Month: July 2023

Three Leadership Studies students named HSF Scholars

Congratulations to Leadership Studies students Guadalupe Marquez, Alexandria Garcia and Elizabeth Lopez (pictured left to right below) for being named Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) Scholars!

Marquez, Garcia and Lopez – all fourth-year students in the PhD program – were selected from among more than 124,000 who applied. Each year, HSF selects 10,000 students as HSF Scholars. 

Each OLLU doctoral student will be awarded scholarship money – the amount has yet to be determined – for the fall semester.

As HSF Scholars, they will have access to a full range of Scholar Support Services, including career services, mentorship, leadership development, knowledge building and wellness training. Career services include access to select internship and job opportunities with HSF corporate partners.

To become HSF Scholars, Marquez, Garcia and Lopez completed a lengthy application process, which included an essay, explaining what the HSF designation meant to them and what they would do as a future HSF Scholar.

OLLU celebrates achievements of Track and Field teams

OLLU recognized the achievements of the men’s and women’s track and field teams from the 2022-2023 season during the virtual 11th Annual Big Blue Athletics Banquet.

The season was highlighted by the men’s 4x100m relay team finishing in fifth place at the NAIA National Championships and earning NAIA All-American honors. The four team members include Richard Davis, Troy Stinson, Cerrone Thompson and Julian Verastegui. Twelve members of the men’s team made it to the NAIA National Championships in Indiana. 

In addition, the women’s 4x100m relay team also qualified for nationals. They include Alondra Toledo, Kiana Kebbi, Autumn Roberts and Larrisa McHenry. Qualifying for the NAIA Indoor Championships earlier in the spring were Jose Zarate for the 5000m, Tr’Darius Taylor for the 60m and Ian Lee Heung for the Triple Jump.

The season also featured the men winning the Red River Athletic Conference championships and the women finishing in second. Jose Zarate was the men’s high point track athlete of the year.

In The News

Recent media coverage that brought attention to OLLU:

On July 7, a story from the Texas Parks Wildlife Commission (TPWC) about the promotion of alumna Allison Winney to chief of staff at the TPWC:

https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20230707b

On July 2, a story in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times about OLLU softball signee Ava Hernandez earning Most Valuable Player honors on the newspapers’ 2023 All-South Texas Softball team: 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/alices-ava-hernandez-leads-2023-caller-times-all-south-texas-softball-team/ar-AA1djGkR

Bid farewell to Rosalinda Garcia

Help us wish Vice President for Administration Rosalinda Garcia well in her new adventure at Texas A&M International University in Laredo and thank her for the many initiatives she has led at OLLU:
Thursday
3-4 p.m.
Updated: Moye Hall, Room 102
Light refreshments will be served. This is a come-and-go reception.

If you are unable to attend the reception, please sign her farewell e-card at this link.

Professor Sanborn interviewed for documentary on Cormac McCarthy

Wallis Sanborn III, PhD, Associate Professor of English and Faculty Assembly President, recently gave an interview to ARTE TV — the European Culture Channel — about the vanishing ranching life in Cormac McCarthy’s novel, “All the Pretty Horses,” and whether the romanticized notion of ranching ever existed.

Dr. Sanborn is an internationally recognized scholar on McCarthy, the late author who is considered one of the great novelists of his generation. 

The interview was conducted on a Hondo ranch in June. ARTE TV journalist Tao Favre (left) interviewed Dr. Sanborn. Cameraman Julien Bresson (right) shot the video. The documentary is scheduled to be released in the fall.

Sisters invite OLLU community to join them for daily Mass

As a reminder, due to the university’s regularly scheduled Masses being suspended during our summer hours, the Sisters of Divine Providence would like to invite the OLLU  community to join them for their daily Mass celebrations over at Annunciation Chapel.

