Newsletter

Welcoming New Roadrunner Families

This summer, UTSA is welcoming new Roadrunners and their families to the UTSA community through virtual and in-person orientation experiences. As our membership for the Family Association grows, we look forward to being able to provide more events and socials this coming year for our families to get to know each other.

We would love to provide some helpful tips to our new UTSA families about transitioning to parenting from a distance, how to support the college academic and social experience for your student, or how you have engaged in being a Roadrunner family. Send us an email with some of your best advice for new UTSA families and we will share here in the newsletter, on social media, or in emails.

We are excited to see our Family Association grow this summer and look forward to seeing you all at upcoming events!

Pride Month

June is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, and each year, UTSA invites members of the Roadrunner community to celebrate our LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, and staff. Throughout this month, UTSA will highlight the importance of equality and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual people.

Families are welcome to attend the following events with their Roadrunner.

• Leading with Pride Virtual Panel Discussion – Wednesday, June 22 at 11:00 am
  Former City Council member Elena Guajardo, current City Council member and UTSA alum Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, local author Jonny Garza Villa, and local activist and UTSA alum Kimiya Factory will be the featured panelist for this event moderated by Dr. Rachel Cruz, faculty in the Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality Department in the College of Education and Human Development.
• San Antonio Pride Parade – Saturday, June 25 at 6:00 pm
  This year’s festivities will feature make-up tutorials, Peace Love Pride Wedding, special guests and even more fun. Dress for an evening of fun and join Pride San Antonio for the festivities!

Roadrunners and their families can also show their pride and allyship all month long with “Pride Rowdy” Zoom backgrounds and by using #RowdyPride on social media. Learn more about Pride Month at the UTSA website.

Juneteenth

The UTSA community and families are invited to attend the 2022 Juneteenth Celebration on Thursday, June 16 at 11:00 am in the Student Union Paseo. The event will feature a keynote address by Dr. Joycelyn K. Moody. She serves as the Sue E. Denman Distinguished Chair in American Literature and the Director of African American Literatures and Cultures Institute. The event will also include a poetry reading, special remarks by various community leaders, and an artist performance. Food and giveaways will be available while they last!

Gallery 23: Light Survives

Gallery 23, located on the first floor of the Student Union, will feature an exhibit entitled Light Survives from Thursday, June 9 through Friday, July 29. Artist, Madison Cowles is passionate about sexual assault survivor advocacy, awareness, and prevention education. Light Survives is Madison’s advocacy work featured in art.

Families are welcome to visit Gallery 23 during open hours to see the exhibit. Visitors are encouraged to download the Artivive app before arriving for easy access to the augmented reality component of the artwork. Admission is free.

Fall Financial Aid Paperwork Priority Deadline - July 1!

Does your student have outstanding financial aid requirements for 2022-2023? The priority deadline to submit complete financial aid documents for Fall 2022 is Friday, July 1. Most documents can be submitted through the Document Uploader. If your student has not applied for 2022-2023 financial aid or scholarships, it’s not too late!

We encourage all students to apply, which can help minimize out-of-pocket costs for the next school year.

Peer Education Roles Available to Students

Students can build some public speaking skills and gain group facilitation skills while expressing their passion by serving as peer educators or facilitators here at UTSA. Wellbeing Services and the Multicultural Center for Equity and Justice (MSCEJ) are looking for students to apply to these resume-building experiences.

• Health Peer Educators
  Wellbeing Services team is accepting applications for their Peer Education Program. Students who take the Peer Education in Health course will receive a Health credit for health majors or elective credit. Peer Educators are trained to provide peer-to-peer education on health topics such as alcohol, stress, depression, anxiety, and healthy relationships. For more information and to apply, visit the Wellbeing Services Get Involved page.
• Mental Health Peer Advocates
  Students who are interested in supporting fellow Roadrunners while gaining mental health education experience should apply to be a Mental Health Peer Advocate. Wellbeing Services gives your student the skills to advocate for mental health resources, meet one-on-one in student support meetings, and promote our on-campus Wellness 360 Health and Counseling clinics to the campus community. Students can apply on RowdyLink.
• MSCEJ Peer Facilitator
  The Multicultural Student Center for Equity and Justice (MSCEJ) has summer positions available with the potential for continuing in the fall semester. Peer Facilitators lead presentations, dialogues, conversations, and workshops on topics of diversity, equity, and social justice. Students can apply on Handshake and must be eligible for work-study. Students can also send their resumes and get more information by emailing multicultural@utsa.edu.

Free General Admission to the McNay Art Museum

Thanks to an institutional membership, UTSA students get unlimited free general admission to the McNay Art Museum! Just have your student show their UTSACard at the museum entrance to gain entry to one of San Antonio's most beautiful landmarks and enjoy its unique collection of art. UTSA students also receive 50% off annual memberships to the McNay. Membership benefits include retail discounts, exclusive virtual content, tours with curators, conversations with artists, and more. UTSA's institutional membership to the McNay was made possible thanks to a gift to the museum from UTSA alumnus Walter Downing ’86 and his wife, Sharon Downing.

Chats for the Summer

Whether your student is taking classes, focusing on working or an internship or work, or just taking in the summer, there are still valuable conversations to have about what is going on in their lives as a Roadrunner. Consider some of these questions as conversation starters.

For Parents of Returning Students

• In what ways have you grown as a student and as an individual this year?
• How are summer courses, internship, or work going?
• Are you staying in contact with your UTSA friends this summer? How are they enjoying summer?

For Parents of New Students

• What are you most looking forward to about life at UTSA?
• What will you miss the most about home?
• What is your biggest take away from orientation?
• Is there anyone you met during the in-person orientation experience that you plan to keep in contact with when you start school?