MAY 14, 2024 — This month, 270 seniors in the Honors College are expected to graduate from UTSA, making them the largest graduating class in the college’s history.
Most of the students in this semester’s graduating class didn’t have a typical start to college life, nor have they experienced a traditional graduation ceremony. Due to the pandemic, their high school senior year and first semester of classes at UTSA were held nearly entirely online, leaving them socially isolated. Despite that, these Roadrunners demonstrated resilience, creativity and determination throughout their time at UTSA.
Many of these Honors College graduates already have impressive jobs lined up or will be starting graduate school in the fall.
Conrad Finos, who is earning his bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, will participate in an international internship in Panama on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, before joining the agency full time in Washington, D.C. this fall as a diplomatic information specialist. His engagement with the U.S. Department of State began in 2022, when he was one of 15 students in the country to be awarded a Foreign Affairs Information Technology Fellowship. That experience set him on a path to a career using his technology skills to support U.S. diplomacy abroad.
Johan de Greef, a graduating senior in mechanical engineering, will be moving to Missouri for a career at Whiteman Air Force Base to work on its B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and support base infrastructure.
Grace Johnson, a graduating senior in psychology and art, will be starting a master’s degree in art therapy at Syracuse University in New York this fall.
Mechanical engineering senior Noah Hernandez has accepted a job at aerospace company Blue Origin in Huntsville, Alabama.
Top Scholar Tejas Narayanan will be moving to Colorado to begin work as an environmental consultant for Ernst and Young’s climate change and sustainability services division, where he completed a summer internship in 2023. At UTSA, he was a member of the student organization Plant the Future, he served as a student representative on the university’s Sustainability Council and he interned with the Office of Sustainability.
Many of this year’s Honors College graduates are choosing to stay in Texas to begin their careers or attend graduate school.
For example, cybersecurity senior Catalina Cardenas, will be starting her career in the security and resiliency division at Dell Technologies in Austin, Texas, in July.
Joana Contreras, who is earning her bachelor’s degree in interior design and is preparing for the interior design certification exam to become a licensed interior designer will be working at Texas Wilson, a commercial office design company, in San Antonio.
Finance senior Syndey Scott has accepted a job as an accountant with TC Energy in Houston, Texas.
Camryn Kubicek, an anthropology major with minors in archeological practice and museum studies, will begin a M.A. in Heritage and Museum Studies at Texas Tech University this fall.
Jennifer Cervantes, a microbiology and immunology senior, has been accepted into Texas A&M University’s pharmacy school in College Station.
There are also Honors College graduates who will continue as Roadrunners this fall, pursuing graduate degrees in accounting, architecture, artificial intelligence, business administration, biomedical engineering, computer science, criminology and criminal justice, health, community and policy, information technology and mechanical engineering, to name a few.
Other notable Honors College graduates this semester include:
Home to more than 2,000 hardworking, achievement-oriented, conscientious students across all majors, the UTSA Honors College offers one of the most unique experiential honors curricula in the nation. Its practical, hands-on approach to learning allows students to chart their own path and achieve their highest potential.
To graduate from the Honors College, students complete a combination of honors courses and signature experiences, which can be fulfilled by participating in activities inside or outside the classroom such as service projects, professional development programs such as internships and fellowships, intellectual achievement projects such as thesis development and research, study abroad or other cultural exploration experiences, engaged living, skill development, independent study, honors contracts, or by taking additional experiential learning honors courses.
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Covidence is a systematic & scoping review tool used to streamline the process of screening and reviewing articles. Using this software, research teams can easily import studies, perform automatic deduplication, and extract data using templates. This workshop will show attendees how to start a review in Covidence, add collaborators, and get started on screening.
Virtual (Zoom)In this workshop, attendees will be introduced to Pandas, a Python tool for working with data easily. It makes it simple to organize and analyze information when data is organized and categorized, like spreadsheets or tables.
Group Spot B, John Peace LibraryEach fall and spring semester, students convene at the Main Campus at UTSA with booths, ideas and prototypes. A crowd of judges, local organizations, students, faculty and sponsors walk around and talk to the students about their projects and ask questions. Students get the real-life experience of "pitching" their project with hopes of getting funding or support to move to the next level.
UTSA Convocation Center, Main CampusJoin the doctoral candidates for the Doctoral Conferreal Ceremony and celebrate their accomplishments.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusCelebrate the graduates from the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
AlamodomeCelebrate the graduates from the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
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