Category: News

A student walks into the library with a research assignment, a question about registration, or simply the need for a place to study. Knowing which university office can help may come later. At Our Lady of the Lake University’s new Learning Commons, the first step can be a conversation.

Centered on the second floor of the Sister Elizabeth Anne Sueltenfuss Library, the Learning Commons connects library resources, academic assistance, peer mentoring and opportunities to engage with faculty. Its purpose is to make support easier to find—and a natural part of everyday college life.

Two months into the initiative, that vision is taking shape through faculty partnerships, student-led study sessions and personal connections that help students feel comfortable asking questions.

“Rather than expecting students to navigate the university’s support structure independently, we want to create an environment where they can begin with a conversation,” explained Maria Cabaniss, dean of the Sueltenfuss Library and Learning Commons, and Dr. Kirsten Komara, associate dean and director of the Academic Center for Excellence, in joint responses about the initiative.

Connecting resources around the student

The Learning Commons builds on the library’s established spaces, collections, technology and research expertise while strengthening collaboration with the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE), Retention Services and other university partners.

The approach recognizes that a student’s needs can cross several areas. A research assignment might call for help finding credible sources, understanding course material and organizing time. Connecting those resources gives students a clearer starting point.

The Saints Study Bar provides one such point of connection. Librarians and student peer mentors rotate through the space, welcoming questions and helping students identify their next steps. Students can also settle in with an assignment, use available supplies, or enjoy self-serve coffee.

The goal is to make seeking assistance routine, whether students are working through a difficulty or preparing for their next academic milestone.

Students helping students find their way

Six Saints Advocacy Mentors, known as SAMs, help bring that approach to life.

Trained in active listening, communication and connecting students with resources, the mentors facilitate co-working sessions, answer questions and offer perspectives grounded in their own college experiences. Since the Commons launched, they have recorded more than 80 interactions with undergraduate and graduate students, including group visits and course-connected activities.

Their assistance ranges from navigating Blackboard and printing to helping students find campus services. When a student needs another office, mentors can walk with them and help make the connection.

Some of the most meaningful interactions begin without an academic question. In their reflections, mentors have described students returning to share something about their day, catch up or talk through a difficult experience. One mentor recalled spending a two-hour shift listening to a student who particularly valued having someone take the time to understand.

Those everyday exchanges help establish the trust that can make asking for support easier.

Bringing faculty and students together

The Commons also creates opportunities for students to meet faculty and advisors in a shared setting.

Just last month, approximately 60 students participated in Saints Step Up Day, which brought together freshman advisors, student-support professionals and faculty from disciplines including social work, education, psychology, business, English, biology and criminal justice. Students could ask questions, explore academic interests and make connections ahead of advising and registration.

Future Step-Up Days are expected to build on that model, with a more intentional connection between first-year advisors and faculty advisors in students’ chosen programs.

Other activities include English 1313 Studio Days, Blackboard Essentials workshops and peer-facilitated co-working sessions. The Commons also incorporates STUDYCON, an established university event that provides academic support and student engagement ahead of finals.

Early engagement, thoughtful assessment

Early library usage figures offer an encouraging picture of activity in the space.

From Aug. 17 through Oct. 29, 2026, the library recorded 10,840 uses, compared with 9,591 during the comparable period in 2025—a 13% increase. Second-floor usage, where the Commons is centered, rose 23.2%, from 2,491 to 3,070.

These figures count uses rather than unique students, and the increases cannot all be attributed to the Learning Commons. University leaders are developing measures specifically for Commons programming, peer mentoring and connections among services.

They also distinguish early engagement from longer-term outcomes. Understanding effects on academic progress, persistence and retention will require more time and assessment.

Extending the welcome

The initiative’s broader vision includes students beyond the San Antonio campus. Electronic library resources, remote research assistance and online ACE services support students studying at a distance. Peer mentors also use Microsoft Teams to connect with OLLU students online.

As the Commons develops, leaders plan to strengthen faculty partnerships, expand student leadership opportunities and better engage commuters, transfer students, veterans and graduate students balancing school with work and family responsibilities.

The invitation begins with a simple message: students do not need to know exactly what they need before coming in.

“Our hope is that students will come to see the Learning Commons not simply as somewhere they go when they need help, but as a place where they belong—a place to study, connect, explore ideas, build relationships, and find the support they need to succeed,” concluded Cabaniss and Komara.

Dean Dr. Vanessa Clark’s vision connects flexible access with academic rigor, personal attention and a sense of community.

For a working adult pursuing career advancement, a parent balancing classes with family responsibilities or a student living far from campus, access to higher education can depend on how well it fits into an already demanding life.

