Beyond the usual variety of lifting equipment found in a gym, the University Recreation Center has much more to offer.
University Recreation Center Director Kimberly Rottet said that in addition to having the Rio Grande Valleyโs only climbing wall, the UREC on the Edinburg campus provides aquatic activities, intramural sports, student-run sports clubs, group fitness classes and more.ย
affordable trips, which allows them to explore and take on adventurous journeys outside, according to the UREC website.
โOur Outdoor Adventure program could be anything from a day at Sea Turtle, Inc โฆ to camping at Garner State Park with some of the skills that go along with that,โ Rottet said.
The UREC is open Monday through Saturday. Its hours of operation and schedule of events can be found on its website.
Reymundo Ramos, associate vice president for Student Success, told The Rider about the importance of the Advising Center and using the resource to the fullest.
With a caseload of about 300 to 350 students, the advising center helps all students, from freshmen to seniors.
โ[Advising] is here to help students make connections not only to [advising staff] but to the rest of โฆ their UTRGV team,โ Ramos said.
That includes the Office of Financial Aid, the Career Center and the Counseling Center.
โStudents may not know the resources and may not wanna go make contact with the resources so we can pick up a phone and help make that connection,โ Ramos said.
He urges students to see advisers before classes open for registration.
โWhat weโre trying to encourage students to do is make your appointment early,โ Ramos said. โCome see us in September. Weโll do a plan ahead where all your courses, course recommendations are already in there. And all you have to do is put them in Assist.โ
The Advising Center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Appointments can be made through phone and in person. On the Edinburg campus, the center is located in the International Trade and Technology Building and in Main Building Room 1.402 on the Brownsville campus.
Writing Center Director Marlene Galvan said part of the departmentโs mission is to โempower students through their writing [and] help them develop their voices [and] academic writing skills.โ
Galvan said whether itโs academic, professional, creative or personal, a student may submit any form of writing, from discussion posts to emails directed toward a professor.
โWe want them to know that their writing is important and valid and worthy of respect, and weโre gonna treat it like that when they come in to visit us and have a conversation about their writing,โ Galvan said.
She said all writers benefit from feedback.
โWhether youโre very experienced or new to the university, you always benefit from having a second pair of eyes,โ Galvan said.
The Writing Center offers a peer tutor model, which means all the tutors are students, she said.
โEvery tutor whoโs employed here is kind, service-oriented [and] wants to help students,โ Galvan said.
Appointments can be made on the Writing Centerโs website.
The centerโs operating hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday. Asynchronous feedback is available from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Tutorial videos on specific writing topics are available on its website.
