Commencement Launches Grads Toward Future

State District 43 Rep. Dr. Tara Rios Ybarra, D-South Padre Island, urged TSTC graduates to courageously pursue their dreams during her commencement address August 22.

"Follow your plans," she told the audience at Christian Fellowship Church. "Do not just dream of your goals; go for it. Remember that learning comes in all shapes and sizes."

Everyone occasionally faces difficult decisions about whether to follow rules or take a risk by breaking barriers to create new rules, Rep. Rios Ybarra said. Those decisions could lead to mistakes, but an error should become a learning opportunity. She told graduates to persevere and quoted former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, "Success is the ability to move from one failure to the next with enthusiasm."

"This college has a reputation all over the state and that's an honor. Harlingen is the shining star within the TSTC System and you've each helped it earn special recognition statewide," she said.

College President Dr. Cesar Maldonado praised Rep. Rios Ybarra for her support and leadership in guiding the legislative approval of Associate of Science degrees for seven categories at Texas State Technical College Harlingen. He said that his first commencement as college president was memorable. "The experience was everything that I had hoped for and expected - the feeling of accomplishment for the graduates, sensing the emotions of their friends and families, and sharing the hope for the future."

Former Student Government Association President Georgeann Calzada reminded her peers about studying late into the nights and early mornings that made graduation possible. Commencement symbolizes how hard work pays off, she said before she received an Associate of Applied Science degree in Business Office Technology, and inspires future successes.

"Reaching commencement feels good," said Alejandra Rubio, Surgical Technology valedictorian who will work at Rio Grande Regional Hospital, as she waited for the ceremony to begin. "There will be no more daily or weekly reports for every case that we did during clinicals."

Board of Regents Graduate Reza Ghavami earned an AAS in Computer Science Software Development with a specialty in Game & Simulation Programming. He graduated with a 4.0 grade point average and thanked his fellow graduates and other students for their assistance. "It was an honor to attend classes with them and share ideas. My achievement represents a collaboration of students, which is very indicative of how people cooperate in the industry," he said.

Roberto Montemayor, a Building Construction Technology graduate with an AAS, commuted to Harlingen from Seguin to take classes. The 62-year-old Vietnam War veteran said that he plans to pursue another college diploma in business marketing. He added, "I always wanted a college degree and I finally got it."

Michelle Galvez waited a year - due to Hurricane Dolly - to attend commencement as a Board of Regents graduate with an AAS from Chemical-Environmental Technology. She works as a lab technician monitoring emissions at an oil processing plant and she will begin chemical engineering classes August 24 to seek a bachelor's degree. Her brother Joe is a TSTC graduate from the CET program and her sister Melanie will begin CET course work at TSTC on August 31.

"Working with Mr. Flores and Mr. Hernandez helped me prepare for what I should expect in a career, but TSTC did something more significant. It changed my life," Michelle said. "I became a leader in the CET Club and student government. The multi-tasking helped me become a more organized person. There's no way to describe it all because everything that has happened to me has been good."