SGA highlights campus services

Last Tuesday there were three appointments and two special guests at the Student Government Association meeting on the Brownsville campus.

Under new business, were the new appointments: 

–Senior psychology major Alondra Gonzalez, appointed Chief of Staff 

–Graduate student in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling Abby Davila, appointed Secretary of Graduate Affairs

–Information system junior Marco Kidder, appointed Secretary of Administration and Finance

Sarah Rodriguez, a senior in nursing Engagement Zone Data Specialist for the Office of Community Engagement.presented for the Office of Community Engagement at the meeting.The Office for Community Engagement is an institutional and academic support unit that works with professional development resources who are faculty, staff and community partners and closely with non-profit agencies across the Rio Grande Valley, Rodriguez said. 

“UTRGV is a nationally recognized Carnegie university,” she said. “So, Carnegie is an honor that is given to universities every five years to recognize the amount of community engagement that the university does in their communities. So, in 2020 we were recognized as a community engagement scholar.”

The office also oversees the Engagement Zone, which allows students to track their community service hours. The Engagement Zone can be found under Applications at myUTRGV.edu or at its website https://ez.utrgv.edu.

“You can also use [The Engagement Zone] for any type of essay writing or if you need to send anything for a scholarship or a job application,” said Karitza Garcia, senator for the School of Nursing and chair of the internal affairs standing committee. “This is actually really good for even graduate school programs.”

 Jeremy San Miguel represented the Office for Sustainability during the meeting, noting that the office is committed to highlighting sustainability on campus.

“One of the core priorities for the university is sustainability, it’s in our mission statement,” San Miguel said. “Sustainability is about sustaining the quality of life, our society, our planet and economics.”

The Office for Sustainability now has its own podcast, “Sustainability…Adelante!” that can be found on its website and SoundCloud.

The office will also host a film series from 6 to 8 p.m. until Wednesday via Zoom. The link will be available through V Link.

San Miguel said the “Sustainability…Adelante!” speaker series will premiere in the spring semester. 

Campus Sustainability Fun Day will be from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Main Courtyard on the  Brownsville campus and at the same time Thursday in the Student Union on the Edinburg campus. Snacks, swag and music will be available to students.  

For the advisors’ report, early voting began Oct. 18 and will end Friday. 

Delma Olivarez, an SGA advisor and Associate Dean of Students said the Student Academic Building is a voting location for Hidalgo County.

The next SGA senate meeting will be at 6 p.m. Nov. 2. 

Job Martinez, senator for the Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, reminded students that voting for the Athletic Fee referendum will take place Nov. 8 through 10.