The Uvalde Student Activity Office will host a "Welcome Back Fiesta," on Tuesday, Jan. 31.

Burritos and all the trimmings will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Matthews Student Center Ballroom.

Current students and faculty are invited to attend. There is no charge.

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On Jan. 19 the SWTJC campus in Del Rio was the first stop for Mobile Vaccine Solutions, providing students with the meningitis vaccine for only $14.85. Mobile Vaccine Solutions then moved on to the SWTJC campuses in Uvalde and Eagle Pass on Jan. 20.  

According to SWTJC Registrar Luis Fernandez, a total of 297 vaccinations were administered across the three campuses.   

Mobile Vaccine Solutions will make asite second trip to SWTJC the first week of February. The exact dates and times have not been set.

According to Texas State law, new students under the age of 30 must have the vaccinations.

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The SWTJC Cowboys won at home and the Cowgirls lost on the road during league action Jan. 25 in the South Texas Club Sports League.

In men's action, SWTJC downed a team from Schreiner University, 90-85. Alvin Stevens led the Cowboys with 21 points. Other top scorers were John Register and Ethan Lynch with 17 points each.

The Cowgirls lost in San Antonio to Northwest Vista College, 63-42. Esther Zepeda led the SWTJC scoring attack with 16 points.

"It was a very physical game and their overall size gave us problems," coach Jesse Garcia said. "But our girls never gave up and I'm proud of the way our team fought back in the second half."

Both SWTJC teams will be at home on Wednesday, Feb. 1. The Cowgirls will face St. Philip's College and the Cowboys will play Northeast Lakeview College.

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The Greater Texas Foundation has awarded SWTJC a $5,000 grant to support need-based scholarships for students.

In a letter to SWTJC President Dr. Ismael Sosa, Jr.,  Aubrey Wynn Rosser, Ph.D., executive director of the foundation, notified the college that the grant was being awarded from the foundation's President's Fund in recognition of SWTJC's selection as a finalist for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

"We appreciate Southwest Texas Junior College's commitment to post-secondary persistence and completion," Dr. Rosser said in his letter.

The Aspen Prize recognized 10 national community college finalists last month in Washington, D.C., for their outstanding academic and workforce outcomes in both absolute performance and improvements over time.

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SWTJC trustees voted to hold this year's trustee election on May 12 at polling places in Real, Uvalde and Zavala counties. The action came during the board's regular monthly meeting Jan. 19.

Filing for places on this year's ballot will open on Feb. 4 and run through March 5. Early voting is scheduled for April 30 through May 8.

Places 1, 2 and 3 are currently held by Victor Lopez of Crystal City, Maria Elena Lara of Uvalde and Anita Shackelford of Leakey. All three incumbents have announced their intentions to seek reelection.

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Southwest Texas Junior College President Ismael Sosa and Dean of Instructional Services Hector Gonzales have recognized 223 students for academic excellence during the 2011 fall semester.

A total of 102 students were honored by earning recognition on the President's List. This academic honor is bestowed upon students who maintained a 4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) in at least 12 hours.

An additional 121 students qualified for Dean's List honors. To make the Dean's List, students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 hours and maintain at least a 3.6 GPA.

"This is the largest number of honor students we've had in many years," President Sosa said. "Our students and faculty are doing a great job and I congratulate them for all their hard work this past fall."
PRESIDENT'S LIST
DEAN'S LIST

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A total of 92 students from across Southwest Texas were honored on Jan. 21 during the 17th Regional GED Ceremony hosted in Uvalde by the SWTJC Adult Basic Education (ABE) Program.

Graduates were from six area communities including Carrizo Springs, Crystal City, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Hondo and Uvalde.

Associate Dean of Workforce Development and Adult Basic Education Romelia Aranda, welcomed graduates and their guests to the ceremony held in the Matthews Student Center Ballroom.
COMPLETE LIST OF GRADUATES

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The Lumina Foundation announced this week that Southwest Texas Junior College will be the recipient of a $600,000 grant over the next four years focusing on leveraging the critical connection between the educational attainment of Latinos and the future of our national economy.

Under its Latino Student Success project, Lumina will provide a total of $7.2 million to 12 partnerships in 10 states with significant and growing Latino populations.

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Southwest Texas Junior College President Ismael Sosa and Dean of Instructional Services Hector Gonzales have recognized 223 students for academic excellence during the 2011 fall semester.

A total of 102 students were honored by earning recognition on the President's List. This academic honor is bestowed upon students who maintained a 4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) in at least 12 hours.

An additional 121 students qualified for Dean's List honors. To make the Dean's List, students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 hours and maintain at least a 3.6 GPA.

"This is the largest number of honor students we've had in many years," President Sosa said. "Our students and faculty are doing a great job and I congratulate them for all their hard work this past fall."
PRESIDENT'S LIST
DEAN'S LIST

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Washington, DC, December 12, 2011 - Highlighting the need to improve student learning and  graduation rates in community colleges - leading to good jobs - the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program today announced that Valencia College in Orlando, Florida, is the nation's top community college and honored four "finalists with distinction" from an original pool of over 1,000.

Valencia will receive a $600,000 prize to support its programs while each "finalist with distinction" will receive $100,000. The Finalists with Distinction are: Lake Area Technical Institute (Watertown, SD); Miami Dade College (Miami, FL); Walla Walla Community College (Walla Walla, WA); and West Kentucky Community and Technical College (Paducah, KY).

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Plans are underway and entry deadlines have been announced for the 31st Annual Southwest Texas Junior College Creative Arts Contest. ENTRY FORM/RULES

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SWTJC's Jill Coe has been named the 2011 recipient of the Robert W. Wylie Service Award of the Two-Year College English Association (TYCA) South West Chapter.

Coe, who began her career at SWTJC as an English instructor in 1990, received the award during last fall's annual TYCA-SW Conference held at the South Shore Harbour Resort in League City, TX.

Each year the association honors one person for outstanding contributions made to the English teaching profession through long-term service. The Wylie Award is the association's highest distinction.

"I congratulate Jill for receiving this recognition and commend her for her enthusiastic, long time service to this institution and our students," SWTJC Dean of Instructional Services Hector Gonzales said.

In addition to teaching English and humanities classes, Coe currently serves as SWTJC Director of Professional Development, a position she was named to in 2005. From 1999 to 2005 she was division chair of the SWTJC Humanities and Fine Arts Department.

TYCA-SW has 525 members from a six-state region that includes Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Several SWTJC English instructors, in addition to Coe, were presenters at the TYCA-SW Conference including Rebecca Andrews, Marsha Heaton and Diana Smith.

Following the conference, Smith was asked to deliver her presentation, "Translation in the Composition Classroom," at the 2012 National Council of Teachers in English Conference scheduled Nov. 15-18 in Las Vegas.

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by Willie Edwards
SWTJC Public Information

The year escapes my memory, but I still remember watching three of Uvalde's all-time greatest distance runners one afternoon as they glided around Uvalde's Honey Bowl track.

Their long, graceful strides made their running seem effortless. They looked as if they were barely breaking a sweat, as they flew past my huffing and puffing 50-plus-year-old body, lapping me like I was standing still. Watching Ruben Ortiz, Pete Belman and James Ortiz run side-by-side around the track was a beautiful sight.

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