A Conference with Student Leaders

The purpose of the Civic Engagement Alliance is to encourage UTRGV students toward voter registration, education and engagement in their communities. Last Thursday, the alliance hosted a conference to discuss the state of these ideals in the Rio Grande Valley.

“The ultimate purpose of this panel is to educate the UTRGV community,” said Osvaldo Grimaldo, a sociology junior and the CEA president who organized the event. “You know, to educate the community that is going to be there to listen about the experience of UTRGV students, have the impact that you probably saw as leaders on campus and normal students, how they saw the change.”

The panelists were Samuel Valdez, the vice president of education for the Civic Engagement Alliance; Jose Pablo Rojas, the Student Government Association president; Audrey Solis, the Campus Activities Board committee chair for Road Trips/After Dark; Karitza Garcia, SGA senator for the School of Nursing; and Ruben Loza, a multimedia intern for Student Activities.

The panelists were chosen to speak for their leadership experience and their ties to UTRGV in order to discuss issues that affect the university and the Valley at large. They did this through discussing their various motivations as well as the challenges they face.

“I’m a first-generation Mexican American migrant student whose parents came to the United States to be able to get their child the opportunities they might not have had while they were in Mexico,” Valdez said.

Asked how she balances her responsibilities with her academic life, Garcia replied, “Time management is your best friend. You’re going to always use it, whether it is in your academic life or your professional life.”

The conference also discussed the issue of voter registration.

“I came into this position thinking I want to make sure everybody is registered to vote,” Valdez said. “And it expanded from making sure everybody is registered to vote to educating people as part of my committee and brought events, like Meet the Candidates Series, to UTRGV.”