by Jayden Mendez 

As an undergraduate at St. Mary’s University, Priscilla Dethmann (B.S. ’01, M.B.A. ’21) was part of a program that resonated with her so strongly, she wanted to share that experience with current students. 

Then a first-year student at the School of Science, Engineering and Technology, Dethmann was paired with a sophomore who served as a student mentor, leaving a lasting impression about the importance of receiving help from your classmates.  

Now, as the Greehey School of Business Assistant Dean of Students, Dethmann leads a new mentorship program that pairs lower and upper-level students to help them connect and, hopefully, help new students improve their performance in classes. ��

“There’s a sense of accomplishment for the students as well as helping them grow as a person,” Dethmann said. “Helping guide someone through life and academic decisions is a growing experience.” 

The Greehey School of Business Mentorship Program is open to all business students who want to mentor other students or are seeking additional academic support. It is a voluntary program, and first-year students are notified of the opportunity at the beginning of the fall semester. ��

There is a brief survey to get to know the students by asking about their interests and goals. With this information, mentors are assigned to students based on their answers to help find a social and academic match.  

Many students have benefited from this program, whether it has helped them find resources or socially adjust to a new environment. 

A first-year Management major from Togo, West Africa, Dede Fioklou-Toulan said her mentor, Belyn Thompson, shares information about campus resources and takes time to study with her during the semester.  

Not knowing anyone when she arrived at St. Mary’s, Thompson has also helped her socialize with more people on campus. 

Though they meet in person a few times a month, Fioklou-Toulan said the interactions have been “an immense help,” and she and Thompson keep in constant contact through text messages. 

“We talk about everything, like what I’ve been going through that week or if I have a question or concern,” Fioklou-Toulan said.  

“Being a mentor is similar to being a big sister. I have two siblings, and it’s the same feeling of pride guiding them and helping them when they need you.” 

Belyn Thompson

Thompson, a sophomore from San Antonio who is a Marketing major, decided to be a mentor because she enjoys helping incoming students, and remembers what it’s like to be in a new environment. 

She also equates the feeling of watching her mentee flourish to that of being an older sibling. 

“Being a mentor is similar to being a big sister,” Thompson added. “I have two siblings, and it’s the same feeling of pride guiding them and helping them when they need you.” 

The Texas heat may be on, but St. Mary’s University and the 2024 Fiesta Jazz Festival will be bringing the cool during the annual two-day live music scene on Friday, April 26, and Saturday, April 27.

The event will feature national, local and school-aged artists in the ,  Tom and Mona Mengler Conference Room, previously known as Conference Room A. The conference room will once again be transformed into the Gold and Blue Note Jazz Club and host the 2024 Fiesta Jazz Festival University Invitational.

The event is free and open to the public. Parking will also be free and open on campus.  

Friday, April 26

On Friday, April 26, the invitational will begin at 11 a.m. It will include performances by the Trinity University Jazz Ensemble, the St. Mary’s Jazz Combo and the St. Mary’s University Jazz Orchestra. At 6 p.m., the 2024 Fiesta World Class Jazz Concert will start with the St. Mary’s Alumni Jazz Orchestra, followed by the at 7:15 p.m. 

More about Friday headliner Alyssa Allgood

A Chicago-based jazz vocalist, composer, arranger and educator, Allgood has made a name for herself in legendary clubs, such as the Green Mill and the Jazz Showcase and has performed globally in places, such as Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai in China and the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Canada.

Allgood’s fourth album, From Here, was released on April 19. During her career, she has recorded with renowned jazz bassist John Patitucci, drummer and bandleader Kendrick Scott, saxophonist Greg Ward and jazz pianist Geoffrey Keezer.

For the second consecutive year, the headliner will feature a female musician. Drummer Audra Menconi headlined the 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ event.

Saturday, April 27

On Saturday, April 27, middle and high school bands will participate in the 61st Fiesta Jazz Band Festival, which will take place in the University Center’s Tom and Mona Mengler Conference Room and Treadaway Hall’s .  