At Our Lady of the Lake University, Dr. Vanessa Clark is approaching distance and online learning with those students in mind—and with an emphasis on what happens after they enroll.

“Providing access is only the first step; helping students succeed and graduate is equally important,” said Clark, OLLU’s dean of distance and online learning.

Her role brings together oversight of the university’s Houston and Rio Grande Valley instructional sites, management of online education partnerships, and collaboration across university divisions on enrollment and academic program development. The purpose is to connect decisions about educational delivery with the academic and personal support students need to complete their degrees.

For Clark, the vision begins with preserving the qualities that make an OLLU education meaningful.

“My vision is for OLLU to offer high-quality, accessible, and engaging educational experiences that meet students where they are without compromising the academic rigor and personal attention that distinguish our university,” she said.

A coordinated approach to the student experience

Clark brings 12 years of experience at OLLU to the position, having served as a faculty member, department chair and associate dean. Those roles have given her a view of how classroom experiences, administrative decisions and student services work together to shape a student’s education.

Now, she is drawing those perspectives together to help guide distance and online learning across the institution.

Faculty contribute expertise in their disciplines and in teaching. Student support professionals help students navigate the resources and processes essential to their progress. Clark’s work connects those efforts, identifies opportunities for improvement and provides direction toward shared university goals.

Having a dean dedicated to this area allows OLLU to take a more coordinated approach to academic quality, student success, enrollment and operations. It also creates an opportunity to examine existing practices before determining the next steps.

During her first year, Clark plans to evaluate current operations, student outcomes, enrollment trends and program demand. That assessment will help inform the direction of the instructional sites and identify opportunities to improve the student experience.

Longer-term priorities will grow from those findings, with decisions guided by evidence, student needs, workforce needs and OLLU’s mission.

Understanding the communities OLLU serves

Houston and the Rio Grande Valley are central to that work. Clark sees both as important OLLU communities whose educational needs deserve individual attention.

“One of my priorities is to better understand the needs of students in each region and evaluate how our academic offerings align with regional educational and workforce needs,” she said.

That means examining each location on its own terms. Students’ circumstances, regional employment needs and demand for particular programs will help shape recommendations for the future.

Online learning offers another way to reach students whose location or schedules can limit their options. Working adults, parents, people outside major metropolitan areas and those preparing for a career change may benefit from greater flexibility.

For OLLU, those possibilities also invite careful consideration of which academic offerings can serve students well and what resources are necessary to sustain them. Clark’s approach links potential growth with program quality, appropriate support and financial sustainability.

Building connection across distance

Flexibility is an essential part of the vision, but so is connection.

Clark emphasizes that meaningful interaction with faculty, classmates and the university community requires deliberate planning. Technology can facilitate those relationships; thoughtful course design, engaged faculty and accessible student services help make them part of a student’s daily experience.

“Our strength is the personal attention, sense of community, and commitment to student success that have long been part of OLLU’s identity,” Clark said. “We should find ways to preserve those qualities regardless of how students access their education.”

That commitment extends to students who may seldom visit the San Antonio campus. Feeling recognized, supported and connected to the university is part of the educational experience Clark wants to strengthen across locations and formats.

It also reflects OLLU’s mission. Flexible educational opportunities can help students facing geographic, financial or scheduling barriers pursue their goals. Online learning can create opportunities to connect coursework with service, community collaboration and meaningful social impact.

For Clark, the university’s mission belongs in every educational experience it provides.

Measuring progress through student success

Enrollment will be one measure of progress, alongside retention, course completion, academic performance, graduation and student satisfaction.

Clark plans to establish meaningful benchmarks, review results regularly, and use the findings to guide improvements. The objective is to understand both how students access an OLLU education and how effectively the university supports their progress.

That work will also involve evaluating whether systems, processes and resources are keeping pace with student expectations. Some improvements may call for investment; others may come from reconsidering existing practices. Recommendations will be grounded in identified needs and practical, sustainable solutions.

For Clark, the role offers an opportunity to apply her experience across teaching and academic leadership to a broader institutional purpose: helping OLLU respond thoughtfully to the people it serves.

“I believe the future of online education at OLLU is not simply about offering more courses online,” she said. “It is about being intentional in how we design educational experiences, support our students, and respond to changing needs.”

The message she wants students to hear is direct.

“Ultimately, I want students to know that regardless of where or how they study, they are part of the OLLU community and deserve an excellent educational experience.”

With $150,000 in support, Our Lady of the Lake University is connecting coursework, career preparation and employer engagement while preparing to launch internship stipends in spring 2027.

For college students preparing to enter the workforce, an internship can provide valuable experience, professional contacts and a clearer understanding of a potential career. But when that opportunity is unpaid, accepting it can mean sacrificing income needed for everyday expenses.

