Students in the Honors Program will be presenting their capstone projects today from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Main Building, Room 311.
Students presenting are Annabelle Vasquez, Ilene Barrios and Amber Contreras.
Month: November 2022
History, Theology and Spiritual Action capstones to be presented Thursday
The History and Theology and Spiritual Action programs are partnering to present an array of senior capstone projects on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in Main Building, Room 220.
Chartwells will provide snacks during the one-hour presentation.
To watch virtually, click on the link below:
For questions, contact Dr. Valerie A. Martinez at vamartinez@ollusa.edu or Dr. Jacob Friesenhahn at jhfriesenhahn@ollusa.edu
Giving Tuesday set for tomorrow
Join OLLU for Giving Tuesday tomorrow and be a part of the world’s biggest day of generosity. Every year on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, the global movement that fosters giving and generosity is celebrated. OLLU participates in this day of giving to provide support for current and future OLLU students.
In just 24 hours, help us reach our $15,000 goal for OLLU student scholarships, programs and more.
*While supplies last: receive an exclusive pair of OLLU Saints Socks with a minimum gift of $18.95 (OLLU’s founding year).
University kicks off the Christmas season with hOLLUday events
OLLU will kick off the holiday season this week with a variety of events.
hOLLUday Community Tree Decorating and Lighting
Decorating: Tuesday at Noon-2 p.m. in the Mall Area
The university community is invited to decorate an ornament and add it to the university tree.
Blessing, Lighting, and Caroling: Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. in the Mall Area
The University Choir will serenade participants during the official lighting and blessing of the tree.
87th Annual Candlelight Advent Prayer Service
Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel
All are invited to a candlelit Advent Prayer Service in the chapel followed by Christmas caroling by candlelight in the Moye Rotunda. Refreshments will be served.
Snowball Winter Formal
Thursday in the Mall Area
This winter dance is hosted by Residence Life.
Las Posadas
Friday at 6 p.m. in front of Annunciation Chapel
OLLU’s 39th annual Las Posadas is a re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s search for lodging in Bethlehem on the eve of the birth of Jesus. The procession will begin at Annunciation Chapel and continue to the steps of the Convent Building, Main Building and Moye Hall. It will conclude with a celebration in Chapel Auditorium featuring entertainment and refreshments.
OLLU team leads webinar for Ellucian to positive reviews
Three members of the ITS and Marketing and Communications teams – Sulema Cabrera, Mary Puente and Ian Gutierrez – led a successful webinar on Nov. 17 for Ellucian, a leader in higher education technology.
Nearly 500 attendees from universities and colleges across the U.S. listened as Cabrera, Puente and Gutierrez explained how OLLU made its entire suite of campus technology more accessible, intuitive and personalized by beginning the transition to Ellucian Experience.
Ellucian touted the expertise of the OLLU teams on its LinkedIn page and invited its followers to listen to the webinar.
ITS and Marketing and Communications partnered to implement and launch the new SAINTS CONNECT dashboard, which is the internal portal that will replace the myOLLU community portal that is being transitioned out. The OLLU community can now access the new SAINTS CONNECT dashboard via the current student and faculty/staff pages on the university website.
Current Students page: https://www.ollusa.edu/info-for/current-students.html
Faculty/Staff page: https://www.ollusa.edu/info-for/faculty-staff.html
To view the webinar, visit https://www.ellucian.com/resources/webinar/making-switch-embracing-experience (registration required).
In The News
Recent media coverage that brought attention to OLLU:
On Nov. 27, a story in the San Antonio Report about the National League of Cities written by OLLU professor and San Antonio City Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia,
On Nov. 24, a story in the Macon-Telegraph about the OLLU men’s basketball team’s exhibition against the University of the Incarnate Word:
https://www.macon.com/sports/college/article269125617.html
On Nov. 23, a story in MySA.com about the OLLU men’s basketball team’s exhibition against the University of the Incarnate Word:
On Nov. 23, a story on KTVZ (News 21) about the men’s exhibition basketball game between OLLU and UIW:
Women’s basketball battles back to defeat SCU 61-57
The women’s basketball team defeated Southwestern Christian University (SCU) 61-57 in overtime as part of the Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 21. The Saints improve to 3-2 overall while the Lady Eagles drop to 2-4.
History
The Saints were 0-1 against the Lady Eagles prior to the game.
