Student Recognition

Honors Program students go above and beyond as part of the program and have presented at national conferences, worked on thesis projects, and participated in select National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) opportunities. Through Honors support, students have hands-on experiences that will prepare them for their future and expand their learning horizons.

Conference Travel

The Honors Program provides travel stipends to enhance students’ academic and professional development at local, regional, state, and/or international conferences.

Featured conference presentations:

Cristina Graña

Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Conference 2026

Presented research on carbohydrate quality of middle-aged Hispanic men and women.

Impact: “Attending and presenting at the TACSM Conference gave me the opportunity to improve my public speaking skills by presenting my research to other professors, researchers, and students from across Texas.”

Jose Leonidez

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) National Convention 2025

Presented on transformer-based cyberbullying detection.

Impact: “This experience is directly connected to my academic goals and coursework in. machine learning and language processing...I improved several key skills: technical communication, confidence, networking, and the ability to breakdown complex machine-learning concepts for different audiences”

Anahi Estrada

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention 2025

Presented on newborn hearing screening.

Impact: This experience directly aligns with my academic goals as a future audiologist... In my diagnosis and evaluation class, we often discuss evidence-based practice and client-centered care, but this projected highlighted the importance of aligning systems to create sustainable change”

Thesis Projects

Honors Program students have the option to advance their research capabilities with an Honors Thesis. Students work with a faculty mentor and reader to develop their project and present their findings during a formal thesis defense.

Current thesis graduate include:

Cristina Graña

Cristina successfully defended her thesis during Spring 2026!

Thesis: The Relationship of Dietary Fiber Intake with Abdominal Visceral Far Content in Middle-Aged Hispanic Adults

Honors Student of the Year

The University Life Awards, hosted by SOLE, recognizes students and student organizations for their efforts inside and outside the classroom. The Honors Student of the Year Award was established to recognize a program member on character, outstanding contributions, and academic achievements while developing intellectual leadership.

2026: Barbara Garza
2025: Alessandra Vela
2024: Josceline Morales
2023: Karyme Castillo Castro
2022: Sajal Gill
2021: Madison Guerra
2020: Prakash Aryal

Partners in the Park

Triana Martinez was selected to participate in Partners in the Park, a program from NCHC, which was fully funded by Honors. Partners in the Park is an experiential learning experience aimed at connecting university honors students with national parks, “combining education, stewardship, and recreation.”

Read Triana's Experience

University Honors Program

Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library (KLM) 415
5201 University Boulevard

Laredo, Texas 78041-1900

956.326.2133 | 956.326.2714

honors@tamiu.edu