Ezequiel Peña, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, recently visited OLLU-RGV to meet with students from his hyflex class, “Psychopathology: Etiology, Diagnosis and Treatment Planning.”
The RGV students impressed Dr. Peña with group presentations that focused on mental health concerns within a cultural context.
“The students raised such important concerns about the mental health challenges families face along the US/RGV-Mexico border,” said Dr. Peña, a native of the Rio Grande Valley. “I think being from the Valley really helped us move a little more deeply into the RGV concerns that are similar yet distinct to those of Latino families in the San Antonio area.”
Cindy Mata-Vasquez, Director of the OLLU-RGV/La Feria campus, facilitated the visit.
“I was so moved by the students’ warmth, generosity of spirit, and welcome,” Dr. Peña said. “They even gave me a gift basket of treats that was so heartwarming. It is difficult to describe the sense of the familiar, or of a shared sensibility, that we share in the RGV. Although I have taught students from the RGV, either in San Antonio or in hyflex classes, I had never taught an in-person class in the RGV.
“Even though I haven’t lived in the RGV for many years, being in class with the students felt like home, and like a bit of a homecoming. I am so excited for the great work our MFT students in the RGV will go on to do in the Valley. Their passion and love for the RGV community is inspiring.”