Basics
The Saints used a fourth quarter comeback to force overtime and down the Lady Eagles on Monday. Both teams scored 14 points in the first quarter. SCU edged the Saints by two points in the second quarter to lead 29-27 at halftime. Carrie Barrera-Lacy had 10 points for the Saints at the break. The Saints shot over 40 percent from the field in both quarters.
OLLU struggled in the third quarter with six points total. The Lady Eagles forced five turnovers in the frame and grabbed four offensive rebounds. The Saints trailed by eight points heading into the fourth quarter. Madelyn Soto sparked the Saints off the bench and helped the team take the lead with six minutes remaining. The game was tied 50-50 after the Lady Eagles hit one of two free throws with 30 seconds left. Neither team scored in the remaining seconds and the contest headed to overtime.
The Saints led the entire overtime frame after the 4:41 mark. Barrera-Lacy had five points and Michaela Verrett added four. The Saints held on to win 61-57 and climb above the .500 winning percentage.
Offensive/defensive standouts
Barrera-Lacy led the Saints with 15 points. Natalia Trevino and Trinity Harold tallied a team-high four rebounds each. Trevino and Verrett led the Saints with two assists apiece.
Jaden Mason led SCU with 15 points. Christina Jenkins and Lauren Wade grabbed 10 rebounds each for the Lady Eagles. Mason led the team with five assists.
Inside the box
OLLU combined for 23-of-55 shooting for 41.8 percent, 4-of-15 from three-point range for 26.7 percent and 11-of-18 from the free-throw line for 61.1 percent. SCU shot 22-of-64 for 34.4 percent, 4-of-24 three pointers for 16.7 percent and 9-of-14 from the free-throw line for 64.3 percent.
The Saints grabbed 28 rebounds while SCU collected 38. OLLU forced 20 turnovers and committed 13.
Up next
The Saints start their Red River Athletic Conference schedule on Thursday as they host LSU-Shreveport at 5:30 p.m.
OLLU’s Gonzalez and Trevino named Academic All-District Volleyball honorees
Two from OLLU have been selected to the 2022 Academic All-District® Volleyball Team. The program recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.
College Sports Communicators (formerly the College Sports Information Directors of American – CoSIDA), such as OLLU’s 16-year member Patricia Constantin, submit nominees for consideration. The organization boasts more than 3,000 members, and all are eligible to vote for all sports teams each year.
The two honorees are Madalyn Gonzalez and Tina Trevino. Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot.
Madalyn Gonzalez, a Marketing major, has been part of the Saints team since 2020. She played in 25 matches and 88 sets this year. She recorded 111 kills, 18 digs and 75 blocks. Gonzalez was named to the All-Conference Second Team and was the Champions of Character representative. She earned a 3.74 GPA.
Tina Trevino, a Criminal Justice major, has been part of the Saints team since 2021. She played in 24 matches and 85 sets this year. She marked 51 assists, 417 digs and 19 service aces. Trevino was named Co-Defender of the Year and was part of the All-Conference First Team. She earned a 3.90 GPA.
Doctoral student serves on panel exploring ‘The Future of Rural Texas’
OLLU doctoral student Judith Canales recently participated on a panel for the Texas Tribune’s “Future of Rural Texas” event held Nov. 17-18 at Texas Tech University.
Canales, who is part of the PhD in Leadership Studies program on the San Antonio campus, is the executive director of the Eagle Pass Maverick County Economic Development Alliance. She participated in a session on the Rural Economy. She joined 30 other speakers to discuss the intersection of rural Texas and health care, economic development, publish and higher education and broadband access.
The event was presented in-person and online and featured leaders from rural communities and from around the state tackling matters of importance to the more than three million citizens living in rural Texas communities.
OLLU receives $50,000 grant for Mass Communication program
The City of San Antonio (COSA) has awarded OLLU a $50,000 Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) grant to produce programming to be aired on TVSA Education.
The Mass Communication department will use the funding to purchase production equipment to create and deliver locally oriented programming.
The funding marks the third COSA grant for the Mass Communication program. Previous funding allowed students to produce high-quality programming for TVSA Education, which included student newscasts, public service announcements, short films and TV shows.
As a result, students have received robust instruction, gained valuable experience, and are now comfortable using modern equipment similar to what they will encounter as they pursue careers as video editors, camera operators, producers, and directors.