COAS Master’s Hooding and Honor Cord Ceremony

A student’s journey is not always an easy one but with enough dedication, passion and perseverance it can be the most satisfying journey ever made. Recent graduate students who attended the Master’s Hooding and Honor Cord Ceremony on December 11th at the Fine and Performing Arts building at Texas A&M International University, were elated to receive their decorative regalia.

Among the distinguished students in attendance, The Bridge was able to catch up with Adolfo Javier Lopez, and Jeffrey Castañeda. Both Lopez and Castañeda, have an impressive range of honors and have notable accomplishments under their belts.     

Lopez recently received his degree from the College of Arts & Sciences and a minor in pre-law. Some of Adolfo’s accolades include his role as an active member of the Sigma Tau Delta English Honors Society at TAMIU. Adolfo has his eyes set on law school, “During the semester I went to a couple of conferences to get in touch with the law schools around the country. As of right now I [have] plans of taking the LSAT in February…”

Under the instruction of the esteemed faculty Adolfo feels confident in the newest chapter in his life. “I feel ecstatic about this new chapter that is closing and another one is opening. Its always fun to share this moment with your family and loved ones,” said Lopez.

When The Bridge asked the young law student hopeful what the feeling was like when he donned the traditional graduation cap and gown he said, “Since I’m an English major we have a tendency to always procrastinate ... that is the marrow of our art. So, I didn’t get dressed until 20 minutes before the event. Its just the thrill of coming to graduation -- it’s the thrill that got me through my career.” Many students could relate to the procrastination that Lopez mentioned even on their graduation day. However, these notable students have had the drive required to propel them in their careers as students.

By the same token, Castañeda’s ventures have opened up many doors for him as a Graduate student of the Colleges of Arts & Sciences and now his newly acquired masters degree in Mathematics. His work titled, The Ramification Group Filtration on Certain Function Field Extensions, earned him first place at the 2014 Lamar Bruni Vergara & Guillermo Benavides Z. Academic Conference under the engineerings, mathematics, and physics division.

His practical work and degree has earned him a teaching assistant spot at TAMIU where has taught Business Mathematics II. “Currently I am a teaching assistant at TAMIU. I’ve taught one course [so far].”

Jeffrey’s story began at the Laredo Community College here in town. He said, “I transferred from LCC (Laredo Community College), I was there for 2 and half years. I received my bachelors of Science degree here at TAMIU in 2011. I started the Masters program in the spring of 2012 under the thesis plan. The grad program helped me so much. I learned so much more, because we go into detail over everything.”  

The mathematics enthusiast mentioned that he had advice for aspiring graduates who will follow in his footsteps, “Just go for it! Go for your dreams, never give up and have fun!” Great advice from a mathematician who understands the formula for success.

The Bridge would like to congratulate and thank Adolfo Javier Lopez and Jeffrey Castañeda for sharing their experience at such a joyous time in their careers as TAMIU Alumni.

For questions, comments, or concerns about this article, readers can reach out to Tina Gomez at cristinagomez@dusty.tamiu.edu