50K and counting  

UTRGV is observing many milestones as it approaches its 10th year in 2025, including having graduated 50,000 students.

Among the students who have graduated from UTRGV are David Flores and Kristen Garza, who say the university gave them the flexibility to pursue an education that changed their lives.

UTRGV hit the 50,000 milestone in Fall 2023. President Guy Bailey said the achievement means “we’re doing our job.” 

“Part of the university’s job is to enhance the education level of the RGV and provide opportunities for students,” Bailey said.

He said the university is built around the Rio Grande Valley’s values. 

“Those values are family,” the president said. “I mean, we’re a very family oriented place. I love living here. I mean, I’ve got a big family, 11 grandkids. And so we prize our families here. And that’s very important. That’s a wonderful support system.

The Rider asked Bailey how the university prepares students for success after graduation. 

“What we’re doing is giving you a first-class education with minimal debt,” he said. “If you can do that, students can go out and be really successful.” 

David Flores, who graduated with a master’s of business administration in Fall 2022, works at Accenture, which “provides a wide range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology, and operations,” according to its website. 

Flores’ duties include handling customer service inquiries regarding group insurance policies for voluntary benefits, he wrote in an email after an interview with The Rider. 

He said the MBA program gave him real-life experience that prepared him for the workforce. 

“I was working full time,” Flores said. “So during that time I was able to do my master’s online at a pace that allowed me to be able to do my work and my studies simultaneously.”

Kristen Garza, who graduated with a master’s in communication in Spring 2020, is national manager of College Persistence on the College & Diversity Team at IDEA Public Schools.

“I visit students who attended an IDEA school and just make sure that they have their FAFSA turned in and they’re persisting through college and all the resources that are available here, making sure that they have access to those,” Garza said. 

 She said that being a UTRGV student helped her to be “persistent, building those characteristics of hard work and understanding what an education can do for you.” 

The Rider asked the alumni how it feels to be part of the 50K milestone and advice for the current students. 

“I’m proud that I was able to be a statistic of UTRGV and, you know, be a Hispanic that has an MBA and been able to graduate from the RGV,” Flores said.

He said the best piece of advice for students is to “network and make connections.” 

Garza said it brings a wonderful emotional reaction. 

“That is such a true testament to the UTRGV student community, from faculty and staff,” she said. 

Garza said “being proactive with your education” is the best piece of advice and to “keep pushing.” 

Bailey also has some advice for students who will graduate soon.

“Stay in the Valley if you can,” Bailey said. “This is a great place to live. You can make a wonderful contribution here.”

The president also said to not only think about where to live but also “where am I going to be able to have an impact and make a difference.” 

Another milestone UTRGV is expected to hit within the next year is to meet emerging research status, Bailey said. 

“That’s a very important level for the university in the state of Texas,” he said. “There are two national research universities and only eight other emerging research universities. And so if you reach that status, that will be really big.”

 The president said UTRGV has a number of new doctoral and professional programs that are available to students in addition to medicine, pediatric medicine, “which is very important in the Valley.”

“We have new Ph.D. programs in engineering, one in materials science and engineering that started this fall,” Bailey said. “We have one in computer science that begins next fall. And so all of those things create opportunities for you so that once you graduate, you don’t have to go somewhere else to get professional education.”

UTRGV will celebrate its 10th anniversary by “opening a physical therapy school and expanding our student life to include football,” Bailey said. 

The university has created a website to showcase alumni at https://link.utrgv.edu/50k-graduates/.