At noon that day, Allgood is scheduled to have a Jazz Clinic in the conference room with the students. 

Saturday’s live music performances allow schools from Texas and other states to participate and perform for criticism before a panel of jazz clinicians. Trophies and awards will be presented in various categories. 

Schedule of Events

Friday, April 26

The Gold and Blue Note Jazz Club in the University Center, Tom and Mona Mengler Conference Room

11 a.m., Northwest Vista Jazz Combo
Noon, Northwest Vista Jazz Ensemble
1 p.m., UTSA Jazz Ensemble
2 p.m., University of the Incarnate Word Jazz Combo
3 p.m., Trinity University Jazz Ensemble
4 p.m., St. Mary’s University Jazz Combo
5 p.m., St. Mary’s University Jazz Orchestra
6 p.m., St. Mary’s University Alumni Jazz Orchestra
7:15 p.m., The Alyssa Allgood Quartet

Saturday, April 27

The Gold and Blue Note Jazz Club in the University Center, Tom and Mona Mengler Conference Room

8 a.m., San Antonio Christian High School (5A) 
8:25 a.m., Wagner High School I (5A) 
8:50 a.m., Coronado High School (5A) 
9:15 a.m., Wagner High School I (5A)
9:40 a.m., Jefferson High School (5A)
10:05 a.m., O’Connor High School II (6A 2) 
10:30 a.m., Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy II (6A 2)
10:55 a.m., Brandeis High School II (6A 2) 
11:20 a.m., New Braunfels High School (6A) 
Noon, Jazz Clinic with Alyssa Allgood
1:15 p.m., Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy I (6A)
1:40 p.m., Judson High School (6A) 
2:05 p.m., Akins Early College High School (6A)  
2:30 p.m., Sonia Sotomayor High School (6A) 
2:55 p.m., Sandra Day O’Connor High School I (6A) 
3:20 p.m., Skyline High School (6A)  
3:45 p.m., Brandeis High School (6A) 
5 p.m., Jazz Orchestra of San Antonio 
5:45 p.m., Awards Ceremony

Treadaway Recital Hall

8 a.m., Harlandale Middle School (2C) 
8:25 a.m., Kirby Middle School (2A)
8:50 a.m., Bradley Middle School III (3C)
9:15 a.m., Bradley Middle School II (3C)
9:40 a.m., Bradley Middle School I (3C)
10:05 a.m.,  Bradley Middle School Combo (3C)
10:30 a.m., Losoya Middle School (2C) 
10:55 a.m., John Whittier Middle School (2C)
11:20 a.m., Memorial High School (4A)
Noon, Jazz Clinic with Alyssa Allgood (University Center, Tom and Mona Mengler Conference Room)
1:15 p.m., Christa McAuliffe Middle School (2C)
1:40 p.m., Judith Resnik Middle School (2C)  
2:05 p.m., Dorris Miller Middle School (2C)
2:30 p.m., Ronald McNair Middle School (2C)
2:55 p.m., Francis Scobee Middle School (2C)   
3:20 p.m., Geneva School of Boerne (2A)
3:45 p.m., San Antonio Christian High School (4A)
4:10 p.m., Wagner High School III (4A)  
5 p.m., Jazz Orchestra of San Antonio (University Center, Tom and Mona Mengler Conference Room)
5:45 p.m., Awards Ceremony (University Center, Tom and Mona Mengler Conference Room)

For more information, Contact Jennifer Greulich at jgreulich@stmarytx.edu.

For the second consecutive year, Rattler team member (B.B.A. ’22) has been recognized by the Lone Star Conference.

Reed was named Lone Star Conference Women’s Golf Academic Player of the Year on April 14, 2024. She also received the award in 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.

With an undergraduate degree in Marketing from St. Mary’s University, she is enrolled in the Master of Jurisprudence Program at the School of Law in the General Law Concentration. Reed was also a 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ Presidential Award honoree.

