‘College is more than just getting a degree’
Some may be under the impression that since UTRGV is in the Rio Grande Valley, it may not have everything that other famous universities have, like certain clubs and events.
But there are many things happening on campus that Vaqueros may not know about.
Giovanna Granados is a program coordinator for Cultural and Family Programs in the Center for Student Involvement. Her role is to help coordinate events, programs and workshops that help families stay connected, elevate students’ college experience as well as help students build a sense of belonging and community with their peers regardless of their ethnic and cultural background.
According to Granados, getting involved with the university as a student exposes them to networking opportunities, professional development, personal growth, resources and services that will help them succeed and build their academic confidence.
She said students being involved on campus will make them feel like their college experience was not just going to class and going back home.
“College is more than just getting a degree,” Grenades said.
Granados added being an active student on campus molded her to be who she is.
“It helped me meet people, it helped me open doors on campus,” she said. “I became an advisor and from there now to a program coordinator.”
Some students don’t just go to events, they work on campus.
Aleecia Smith is an early childhood education senior who works in the leadership department at the Center for Student Involvement and said working on campus has helped her be more involved and be an active participant on campus.
“Before I worked here, I actually didn’t really go to many events but being a worker, you kind of see how everything like the planning that goes into that,” she said. “it’s interesting to see how it comes about and everything it requires.”
Job opportunities on campus can be found on the JobX link on the myutrgv website.
Communication junior Isabella Rose Peralta thinks it’s important to be involved in activities on campus because it allows students to get to know other people and get accustomed to university life.
“Because of the friend group I have, I usually try to get involved as much as possible because I like big party events,” Peralta said.
Peralta said she found out about events from texts and social media posts.
A way to find out about events and clubs at UTRGV is to just look around. The walls inside the buildings have many bulletin boards covered in flyers informing students about activities on campus. On the Edinburg campus, there are even a few boards with flyers on the Bronc Trail.
Another way to find things to do on campus is to access the V-Link website after logging in to your myutrgv account. This website has events ranging from club meetings to DIY table events happening on campus. Events listed on V-Link have a description of the event, where it’s located, and what time it’s happening at.
There are many free events at UTRGV students can attend, especially at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters; the biggest one of the fall is The Stomp.
Welcome Week at UTRGV lasts from August 26 through September 11. This is when UTRGV has many events at the beginning of the semester for new students to connect with their peers and build connections with others.
