Liza Zamudio

“I started classes here in January 2002 and had to stop for various reasons in December 2006. I restarted my education here again at UTSA in January 2013, majoring in the newly created degree in multidisciplinary studies with concentrations in business and an emphasis in marketing, sociology, and women and gender studies. I finally graduated in December 2015 with my B.A.

My biggest influences in my life were my parents. My mother always continued to encourage me to finish; and my father, who I lost six months after I graduated, also encouraged me to finish. Little did I know that I would lose my father so quickly, but I am so glad that he got to see me graduate like the rest of my siblings graduated with bachelor’s degrees in his lifetime.

My biggest mentor for classes was Lilliana Saldana when she taught Mexican-American Studies in the Southwest. I was intrigued by the concept of learning how Texas was a part of Mexico for so long before it became a part of the United States. There were so many interesting talks in her class, and it wasn't just a class – she literally took you back in time to that era when life was just beginning and the hardships and risks these ancestors of mine sacrificed just to make a living. My class was nearly three hours one time a week, but it was worth the time. There were times when I wished we could continue the class even though it was already dark outside and nearly 9 p.m. I felt like I was not just enjoying the concept of learning but also living in it.

I currently work on campus. I have been working for UTSA for nearly 14 years, starting in January 2004 in the Center for Water Research for the Environmental Sciences and Engineering Ph.D. program. I worked there for three-and-a-half years, leaving in the Summer of 2007. I then returned back to work in the Anthropology department in 2009 until I moved back into the Engineering division in 2014, where I still currently work as a Program Coordinator in the Biomedical Engineering Department/Chemical Engineering Program. I can say through all the work, hardships and accomplishments, I am and will now forever be a Roadrunner! ”