UTSA community: Wear a UTSA t-shirt, show your UTSA colors Friday, May 20

By Tim Brownlee
Assistant Director of Public Affairs

(May 19, 2011)--As part of College Week in San Antonio, UTSA President Ricardo Romo encourages UTSA community members to wear a UTSA t-shirt and our orange-and-blue on Friday, May 20 to show support for the pursuit of higher education. Students, employees and other supporters at colleges, universities, retailers and businesses across the city will wear college t-shirts on Friday.

College Week is an initiative of San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to boost the idea of attending college. Events are scheduled throughout the week, culminating in College Signing Day at the AT&T Center at 1 p.m., Sunday, May 22. UTSA President Ricardo Romo, UTSA mascot Rowdy and representatives from other area colleges and universities will be part of the Sunday event.

"The mayor sees this as a great way to plant the seed of earning a college degree in the next generation, and I agree 100 percent," said Romo. "Due to my parents' expectations, I automatically knew college was the next step for me. And, if we can encourage that type of commitment citywide and help our young students navigate the process of attending university, I know we can transform the educational level of our city within the next 10 years."

On Monday, Castro kicked off of College Week at Cafe College in downtown San Antonio. The initiative, which the mayor organized with Cafe College, the San Antonio Education Partnership and Generation TX, is "a great way of telling the next generation of students that this is what we expect, this is what we want for you," said Castro. "Getting and education is the key to fulfilling your dreams."

"We want to enshrine and celebrate academic accomplishment the same way we do athletic accomplishment," said the mayor. "It's a great way of telling the next generation of students that this is what we expect, this is what we want for you. We want to create a city of tremendous opportunity in the 21st century."

Cafe College is a city resource where students can get information on how to apply for college and financial aid. At Cafe College, the San Antonio Education Partnership College Access and success advisers provide assistance with these key services:

• College admission assistance
• Financial aid guidance
• Career exploration
• College applications
• Advising
• SAT and ACT preparation

>> Read a May 17 San Antonio Express-News story on College Week.

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College Week events

• Thursday all day: Encourage a young person to go to college
• Thursday, 6 p.m.: Workshop on transferring from a two-year to a four-year institution at Cafe College
• Friday all day: Wear a college t-shirt
• Friday, 6 p.m.: Movie night at Cafe College
• Saturday, 11 a.m.: Battle of the Bands competition at Cafe College
• Sunday, 1 p.m.: College Signing Day at the AT&T Center, hosted by Mayor Julian Castro and the San Antonio Spurs. The winner of the Battle of the Bands will perform.