Featured Posts – Lake Weekly

Madam Butterfly – FREE tickets for OLLU students

Do you love breathtaking music, stunning performances, and a night of culture at one of San Antonio’s premier venues? Well, you’re in luck! 🎶✨

We have 30 FREE tickets remaining for OLLU students to experience Madam Butterfly at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, April 19, at 7:30 PM! This is your chance to witness Puccini’s timeless opera—a story of love, sacrifice, and beautiful melodies.

🔹 How to Claim Your Free Ticket: Be one of the first 50 students to complete the Madam Butterfly RSVP, and you’re in! One ticket per student.

🔹 Where to Pick Up Your Ticket: Head to the Box Office Will Call line at the Tobin Center starting at 6:30 PM on April 19—your ticket will be waiting under your name. Be sure to bring your OLLU student ID to pick up your ticket.

🔹 Know Before You Go: Check out the Tobin’s Guide on everything you need to know before you visit! Box Office Will Call line at the Tobin Center starting at 6:30 PM on April 19—your ticket will be waiting under your name. Be sure to bring your OLLU student ID to pick up your ticket.

🔹 What to Wear for the Opera: Business Casual attire is perfect for your night out at the Opera!

Don’t miss this incredible opportunity! 🎭 RSVP now to secure your spot before they’re all gone!

Butterfly Flyer Download

Dance finishes 6th at NDA Nationals

The OLLU competitive dance squad took sixth place out of 11 teams at the National Dance Association (NDA) College National Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla., from April 6-8.

Head Coach Crystal Brock commented, “The leadership on our team is evident in each athlete. Their dedication and loyalty to one another is the key to all of their success and the legacy they are leaving behind.”

The Saints started the competition with the prelim performance. They had a performance score of 82.32, which ranked sixth out of 11 teams. The top seven teams moved on to the NAIA Team Performance. OLLU totaled 82.85 in the NAIA Team Performance for another sixth place finish.

Mass to be held today to honor Holy Day of Obligation

The Division of Mission and Ministry will be celebrating Mass today in Sacred Heart Chapel at 12:30 p.m. to honor the Holy Day of Obligation, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Division of Mission and Ministry will be hosting weekday Masses during the Fall 2022 semester on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12:30-12:55 p.m. in Constantineau Chapel (across from Chapel Auditorium) and Sundays at 7 p.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel.

The Division of Mission and Ministry welcomes any staff, faculty and students who feel called to serve in Liturgical Ministries as lectors, altar servers or ministers of Communion. Those interested should email ministry@ollusa.edu or call 210-434-6711, ext. 3973. Interested community members can also visit the Elliott House during office hours, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

New academic year brings new guidelines for masks and COVID-19 reporting

Masks are encouraged but no longer required in all OLLU indoor or outdoor spaces for the 2022-2023 academic year. Mask wearing in classrooms will be optional for students and faculty; however, a faculty member may set a mask requirement for their classroom.

Employees and students are required to report a positive COVID-19 diagnosis immediately after learning of it by using the Self-Report Form. Employees and students are also required to submit a self-certification form when their isolation/quarantine is over in order to get cleared to return.

For more information about the new guidelines, see the attached flyer below:

Free admission to McNay Art Museum

OLLU would like to express its sincere gratitude to OLLU Board Chair Emeritus Bruce Flohr and his wife, Janet Flohr, for their generous donation to the 2022-2023 McNay Partnership.

As a result of their contribution, all OLLU students, faculty and staff will enjoy year-round, complimentary admission (excluding paid exhibitions) to the McNay Art Museum. An OLLU photo ID is required for admission.

Don’t miss OLLU Day at the McNay on Sept. 8. Admission will be free all day, with a guided tour at 3 p.m. and live music and food trucks, starting at 6 p.m.

The beautiful, 25-acre McNay Museum campus features more than 22,000 works including, Medieval and Renaissance Art, 19th- through 21st-Century European and American paintings, sculpture and photographs and The Tobin Collection of Theater Arts.

The McNay is located at 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave. The museum website is https://www.mcnayart.org/.

For directions and museum hours, visit www.mcnayart.org. An OLLU photo ID is required for admission. There is a fee for special exhibits.

