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OLLU new home to Ukrainian School

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The Ukrainian School in San Antonio held its grand opening Saturday in Metz Hall. The school, which meets every other Saturday, teaches Ukrainian language and culture to children living in San Antonio and South Texas. Many of the children and their families have been displaced by the war in Ukraine.

Prior to finding a home at OLLU, the families met sporadically in an attempt to ensure that the Ukrainian culture and language is imparted to their children.

The OLLU-Ukrainian School connection was created by District 4 City Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, PhD, who is the European liaison for the City of San Antonio and also an OLLU professor of marketing. She, along with OLLU President Abel A. Chávez, MBA, PhD, were present Saturday to welcome the Ukrainian School to its new home on the OLLU campus.

Olenka Bravo, one of the organizers of the Ukrainian School, led a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new school and thanked the university for providing a home base for the school.

OLLU hosts Latina Leadership Institute

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OLLU recently hosted the Latina Leadership Institute (LLI), a San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce program designed to build the skill set and knowledge base of Latina Leaders.

Held on May 25 in Main Building, the program attracted approximately 50 women for an all-day session on the the following theme: “Embrace Your Cultura and Your Gifts.” 

Speakers included Marina Gonzales, CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Erika Prosper, First Lady of San Antonio; Esther Gergen, PhD, OLLU Professor of Leadership Studies, and alumna Marisol Weymouth, PhD, Chief People Whisperer with People Whisperer Solutions.

PsyD student awarded APA IMFP Fellowship

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Congratulations to first-year PsyD student Zeemal Zubair! He has been awarded a Fellowship from the American Psychological Association  (APA).

The Interdisciplinary Minority Fellowship Program (IMFP) award includes a $23,000 stipend for one year, starting in September 2023 and ending in August 2024. 

The IMFP fellowship is awarded through a federal grant to APA from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). It is uniquely tailored to provide support and training beyond what is offered by most fellowship programs and other institutions. 

Reminder: Adelante Training Conference set for June 6 and 7

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The upcoming Adelante Training and Development Conference will feature non-academic training and development for all OLLU employees.

The conference will feature in-person and virtual sessions. Supervisors are encouraged to work out a schedule that will allow all employees to attend sessions they are interested in or are relevant to their position.

In light of this opportunity to grow as a community, President’s Council has stated the following regarding attendance:

All employees are encouraged to participate in this wonderful opportunity. Supervisors are encouraged to develop schedules that will allow all interested employees to attend some of the training sessions while also ensuring there is adequate coverage for their offices which are expected to remain open all day.

The agenda for the conference includes concurrent sessions hosted across campus and a Synergy Session and Paleta Social to close day one. Below is the general agenda; a detailed agenda with Concurrent Sessions is available online at:

https://ollusa.sharepoint.com/sites/StaffAssembly/SitePages/Adelante-Professional-Development-Conference.aspx.

Day 1-June 6

8:30-9 a.m. — Breakfast

9-9:10 a.m. — Opening and Prayer

9:10-9:20 a.m. — President Welcome Address 

9:30-10:15 a.m. — Keynote: Incorporating the Mission Into Daily Work 

10:30-11:15 a.m. — Concurrent Session 1

11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. — Concurrent Session 2

12:15-1:15 p.m. — Lunch on Your Own 

1:15-2 p.m. — Concurrent Session 3

2:15-3 p.m. — Concurrent Session 4

3:15-4 p.m. — Synergy Session & Paleta Social 

June 7

Employees will have an opportunity to participate in either the Green Zone or Safe Zone half-day trainings from 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 

We hope that all staff of San Antonio, Houston, and RGV will be able to participate in this momentous occasion.

For questions or more information, please email sac@ollusa.edu.

Saints win ninth RRAC All-Sports Award

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Another year of competition in the books and the results translated into another Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) All-Sports Award for OLLU. The Saints are the 2022-2023 champions and have now tied Houston Baptist University for the most awards all-time with nine. They’ve been crowned following nine of the last 10 years.

The Saints missed out only one year in the past 10 – in the 2020-2021 “Covid Year,” when the university opted out of postseason competition. Their first All-Sport Award came in 2013-2014.

The All-Sports Award is given annually to the RRAC athletic program that performs best across the conference’s sports in a given academic year. Points are awarded to the top five teams in regular season conference standings using a 10-8-6-4-2 scoring system, while results in conference tournaments and championship events merit additional points on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis. 

OLLU won with 110 points. Xavier University of Louisiana finished second (92) and Texas A&M-Texarkana was third (84).

Saints softball team eliminated at College World Series

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The NAIA No. 2-ranked OLLU softball team finished the 2023 season with a 6-5 loss in a close game against Midland University (MU) in the NAIA World Series. The No. 2 seed Saints finish the season at 51-8 overall while the No. 10 seed Warriors move to 41-14. The Saints’ 51 victories were the most in program history and were highlighted by a 35-game winning streak.

Head Coach Bruce Lenington commented, “The fight that our players showed should make any fan of OLLU proud. The outgoing seniors have left a lasting legacy that will set our expectations for teams to come. It was my honor to watch them compete every day.” 

OLLU men’s 4×400 relay earns All-America honors

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The OLLU men’s 4x400m relay team made it to the finals of the 2023 NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships and finished in fifth place overall. This marks the first time in program history that members of the OLLU track and field team have finished as finalists. All four members of the team – all freshmen, including Richard Davis, Julian Verastegui, Troy Stinson and Cerrone Thompson – have earned NAIA All-American honors – the first ever at OLLU.

They placed 11th out of 21 teams in the preliminary run with a time of 3:17.58, which qualified them for the finals on May 26. Their time in the finals was 3:12.55 for a fifth-place finish overall.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “We had some good things happen and some lessons learned. The jewel of the meet for us was definitely the men’s 4x400m finishing All-American with four freshmen. I’m so excited that these young men are at the foundation of what we are building.”

Five Saints receive NFCA-NAIA All-Region honors

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The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced the 149 student-athletes from 68 schools who comprise the 2023 NFCA NAIA All-Region teams.

Oregon Institute of Technology in Region IV led all schools with six players chosen for its region’s list, with four earning first-team recognition. Four schools — NAIA World Series participants Central Methodist (Region V) and Georgia Gwinnett (Region I), Our Lady of the Lake University (Region II) and Texas A&M-Texarkana (Region I) — had five selections each.

OLLU’s honorees include:

Cassandra Valdez – First Team
Madison Nunn – First Team
Rebecca Duran – Second Team
Madison Garza – Second Team

Joanna Gonzalez – Second Team

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