At Our Lady of the Lake University, that calculation is helping shape a broader approach to career preparation—one that connects what students learn in class with the experience, skills and relationships they need after graduation.

Supported by a $150,000 investment from H-E-B, OLLU’s Workforce Readiness Initiative brings together career education, employer engagement, internship support and faculty development. Now in its first semester of full implementation following a spring 2026 pilot, the initiative is designed to make preparation for professional life part of the academic experience from the beginning.

Its foundation is an organizational change with a practical purpose: OLLU moved Career Services into Academic Affairs, bringing career preparation closer to faculty, coursework and academic planning.

“Our strongest accomplishment is structural,” said Dr. Teresita Munguia, OLLU associate provost, who oversees Career Services. “Career Services now lives in Academic Affairs, so career readiness is part of how OLLU teaches, not something extra.”

Bringing career preparation into the classroom

The initiative addresses a familiar challenge: reaching students before graduation and the job search becomes urgent.

At OLLU, career modules are built into INDS 1311, Applications of Learning, giving students an introduction to career preparation through a course they already take. During the spring 2026 pilot, 174 students completed those modules. Another 20 students in ENGL 1314, Business English, developed résumés and cover letters, participated in mock interviews and worked on their personal brands as part of their coursework.

That connection continued this fall. Career Services delivered 10 workshops with 221 recorded participations; eight workshops took place within faculty members’ classes. Faculty teaching biology, history and management courses scheduled sessions, while Criminal Justice, Social Work and Psychology faculty collaborated on departmental career programming.

The workshops address practical steps in preparing for employment, including résumé and curriculum vitae development, interviewing, professional headshots, workplace attire and using Handshake, the university’s career platform.

By incorporating these experiences into classes, OLLU can reach students who might otherwise postpone career planning or have difficulty fitting a separate workshop into their schedules. Faculty also help connect students with opportunities beyond the classroom: among 84 respondents to a question about how they learned of the fall career fair, 34 identified a professor—more than any other source.

Helping students afford professional experience

The next major step is the launch of H-E-B-funded internship stipends in spring 2027. OLLU has designated $80,000 of the investment for students participating in unpaid internships. Awards will range from $200 for the shortest micro-internships to a maximum of $800 for a semester-long experience.

“The biggest barrier is money,” Munguia said. “Sixty-two percent of our students are Pell-eligible, and an unpaid internship often means giving up a paying job. That’s why our stipends go only to students in unpaid internships.”

The support will cover two categories: micro-internships lasting three weeks or less and internships lasting four weeks through a full semester. Students will secure opportunities independently or with assistance from their academic departments, then apply for financial support. Students may reapply, with priority given to first-time recipients.

The internship budget is designed to support at least 100 students over the award period, from spring 2027 through spring 2028. Shorter experiences funded at lower amounts could allow the university to support additional recipients.

Priority fields include retail management, supply chain, business, healthcare, STEM and K–12 education. Students receiving support will document their hours, responsibilities, work locations and any related coursework, helping OLLU understand the experiences the funding makes possible.

The new stipends build on earlier work supported by other funding sources. Ten students received paid internships funded through a federal Title V grant from spring through fall 2026. Those opportunities preceded the H-E-B-funded stipend program.

Building professional connections

Financial support is one part of the initiative. Access to professional networks is another.

University-wide, 49% of OLLU students are first-generation college students. Munguia sees employer engagement as an opportunity to help students develop connections that can inform their career decisions and introduce them to people working in their fields.

The Oct. 21 career fair drew 184 students and 40 representatives from 17 employers. Student attendance increased 22% from the fall 2025 fair. Participating employers included Security Service Federal Credit Union, Bill Miller Bar-B-Q, Goodwill Industries of San Antonio, The Center for Health Care Services, school districts, Communities In Schools of San Antonio, the San Antonio Police Department and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

Students represented a range of academic interests. Criminal Justice, Psychology and Business Administration were the largest groups, with participation also spanning Biology, Kinesiology, Finance, Social Work and Communication Disorders.

Smaller experiences offer another route to connection. In April, 11 students attended a networking event at the San Antonio Water System’s H2Oaks facility, supported by National Science Foundation funding. That visit has become a model for future industry-specific experiences. 

Other upcoming events include:

• Nov. 4: First Gen Fest
• Nov. 5: a Social Work event, with a Career Services table
• Nov. 6: an externship visit at Security Service Federal Credit Union, for 4 to 6 students
• Nov. 11: Clear for Takeoff, a workshop on finding internships and jobs
• Nov. 16: a Criminal Justice career event
• Nov. 19: a Career Services table at the McNair Symposium
• Dec. 2: Words that Fly, a letter-writing workshop
• Date to come: a networking session at the Mini 3MT (Three Minute Thesis)

OLLU is also working to schedule H-E-B career pathways sessions focused on retail management, supply chain and business. Those sessions remain in development.

