Commencement speaker – Lake Weekly

Alumna, VIA communications manager to deliver commencement address

VIA Metropolitan Transit communications manager Lorena “Lorraine” Pulido (PhD 2010) will deliver the address at spring commencement on Thursday at Freeman Coliseum.

Dr. Pulido is a distinguished public relations professional who has won 21 awards from the San Antonio chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). In 2006, PRSA-SA named her Public Relations Professional of the Year.

She is the former public relations manager for the City of San Antonio’s Department of Communications and Affairs, and the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District. Dr. Pulido has taught marketing, journalism and public relations classes at several local universities for 23 years, including OLLU.

Presently, she is an Alamo Colleges District 4 Trustee, elected in 2020. Dr. Pulido has a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an MS in Journalism from Columbia University.

Dr. Pulido was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame in 2023 and the Harlandale Independent School District Hall of Fame in 2021.

Commencement exercises for 319 spring graduates begins at 5 p.m. at the coliseum. The ceremonies will be live streamed.

A Veteran’s graduation ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. in Chapel Auditorium. The traditional Ring Blessing Ceremony begins at 10 a.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel. An Alumni Meet and Greet for students and their guests will be held in the Mall Area at 10:30 a.m. A Graduation Liturgy begins at noon in Sacred Heart Chapel. For more details on commencement, please visit the Graduation page on the website.

Erika Prosper Nirenberg to serve as commencement speaker

Erika Prosper Nirenberg, Senior Director of Customer Insights for H-E-B, will be the speaker Friday when more than 360 OLLU students participate in commencement exercises.

Festivities will begin Friday morning with a special ceremony for graduates who are veterans. Events will continue with a Ring Blessing, Graduation Liturgy, Alumni and Family Meet and Greet and Graduation Exercises. To see a detailed schedule of commencement events and a list of graduates, visit: https://www.ollusa.edu/registrars-office/graduation-information.html.

Prosper Nirenberg, who grew up in a migrant worker family in the Rio Grande Valley, earned a master’s degree in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School, a bachelor’s degree in Plan II Liberal Arts and a second bachelor’s degree in Science in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2020, she earned an executive degree in Behavioral Economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. At H-E-B, Prosper Nirenberg leads a team charged with helping guide the development of H-E-B’s strategic vision and operational efforts by providing customer insights to change business, gain share and establish a preference for the company. In the community, she has served the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as its chairwoman in 2018 and for six years on its executive board.

A former board member of Say Si Youth Arts, the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation and SACRD.org, she now sits on the Girls Scouts of Southwest Texas Board and Las Casas Foundation and is part of the advisory Board for iEmpower, the Latina Power Network and the SA League of Women Voters. Prosper Nirenberg also was the 2019 San Antonio Business Journal’s Woman of the Year, 2019 Governor’s Yellow Rose of Texas honoree, the 2016 H-E-B David Ashworth Community Service Corporate Winner and the 2021 H-E-B Linda D. Jimenez Diversity and Inclusion Corporate Awardee. Her proudest honor, however, was receiving the 2010 Association of Migrant Educators of Texas’ Migrant Alumni Award.

As a co-founder and 2015-2016 Chair of the Latina Leadership Institute, much of Prosper Nirenberg’s passion revolves around efforts to help improve quality of life among underserved populations through girls and women empowerment, education and literacy. She and her husband, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, have one son named Jonah.

Alumna Dr. Robledo Montecel to serve as commencement speaker

Dr. Maria “Cuca” Robledo Montecel, OLLU alumna and president and CEO of the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), will serve as commencement speaker during ceremonies on May 7 at Freeman Coliseum. Dr. Robledo Montecel, who holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from OLLU, will address the more than 300 graduates and their families who are scheduled to participate in the ceremonies that will begin at 7 p.m.

As president and CEO of IDRA, Dr. Robledo Montecel works with school systems, institutions of higher education, and communities across the country to create education that works for all children, particularly those who are minority, poor or limited-English-proficient. Dr. Robledo Montecel is a nationally-recognized expert on the prevention and recovery of dropouts and pioneered research on school dropouts in Texas. She was principal investigator and project director of the Texas School Dropout Survey Project, the first statewide study of dropouts in Texas. Under Dr. Montecel’s leadership, IDRA’s innovative dropout prevention program, the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program, has made a visible difference in the lives of more than 795,000 children, families and educators.

Dr. Robledo Montecel has been named among the top 100 Hispanic influentials by Hispanic Business magazine and was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame.