TAMIU Holds Spring 2026 Commencement Ceremonies
Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) celebrated its Spring 2026 candidates for graduation at Spring Commencement Ceremonies on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at the Sames Auto Arena.
Some 1,080 candidates for graduation representing 17 different countries crossed the stage at Commencement.
Two ceremonies were held, one at 11 a.m. and another at 4 p.m. Ceremonies were open to the public and were free of charge.
The 11 a.m. ceremony included candidates for undergraduate and graduate degrees from the A. R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business, the College of Education, and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The 4 p.m. focused on undergraduate and graduate candidates for degrees from the College of Arts and Sciences.
Ceremonies were livestreamed via YouTube at https://go.tamiu.edu/grad-am and at https://go.tamiu.edu/grad-pm.
Of historic interest, Thursday morning’s ceremony included the hooding of Nana Twum Owusu-Peprah, a candidate for a doctoral degree in International Business. Afternoon ceremonies included the commissioning of five cadets. Cadets being commissioned were Thomas De Leon IV, Carlos Miguel Guerra, Karen Palacios, Jose Rodríguez and Jahiel Vargas.
Providing the Commencement Address for the Spring candidates at both ceremonies was Lesley Briones, Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner. A native Texan who grew up on the U.S. – Mexico border, Commissioner Briones is the first mother elected in her own right to the Harris County Commissioners Court. Commissioner Briones oversees county services for Precinct 4, which is home to 1.2 million residents, and accounts for five U.S. cities, 55 parks and 10 community centers.
Commissioner Briones graduated with honors from Harvard University and began her career teaching in low-income public schools. She later earned her law degree from Yale, practiced law, and served as a Harris County Civil Court at Law Judge.
The Student Response for the morning ceremony was provided by Anahi Estrada, representing the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The afternoon ceremony Student Response was offered by Michael Brandon Inocencio, representing the College of Arts and Sciences.
Estrada earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Disorders, graduating magna cum laude with a 3.8 GPA. While a student at TAMIU, she was a member of the National Student Speech and Language Hearing Association, the University Honors & Undergraduate Research Program, and participated as a Student Tutor at the Academic Center for Excellence. She received the Oscar Laurel Family Scholarship and Speech and Hearing Research Scholarship. Estrada plans to pursue a doctorate degree in Audiology. Her longtime goal is to advocate and support her community as an audiologist
Inocencio earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, graduating summa cum laude honors with a 3.9 GPA. He was a member of the Evolutionary Visual Lab, the Brain Cognition Lab, and the Student Government Association L.O.V.E. Committee. He presented research nationally and completed over 250 hours of community service. He was a recipient of the Laredo Area Community Foundation, the Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award, and earned recognition on the Dean’s List in his last semester. Inocencio plans to pursue a graduate program in Counseling Psychology and become a Licensed Professional Counselor.
For more about Commencement Exercises, visit the dedicated website at: tamiu.edu/commencement
Registration for Summer and Fall 2026 classes at TAMIU is underway online via Uconnect.To learn more about TAMIU’s Registration processes, visit the dedicated Registration Hub at https://go.tamiu.edu/registration.
More on the University’s story is available at tamiu.edu and on the University’s social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.
