TAMIU Annual Report 2021

ORGANIZATIONS GROW, PROGRESS WITH FEMALE LEADERSHIP At TAMIU, female leadership is taking shape through the combined efforts of women leading campus-wide organizations. For the second year in a row, women are leading the University’s Faculty Senate, Staff Senate and Student Government Association. Currently, the groups are being led by Faculty Senate president Dr. María de Lourdes Viloria, associate professor of Education; Staff Senate president Cihtlalli Perez, institutional effectiveness officer at University College, and Student Government Association’s (SGA) student body president Lourdes Boardman. During the 2020-21 semester, the same campus groups were also led by women, including, Dr. Lola Norris, associate professor of Spanish and Translation; Ana María Vargas, associate director of Web, and Mariana Rodríguez. Through their leadership efforts, they represent and advocate for the interests of faculty, staff, and students at the University. Individuals are appointed to their respective positions by vote and help formulate recommendations to the University administration. Ivan Larumbe, a Kinesiology major at TAMIU, is making his mark in the gaming industry among collegiate gamers this year. Larumbe took the title of the NIRSA eSports Tournament Champion. During a three-day tournament, Larumbe competed in the Rocket League 1v1 (or one versus one player) Rec Division. The tournament included 233 students representing 48 institutions from across the U.S. and Canada. Players represented several universities, including Louisiana State University, Lubbock Christian University, Minnesota State University, Texas A&M University- Commerce, the University of Florida, and more. Since the program’s inception, the University’s Rec Sports has hosted various campus tournaments that have been streamed onto Twitch, a world-renowned popular livestreaming platform for gamers. The University’s Twitch stream includes 372 followers (and counting). Currently, TAMIU eSports competes through the National Association of Collegiate Esports, the leading organization for collegiate eSports that boasts 120 member institutions in the United States. Larumbe, who games up to five hours a day, was excited to have won the tournament and noted the importance of gaming in his life. “Gaming is important to me because I use it to stay connected to my friends, to de-stress and I love to compete,” Larumbe observed. In addition to his gaming, Larumbe plays intramural basketball and soccer. He hopes to become a high school sports coach. University students with an interest in gaming can visit go.tamiu.edu/esports for more information. STUDENT EARNS NATIONAL ESPORTS GAMING TITLE Left to right: Mariana Rodríguez, Dr. María de Lourdes Viloria,  Cihtlalli Pérez, Lourdes Boardman, Ana María Vargas and Dr. Lola Norris. STUDENTS 23