*Please note times may vary on certain days, so please double check before attending

Dr. Healy serves Minority Fellowship Program at annual summer institute

The APA Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) hosted its Annual Psychology Summer Institute (PSI) at the American Psychological Association (APA) in Washington, D.C. on June 22-25.  Deborah Healy, PsyD, Professor of Psychology, is a member of the MFP Training Advisory Committee, and serves on the Services for Transition Age Youth (STAY) initiative.  

PSI provides mentoring, educational, and professional development experiences for selected masters and doctoral students thereby advancing them in their professional development, and career preparation via ongoing mentorship and training. 

Begun in 1974, MFP is a highly successful, federally-funded training program for ethnic and racial minority researchers and service providers and graduated its first doctoral recipient in 1978.

OLLU Walking/Running Club to return

Back in 2019, a group of OLLU faculty and staff assembled to prepare for the 2019 Rock n’ Roll races (5K/10K/half/full marathon) in San Antonio. They met for training runs around the city during the fall semester leading up to the race. The inaugural Walking/Running Club provided a system of support and accountability, while also allowing faculty and staff to network and have a little fun.

The group hasn’t assembled since the pandemic, but hopes to get back together. Does this sound like something you’d be interested in? Please use this form to communicate your interest and we will follow up!

https://ollusa.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9shxWJlvo4SeEbc

OLLU welcomes alumna as new women’s soccer head coach

OLLU has hired former Saints soccer player Victoria Vazquez as Head Coach for the women’s soccer program.

Vazquez commented, “I would like to begin by thanking the hiring committee for selecting me, and I would like to extend a special thank you to Athletic Director Shane Hurley for his guidance and belief in me. As I find myself on campus, everyone has been so inviting and welcoming. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here as a student-athlete, and now I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the program and university once more. Wings up!”

Vazquez played for the Saints from 2010-2013 and was part of the team that won the university’s first Red River Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament titles in 2013. Her team finished in third in 2010 and was the postseason finalists, second in 2011 and finished as tournament semifinalists and fifth in 2012 also as semifinalists. 

Vazquez was an All-Conference winner in 2013, and she received Offensive Player of the Week honors once in 2012 and twice in 2013. She also won Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2013. In addition, Vazquez was a four-time RRAC Scholar-Athlete and a two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete. She holds the OLLU record for most assists in a season with 10 from 2013 and the most assists in a game with three against Schreiner University on Sept. 6, 2013 and against Bacone College on Oct. 3, 2013.

The Helotes, Texas, native comes to OLLU from her alma mater, Sandra Day O’Connor High School, where she has been the girls’ head coach since 2022. Her team marked a 12-3-1 record and finished third in the district. She coached the Northside Independent School District’s (NISD) Offensive Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year. Three All-District First Team, three Second Team winners, and three Honorable Mention players were also under her tutelage.

Athletic Director Shane Hurley said, “I am very happy to welcome Victoria Vazquez as our Women’s Soccer Head Coach. She is highly motivated, professional and will be an outstanding model of OLLU’s core values. As a player, she was top-notch, and I’m excited to see her bring collegiate coaching experiences from Wayland Baptist and Murray State College back to OLLU and to our women’s soccer program. As she spent her last year coaching at NISD’s O’Connor High School, I know she will be able to leverage her professional experiences and relationships there and beyond to benefit us.

Vazquez earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy and a Master of Science in Sports Management from Texas Woman’s University. She is pursuing a PhD in Management from Wayland Baptist University.

Vazquez will join second-year Assistant Coach Max Cruz. The Saints finished the 2022 season in third place and were postseason semifinalists. The team marked an 8-4-7 overall record and 5-1-5 in conference. The team begins its 16th season in late August with a pair of scrimmages and then kicks off the official schedule on Sept. 4 at Oklahoma City University.

The Saints will broadcast home matches on the OLLU Saints Network and will feature live-stats. Links will be available on the women’s soccer schedule page. 

General admission charge for all home matches is $10; free admission is available for OLLU faculty, staff and students. To inquire about joining the OLLU Halo Club and receive free admission, go here.