TAMIU Annual Report 2019

2019 Annual Report / AWORLDOF DIFFERENCE Student/ DIFFERENCE 10 TAMIU Students Take Research Abroad for the First Time Texas A&MInternational University’s students are its biggest champions of the charge to “Go Beyond,” but this summer, they REALLY took it to heart…and mind. For thefirst time, students not only studied abroad, but also conducted research in their host country in theResearch AbroadProgram(RAP). The students: Cesar Ines Rodríguez, and Jenale Canales, both MA in Sociology students, and Maritza Moraida, a BS in Criminal Justice student, traveled with Dr. Marcus Ynalvez, TAMIU College of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean, to the University of the Philippines, Los Baños (UPLB). The University Research Development Award-funded study investigated how professors’ involvement in commercial science activities impact theways theymentor and traingraduate students. Students interviewedat various departments, colleges, and institutes on the UPLB campus and conducted interviews at the International Rice Research Institute. Ynalvez said the RAP experience shows that classroom training and actual front-line research activities are two different realities. He believes the combination of both makes for superior training. “The best take home-piece is an international research experience packedwith all its challenges, constraints, frustrations, and travails… whichprofoundly changes students, andwhichno researchmethods textbook nor manual could ever capture,” Ynalvez observed. TAMIU’s ‘Closer Than Ever’ Completes Degree Dreams There was a time when Ashton Laurel didn’t know if he would ever have an opportunity to complete his Texas A&M International University degree. He had finished his junior year and decided it best to take a year off to raise funds to finance his final year. A scant 30 semester credit hourswere all that kept himaway fromgraduatingwithhis Bachelor’s degree inBusiness Administration…but finding the funds to cover his final semesters proved daunting. Then, Laurel received a call fromTAMIU’s Office of the University Registrar and learned about the “Closer ThanEver” initiative. Launched in August 2018, it helps former students who have made substantial progress on their degree, but have delayed completion for various reasons. Through scholarships andgrants fromdonors including TheD.&J. Alexander Foundation chairedby State Senator JudithZaffirini, Laurel was able to complete his senior yearwithout student loans, graduating this past Spring 2019. Since its initial launch, the “Closer than Ever” initiative has helped 65 of the 134 students that have re-enrolledhave received their degrees. The University has awarded over $850,000 in assistance to qualifying students. “If you’re in the same situation I was in, whether you’re not sure whether to come back or how you’re going to come back – talk to the people at TAMIU. They’ll figure things out because the education that you get here is beyond priceless,” said Laurel. Ashton Laurel