Criminal justice senior Alondra Galvan started off her college career at legacy institution UT Brownsville and as UTRGV entered its third year, she has earned the title of Student Government Association president.
Her life has been guided by her faith in God and her father’s love and support.
“My dad, he’s a person that when he needs to make a decision, he thinks of all the logistics of every single detail, making sure that the decisions he makes won’t affect someone [negatively] and that everyone will be OK with it and he analyzes everything,” Galvan said. “He calms down and thinks everything, he looks at the logistics, everything that is in play and that’s how he can make great decisions that have allowed him [to be] successful. And on the other side, God. He was a very compassionate person. He never thought he was better than anyone else, he was very humble.”
Galvan is the first in her family to attend a Texas university. She felt lost and unsure of some college aspects, such as financial aid, the Texas Grant program and academic advising.
Benjamin Brown, the criminal justice department chair and professor, taught Galvan in the past and recalls his time with her in the classroom.
“She was one of the group that sat in the very front row or in the front two rows,” Brown said. “… She was always very attentive, always punctual. … If memory serves, she always did well in class. … She was a good student, I don’t recall any problems.”
Student Activities Director Cindy Mata-Vasquez co-advises the SGA with Delma Olivarez, interim associate dean for Student Involvement and director of Leadership and Mentoring, and David Marquez, assistant director of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Mata-Vasquez has watched Alondra grow since her sophomore year.
“I’ve seen her grow as a student leader, at least with SGA,” she said. “When I met her, I think as a sophomore, she had all these ideas of what she wanted to do with SGA and having seen her throughout the years and seen how she’s grown and now she’s our president. It’s exciting for me having to see that just because I saw her grow from her early stages of her SGA career to now and she’s really developed as a great leader.”
During UTB’s Freshman Convocation, Galvan learned about SGA and gained more information during Orange Crush, which was an involvement event. After attending multiple meetings in her first year, she became interested in what the organization does.
Last spring semester, Galvan did an internship with the Texas Legislature in Austin. However, this was also during the time of the election for the SGA presidency.
“The term [as SGA president] started on May 1, but [the 85th Texas legislative] session ended in May 29,” Galvan said. “So, at UTRGV, we’re not just in Brownsville and Edinburg, we are six different locations. So, how do we communicate, how can we work with each other, technology. Technology is your best friend at UTRGV. So, I was still able to get things done, work on several things that I had to get done and I would contact the people that I needed to contact through email, phone call, Skype for Business. I was still able to meet with the team.”
Galvan travels to both campuses on a daily basis, interacting with students and administrators. She sets goals that students are encouraged to strive for.
She is depended upon in SGA to keep everyone organized.
“Her passion, her wanting to help the student body [is] just what I see in her, that really makes her fit to be president,” Mata-Vasquez said. “She has a great team of students behind her and she understands that it’s not a one-man job, that it takes everyone to make sure that the goal is successful. She may be the leader of the association, but she knows that without her team, she wouldn’t be capable of doing so much and I think she always puts them ahead of what she’s needing, just to make sure they’re taken care of and that the association has what they need to achieve their goals.”
Galvan has future plans for her life and SGA.
“When I’m through with my bachelor’s, my next goal is to attend law school,” she said. “I want to go to law school [at UT-Austin] and after I graduate from law school, obviously take all those exams. … I want to be a lawyer that does criminal law and then my goal is to be a judge, but the type of judge I want to be, I do have to be a lawyer for a couple of years and then after I retire, I don’t know if maybe before or after a judge, I’d like to be a politician.”
Galvan plans to make the campus community more inclusive by “ensuring that all of our Vaqueros feel welcomed and a part of the UTRGV family.”
The SGA plans to “enhance online student university experience, graduate student outreach, [and] continue to support the development of security on campus,” she said.
To view the SGA platform, visit utrgvrider.com.
