A Greek Helping the Greeks

Kristen Garza started working for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley as the student program adviser for Fraternity and Sorority Life on Aug. 8, 2016. Garza has seen many of her students achieve success while working in the program. She can relate to them as she’s gone through a membership process.

Back in the Fall of 2011, Garza was studying Health Science. She initially studied nursing at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi; she joined the Xi Delta chapter of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc.

Garza pays an alumna fee to be active in the sorority. Juggling work, attending graduate school and fulfilling sorority duties developed her professional and time management skills.

“I think the best part of being active was the fact that I was able to get better insight in what my sisters, who are very close to the generation I’m overseeing right now, are dealing with,” Garza said.

Since her experience as a member with her sorority, Garza is able to relate to issues students in Fraternity and Sorority Life have at UTRGV. However, this wasn’t the plan at first.

Prior to her time at UTRGV, she considered working at the Texas State Health Department as she managed to get a job offer, but Garza heard from a friend that the Greek Life community at the university was struggling without an adviser. Although the job at DSHS was huge for her intended career, a gut feeling told her to turn down the offer and work for the Fraternity and Sorority Life at the university.

“I remember getting the opportunity from the Texas State Health Department and I had already interviewed [at] UTRGV,” she said. “I called [UTRGV] and I said, ‘Hi, I know I just interviewed about a week ago, but I got another offer and I just wanted to follow up on this because there’s just something about it that just [feel’s] right.’”

Although her job brings much joy in her life, there has been times where she felt heartbroken. An experience of hers involved a transgender student wanting to join a sorority, but because the student was identified as a male on UTRGV’s system, she couldn’t join.

“I think that was the hardest part because I could see it in her face that she was disappointed [and] that she really wanted to join,” Garza said. “But unfortunately, because we are private organizations, and with that comes certain rules that these national organizations are allowed to make, I can’t do anything about it.”

Despite the circumstances, Garza didn’t give up on the student. She worked with the transgender student to help her officially identify as a female at UTRGV. Garza also plans to bring a Greek organization to the university that will allow transgender students to join.

One of her highlights as the adviser for Greek Life is seeing the students be a part of the bell ringer tradition. It’s an honor given to graduating students at each commencement ceremony; students selected are those who were actively involved in student-life initiatives, demonstrated academic excellence and embody the “Vaquero honor code.”

“Every year I’ve turned on the online streaming of graduation and I watch my students walk across the stage. I’ve watched them become bell ringers,” she said. “The past three years, at least one Greek has been a bell ringer. I think that’s the most exciting part [of the job].”