A Message from UTSA President Ricardo Romo, October 2013
"As supporters of UTSA, you are helping to create opportunities for students in every discipline. And your support is changing the course of their lives."
"As supporters of UTSA, you are helping to create opportunities for students in every discipline. And your support is changing the course of their lives."
Share this StoryOctober 23, 2013
Dear Friends,
One of the best things about being a university president is having the opportunity to interact with students. Without question, UTSA students are incredibly talented and motivated, and they have great stories to share.
Just the other day, I heard about a UTSA student who is taking advantage of exceptional opportunities while working toward her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Alyssa Schaefbauer is a 21-year-old Houston native who grew up watching her father build space suits as a NASA engineer. Talk about a hard act to follow.
Alyssa came to UTSA with plans to stay for just one year and then become a Longhorn. But a great opportunity changed everything.
One of our mechanical engineering professors invited her to conduct research in his laboratory. She accepted and joined a team of students researching computational bioengineering.
The students worked with their professor to create a football kicking simulator that can help athletes significantly improve their performance. They even brought one of the UTSA football kickers into the laboratory to make the simulator as realistic as possible. Recently, they filed a patent application for their invention.
Think about that. These undergraduates had the chance to work side-by-side with a top UTSA researcher on a project with tremendous potential for the commercial market. At most universities, that kind of experience wouldn't come until they were graduate students. But at UTSA, they got a top-tier research experience as undergrads.
That opportunity – that access to excellence – transformed Alyssa into a loyal Roadrunner. She realized the opportunities she wanted to pursue were right here at UTSA.
As supporters of UTSA, you are helping to create opportunities for students in every discipline. And your support is changing the course of their lives.
As UTSA continues to recruit top faculty, open top-tier research labs and build a top-tier institution, let's keep in mind the reason why we're all here. We're here for students like Alyssa. We're here to prepare them for successful careers. And we're here to change the world one student at a time.
Go Roadrunners!
Sincerely,
Ricardo Romo
President
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Events
This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.
