all god, “because without him, I would not be here,” said Rodríguez. Second, her grandmother, “she was born in Degollado, Jalisco, and she traveled all the way from there to here to give everybody a better life. I feel like I owe it to her to graduate,” explained Rodríguez. Finally her parents, “they work very hard even though they did not graduate from college to give us what we have and the opportunities they never had,” Rodríguez stated. Her parents are her role models. Rolando Santos entered TAMIU with very little money, no car, no job, no parents around. Four years later, he is graduating with a car, a job and honors, “the secret to success is to basically do what ever you need to do with professionalism. I have to do it, because I have to. It’s not easy, but doable,” explained Santos. He is the first one in his family to graduate from college. “Don’t stop! Keep on going. There is a light and soon you will see it ” is the message from Katherine Cogburn-Pérez, who is married, has a baby girl, and works full time; “I learned how to balance my responsibilities.”
Faculty, students and their families had an opportunity to socialize at the reception that was held immediate after the ceremony in the student Center Foyer. Families of awarded students were extremely happy and proud of their performance at TAMIU. María Guadalupe Rodríguez, mother of Jessica Rodríguez commented, “I am very proud to have a daughter who makes an extra effort to study.” María Guadalupe did not have the opportunity to finish school. She was stuck in the middle of the way, “if I had the chance to graduate. Perhaps, I could be better off,” said María Guadalupe. Jessica Rodríguez’s father, Jesús Rodríguez Montes stated, “its an honor for me to see her finishing. I never had the opportunity to graduate from medical school.” Mr. Rodríguez wishes that his father could attend the event, but he is no longer with us, “My father would be proud of Jessica’s achievement.”
The journey to graduation can be even harder when you lose someone who is dear to you along the way. Cynthia Cogburn, mother of Katherine Cogburn-Pérez, explained, “I am very proud of her. She lost her father recently. It has been a very hard six months. She got married; she had a baby, and she continued her education.” Her secret to keep her daughter motivated was being her role model. “I was a mother and I had two jobs. I raised my children telling them that education is very important, so that is basically what I did,” she said. Cogburn, also holds a masters like her daughter does now, so she could directly relate to what her daughter was going through. David Pérez, husband of Katherine Cogburn-Pérez, mentioned that all sacrifices made along the way “at the end, it paid off. It’s worth it! I believe very strongly in education, especially since I got my degree in nursing. I never had a doubt that she could do it.” He would like to encourage other men to be the leaders and support their women. From his viewpoint, “education is key especially for our city with such a low educational level.”
Eloisa Garza, mother of Nancy Garza, believes that we live in a society that requires both males and females to seek a job in order to obtain a higher quality of life. “I like my daughters to attend the university, because my father taught me that all females in our family should have an education,” said Garza. Dora Julia Escamilla, aunt of Nancy Garza, explained, “my father was not educated, so he wanted us accomplish what he passed up. He wanted all of us to get an education. He encouraged us to better ourselves”. Sometimes simple things like sharing laughter and companionship can create a remarkable effect on students. Flor Santos, sister of Rolando Santos, said that humor was her way of keeping her brother motivated throughout the years “because you can see another world, another dimension to do things better.” From her viewpoint, family members should offer their unconditional support to students to study what ever they like; not what the family wants them to study. “Sometimes it is difficult for the family to agree with the student’s wishes,” said Santos. By being there, by showing up at important events is the best way to demonstrate to a student your love and support, pointed out Jose Antonio Vallejo. The uncle of Nancy Garza explained, “if you leave youth alone, it can get lost. Guidance is difficult, but it must be done,” said Vallejo. TAMIU is known for having a unique type of student: some of them are first generation college graduates, others continue the family tradition of holding a university degree, and a few come to further their education achieving a post graduate degree. Whatever the case might be, all of them have a bright future by completing their bachelors or master degree in one of the best universities of the state of Texas.