Abel Chávez assumes role as OLLU’s 10th President today

Abel A. Chávez, PhD, steps into history today as the 10th President of Our Lady of the Lake University. A native of Denver, Colo., Dr. Chávez is the first Latino to lead OLLU since it opened in 1896 as an academy for girls.

On Thursday, July 14, OLLU recognized a transition in leadership during a ceremony in Sacred Heart Chapel. Dr. Chávez received authority and responsibilities from Diane E. Melby, EdD, OLLU’s 9th President and now President emeritus.

A first-generation, first-in-family, son of immigrants and bilingual administrator and academic, Dr. Chávez is an integrative leader and learner. He has served in multiple roles in and beyond higher education.

Last Thursday, Dr. Chávez thanked the OLLU community for the opportunity to lead. Afterward, he visited the Convent and attended a farewell reception for Dr. Melby in Chapel Auditorium.

Dr. Chávez will take a consolidated tour of campus this morning. Marketing and Communications will post images on social media.

OLLU community invited to reception for President Chávez on July 29

Students, faculty and staff are invited to a program and reception welcoming OLLU President Abel Chávez into the Presidents for Latino Success Network, an event that will be held in the Sueltenfuss Library on July 29 at 3 p.m.

Co-hosted by Cynthia Teniente-Matson, President of Texas A&M-San Antonio, Sarita E. Brown, President of Excelencia in Education and Taylor Eighmie, President of the University of Texas at San Antonio, the two-hour event is a celebration.

Dr. Chávez has chosen to join Presidents for Latino Student Success (P4LSS), a diverse group of college and university presidents and chancellors who have committed to making their schools learning environments where Latinos can thrive.

To RSVP to the event, click here.

For questions, contact AcademicAffairs@ollusa.edu.

Cindy Mata-Vasquez named new director for OLLU-RGV

Cindy Mata-Vasquez, a Rio Grande Valley resident with 15 years of experience in higher education, has been named the new director of the OLLU-RGV campus.

Mata-Vasquez most recently served as Director for Student Activities at the University of Texas-RGV for the past seven years. She begins her new position on July 20.

“I am looking forward to highlighting the programs and services the university and satellite campus have to offer to residents of the Rio Grande Valley,” Mata-Vasquez said. “Having grown up in the area, it excites me to be able to provide additional avenues for folks to have options to continue their education and give back, right here in the region.”

The oldest of three siblings, Mata-Vasquez moved from Queretaro, Mexico, to the Rio Grande Valley with her family at the age of six. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Texas-Pan American (now UT-RGV) in 2004, a Master of Arts in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005 and an MBA from UT-RGV in 2020.

Prior to working at UT-RGV, Mata-Vasquez served as Director of Special Programs at Texas State Technical College in Harlingen. She is eager to assume her new position.

“One of my first goals is to work closely with the RGV team and find out how my role can help support them and their professional goals,” she said. “I am also looking forward to connecting with local chambers of commerce and city leaders to find out how OLLU can be visible in their communities. Communication and visibility will be key to accomplish these goals as well as creating partnerships with each entity.”

Free McNay Museum admission for students and employees

Thanks to the generosity of OLLU Board Chair Emeritus Bruce Flohr, OLLU students, faculty and staff can continue to enjoy free general admission to the McNay Art Museum this coming year.

The beautiful, 25-acre McNay Museum campus features more than 22,000 works including:

•	Medieval and Renaissance art
•	19th- through 21st- century European and American paintings, sculptures and photographs
•	Prints and drawings of the Southwest
•	The Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts
•	Jeanne and Irving Mathews Collection of Art Glass
•	Art of New Mexico

For directions and museum hours, visit www.mcnayart.org. An OLLU photo ID is required for admission. There is a fee for special exhibits.

The McNay is located at 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave. The museum website is https://www.mcnayart.org/.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline changes 10-digit number to 988

Last week, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline changed its standard 10-digit phone number to a three-digit line – 988 – that will take calls directly to a counselor.

Made up of a national network of local crisis centers that provide free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, the lifeline hotline operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the United States.

Please help spread the word about this change wherever possible, both in departments and in the community.

See this article for more information: 988, a New Suicide Hotline Number, Launches This Week. Here’s What To Know (health.com)