Reed, alongside freshman teammate and Marketing major , was named a member of the Lone Star All-Conference Second Team. , a junior and Communications Studies major, was named to the First Team. To be eligible for Lone Star Conference academic honors, student-athletes must carry at least a 3.30 GPA and be at least a sophomore, both academically and athletically.

by Jayden Mendez 

When she was a high schooler in Lima, Peru, Brissa Campos Toscano never imagined she would one day attend college in the United States. 

Since childhood, studying abroad was a concept she thought impossible since her family never traveled outside of Peru due to the cost. 

After arriving at St. Mary’s University in 2021, Campos Toscano, who graduates in May with a major in International and Global Studies with minors in Political Science and Music, made it her mission to help international students who, like her, were living outside their home countries for the first time. 

“I used to hear people of different languages thanking me for the work I’ve done, and it was really rewarding,” Campos Toscano says. “I was not looking for any gratitude or appreciation from everyone else, I wanted to just help other students.” 

During her first semester, Campos Toscano spent time developing connections with her peers, professors and coworkers online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was struck by the strength of the St. Mary’s community when she met her classmates in person for the first time.  

“It felt heartwarming how faculty, staff and even students were really happy to see you,” she said. 

Campos Toscano sought to build more connections and look for a chance to represent her international peers by applying to become a President’s Ambassador in her junior year, something she said allowed her to highlight their journeys to a wider audience.����

“Being able to represent the international community by being a President’s Ambassador let me showcase how international students have been doing at the University,” she said. 

Helping international students��

Because of her newfound connection to the University and her own journey as an international student, Campos Toscano wanted to help students in the United States for the first time find ways to adjust to their new settings.����

Joining the Center for International Programs as a student assistant in 2022, Campos Toscano took the initiative to be a welcoming presence and mentor. She volunteered to pick up students from the airport, bought them food if they were ill and helped them learn English. 

Associate Director of the Intensive English Program Catherine Whitlow praised Campos Toscano’s dedication.  

“I don’t think I could have done so much work with international students without Brissa,” Whitlow said. “She’s always there, and she follows through on her commitments.”  

Andrea Laguna, from Honduras, is one of the students with whom Campos Toscano worked. A senior Engineering major and a fellow President’s Ambassador, Laguna said she is amazed by Campos Toscano’s passion and dedication to others.����

“I was president of the University Programming Council, and we both had to go to the same meeting once a month,” Laguna said. “She wasn’t scared of stepping up and advocating for those students who couldn’t do it themselves.” 

Campos Toscano’s experiences at the Center impacted her, and she said she hopes to continue her work with international students at St. Mary’s.  

“I want to continue learning and experiencing and coming to the University every day knowing I can help students,” Campos Toscano said. “All these opportunities have given me and my family back home the opportunity to renew ourselves as a family and me as an individual.”��

by Jayden Mendez 

During his internship at the Bexar County Courthouse in 2021, Eduardo Saucedo Moreno struck up a conversation with a local attorney about the lack of a mock trial team for undergraduate students at St. Mary’s University. 

The interaction sparked an interest in Moreno, who began looking into creating a program, which would not only augment the work of students in the Pre-Law Program, but also help develop skills for students of any major. 

“I went through all the paperwork to be able to create the registered student organization in the Fall 2021 semester,” Moreno said. 

A junior majoring in Political Science, Moreno is also a student in the which allows qualified St. Mary’s undergraduate students to earn a bachelor’s degree and a J.D. degree from the School of Law in less time.  

To be eligible, a student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better, earn a minimum score of 154 on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and complete a minimum of 91 undergraduate credit hours before starting law classes. 

With the help of Andrew Ponce and Ethan Stein, both Political Science majors planning to study law, Moreno, who serves as president, started the club in Spring 2022.  

Vice president Andrea Heredia-Ortiz, a senior International and Global Studies major with a minor in Spanish, said the duo are helping the team grow.  

“We’re always accepting new members,” Ortiz says. “We’re understanding and very flexible.” 