Connecting faculty with current industry practices

H-E-B’s investment also supports a faculty component designed to carry workforce knowledge back into the classroom.

With H-E-B’s approval, OLLU revised its original faculty mentoring proposal to create summer faculty externships. Through those experiences, faculty will spend time in industry settings and use what they learn to inform courses and assignments.

The first externships are planned for summer 2027.

The approach extends the initiative’s potential reach: an experience that helps a faculty member better understand current workplace practices can inform learning opportunities for students in subsequent semesters.

Building beyond the initial investment

As implementation continues, OLLU plans to broaden private-sector employer participation, particularly in retail, supply chain, business and STEM, and engage more juniors and seniors approaching the job market.

The university is also discussing potential partnerships with San Antonio Ready to Work and Greater SATX.

Several foundational elements are intended to continue beyond the initial funding: Career Services’ place within Academic Affairs, career modules embedded in coursework and faculty development that can influence future teaching.

Together, those elements reflect an approach to workforce readiness that begins well before the final semester. Students can practice presenting their skills, meet professionals, explore workplaces, and connect academic interests with career possibilities throughout their education.

Tracking participation—and the outcomes that follow

Early activity shows the initiative is reaching students through multiple avenues.

The university is refining its tracking to measure individual participation, career skills and progress toward the initiative’s goal of 85% of participants employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation.

“Job offers, employment in a student’s major and graduate school enrollment are the results that matter most, and we can’t report them yet,” Munguia said.

For students seeking to participate, Career Services is located in Moye Hall, Room 013, on the garden level, and can be reached at career@ollusa.edu. Matthew Hernandez, STEM internship coordinator and career advisor, is a first point of contact. Events are posted on Handshake, and application details for the H-E-B-funded internship stipends will be announced when the program opens in spring 2027.

At Our Lady of the Lake University, honoring military service means supporting the educational goals of those who serve and the families who stand beside them. The newly created Veteran Academic Liaison and Outreach Recruiter (VALOR) position brings dedicated attention to that purpose, helping military-affiliated students (MAS) connect with OLLU and navigate their academic journeys.

English professor Dr. Wallis Sanborn serves in the new role, which supports veterans, active-duty service members, spouses and dependents. His work combines academic guidance with community outreach, strengthening connections between the university and military-affiliated students throughout San Antonio.

“We want to support veterans and MAS in their academic endeavors, and we are facilitating a system dedicated to do so,” Sanborn said.

His priorities include working with campus offices to coordinate recruitment, enrollment and student support, while developing relationships with Alamo Colleges, Joint Base San Antonio and local employers. Through those partnerships, Sanborn hopes to expand OLLU’s participation in education fairs and introduce more prospective students to the university’s academic programs and small classes.

Listening to students will also help shape the work. Sanborn hopes to gather feedback about their needs and develop peer mentoring opportunities that connect incoming student veterans with those already established at OLLU. These connections can offer practical guidance, encouragement and a sense of belonging.

Veterans bring discipline, motivation, maturity and a strong commitment to others to the classroom, Sanborn said. Their professional and personal experiences enrich campus conversations and reflect values central to OLLU’s mission: trust, integrity, service and community.

That spirit of respect will also guide the university’s upcoming Veterans Day Observation Ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 12:30–1:45 p.m. in the campus Mall Area. The MARC Ballroom will serve as the inclement weather location.

This year’s theme, “Celebrating Women Who Serve,” recognizes women’s contributions to the armed forces. U.S. Army veteran and OLLU doctoral candidate Jennifer M. Alamos will deliver the featured address, bringing the perspective of both military service and continued educational achievement.

Sanborn, who also chairs the ceremony committee, sees the annual observance as an opportunity to deepen understanding, express appreciation and bring the campus community together.

The day will also include a screening of No Job For A Woman: The Women Who Fought To Report WWII, directed by Michèle Midori Fillion, from 2–4 p.m. in Main Building, Room 311. Both the ceremony and film screening are open to the public and the OLLU community. Visitors may park in Lot A or other campus lots.

A separate luncheon for OLLU veterans and military-affiliated personnel will take place from 11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m. in Main Building, Room 311. Those attending should RSVP through their invitation.

Through VALOR and the Veterans Day observance, OLLU is putting appreciation into practice—recognizing military service while supporting students as they pursue their next goals.

For academic liaison support or information about VALOR, contact Sanborn at wsanborn@ollusa.edu or 210-431-5571.