Humans of UTRGV
In a world of full of pessimistic characters and harrowing headlines there are people in the Rio Grande Valley who are making it their primary objective to bring the community a healthy dose of optimism. Humans of UTRGV (HOUTRGV) started off as a concept to share personal daily experiences from students and staff of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Today, the social media page has continued to inspire an audience of all ages.
What started off as a mere idea in April 2013 at the University of Texas at Brownsville, one of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s legacy institutions, is now an established Facebook page that boasts well over 3,000 followers. Various personal accounts from students, staff and faculty of the university grace the social network page.
Jennifer McGehee-Valdez, the new head of public relations at the university, started this entire project on her own. Taking note from the Humans of New York social media page, who she has based this entire project on, she started by routinely walking up to students, staff and faculty at the former University of Texas at Brownsville campus without hesitation to ask unplanned questions.
Now with her current job title, she credits the continuation of her venture to her small-scale but exceedingly devoted staff of students that keep the wheels in motion.
“They’re all great,” McGehee-Valdez said. “It takes a special kind of person, a very certain type of person to not be afraid to ask a complete stranger a question about their life.”
In a daunting, and sometimes nerve-racking task, reporters who work for the organization select students, faculty or staff at random during days of the week and ask a question that could vary anywhere from your favorite ice cream flavor to who your #MCM is.
Penelope Nguyen, a photographer for HOUTRGV mentions that her job is one of the highlights of her student career.
“The staff of Humans of UTRGV have been really kind and supportive,” Nguyen said. “Their excitement for and dedication to the project makes me feel the same way.”
Concerning the people she’s approached, the Vietnam native mentioned that everyone has been relatively easy to talk to.
“Of the people I’ve approached, everyone has gone along with it, surprisingly enough,” the Computer Science major said. “I feel really lucky that everyone has been willing to share their stories with me.”
Although, Nguyen said she had to build up a lot of courage to get the job done.
t“In the beginning, however, I was extremely nervous about going up to people I didn’t know, so I asked my friends to help out for the first few photos,” Nguyen said. “A few did refuse, which made me a bit sad, but it’s understandable that some people are camera-shy or just shy in general.”
Her boss admits that at times it is discouraging when people decline an interview.
“When I first started, there were times I felt embarrassed,” McGehee-Valdez said. “But you always move on when someone says no.”
However, when McGehee-Valdez and her staff do encounter someone that is willing to share, the reporters must follow a major rule.
“Just don’t ever assume. You can’t really assume someone’s a certain way,” the Chicago native said. “You don’t know their stories, feelings, beliefs or thoughts.”
One person out of many to be interviewed by HOUTRGV, is UTRGV Mexican-American Studies and Spanish graduate student, Sergio Gael. He believes that the Humans of UTRGV page is an excellent way to feature the uniqueness of the students on campus.
“I believe that pages like this one truly highlight the individual experiences that we have and it is a great venue to get to know the various Vaqueros/as being featured,” the Pharr native said. “I feel that pages like this unite the university’s community because the majority of us can relate to each other in one way or another.”
Gael also hopes that by sharing his story, HOUTRGV’s followers can face their biggest fears by opening up to others.
“I believe that overcoming one’s fears is essential to grow as human beings,” the 23-year-old said. “Although it could be intimidating to speak about our life because of fear of being judged. We have to understand that everyone has an opinion.”
The first-generation college student also credits his mother for playing an influential role in not only his education, but in why he decided to share a slice of his life with Humans of UTRGV.
“My mom made me realize things that I had not done so before and I thank her for it,” Gael said. “So it is also a tribute to her. Many of us whom are first generation college students feel a sense of responsibility and pride with our family.”
Each and every story that graces the online page has it’s own piece of authentic relatability. It gives students a chance to connect, and realize that everyone is going through their own problems inside and outside of school.
McGehee-Valdez is aware of the page’s success and is fully confident in what it has accomplished so far.
“We are pleased at how the page is coming along. We have excellent engagement and pretty positive feedback,” McGehee-Valdez said. “ I hope to have more photographers, so we can continue to share more stories! So that’s the plan, to keep doing what we are doing and reach as much of the UTRGV community as we can.”