Between 20 and 40 students attend the biweekly Undergraduate Mock Trial Team meetings, with optional workshops offered to improve skills, such as persuasive argument, public speaking and case comprehension.  

New members learn about working on a court case from more experienced members. After three weeks of training, the newer students get a criminal or civil case and act out, with everyone playing multiple courtroom roles.  

The team also participates in scrimmages against other universities with mock trial teams, such as the University of Texas at San Antonio.��

“Being in this program allows me to expand my speaking skills, critical thinking, and just being able to communicate with others,” Ortiz said. “That’s one of the biggest takeaways, whether you want to be a trial attorney or not.” 

The benefits of Pre-Law and mock trial 

Leona Pallansch, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Pre-Law Program, said mock trial helps students elevate the learning experiences of those in the Pre-Law Program, but it offers more than just courtroom knowledge. 

For students of different majors, it’s a way to improve their academic and professional skills. 

“Mock trial is beneficial because it helps develop critical thinking skills and, perhaps more importantly, oral skills,” Pallansch said. 

“Being in this program allows me to expand my speaking skills, critical thinking, and just being able to communicate with others. That’s one of the biggest takeaways, whether you want to be a trial attorney or not.” 

Andrea Heredia-Ortiz, International and Global Studies major

For students with law school aspirations, it prepares them for a courtroom environment and helps them better understand the field.  

The Pre-Law Program also provides resources, such as internship and career opportunities, LSAT preparation classes and advice about law school.  

Since taking over the program in June 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, Pallansch has integrated Lunch and Learn events and brings in speakers from the School of Law to talk to undergraduate students on various topics. She also offers group advising sessions in her office.  

“I hold these group sessions each semester to help my Pre-Law students and give them an opportunity to hear questions from other Pre-Law students and advice that may benefit them in the long run,” Pallansch said. 

It’s a hot book summer and these books, all written by St. Mary’s University alumni, range from poetry to a collection of columns, highlighting the vast talents and experiences of the University community.

Somos Nopales
Eddie Vega (B.A. ’99), pictured above on left 
Flowersong Press, 2024 

The San Antonio Poet Laureate’s has been described as beautiful, powerful and a little bit chingón. Serving as a tour of Vega’s journey as the son of an immigrant parent, the book navigates a world where cultures collide and co-mingle.  

More Finish Lines to Cross: Notes on Race, Redemption, and Hope
Cary Clack (B.A. ’85), pictured above on right
Trinity University Press, 2024 

As a San Antonio Express-News columnist, Clack has written on numerous topics. His latest book is a since returning to the newspaper in 2019, including the topics of politics and national and global news with a local perspective.  

95 Power Principles: Strategies for Effective Leadership in Local Government
The Hon. Nelson W. Wolff (B.B.A. ’66, J.D. ’66), University Distinguished Service Professor 
Elm Grove Publishing, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ 

If you’re looking for a on how to be a better leader in local government (building on the University’s focus on servant leadership), Wolff has 95 of them, drawing on his decades of experience in state and local government.  

is a four-quarter game version of competitive cheerleading. The first three quarters focus on a specific element of competitive cheerleading. Teams reserve the last quarter for a routine showcasing all skills — partner stunts, jumps and tumbling, pyramids and tosses.����

The Rattlers (10-5) are one of two Lone Star Conference teams to qualify, along with DBU. The National Tournament takes place April 26-28 at Missouri Baptist in Creve Coeur, Missouri.
��
For hotel and ticket information, click��. Stay tuned to rattlerathletics.com for more information on seeding and game times.

“Show me where to look/Tell me what will I find?” Ed Roland sings in the first verse of their hit song Shine, but did you know he was talking about parking during the event?  

He wasn’t, but we can dream. 

Luckily for Roland, and everyone else, a list of planned University parking can be found below for Homecoming Oyster Bake (aka “Baby Bake”) on Saturday, April 6, and Fiesta Oyster Bake on Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20.  

PARKING CHANGES FOR HOMECOMING OYSTER BAKE 

Thursday, April 4, at 11 p.m. to Sunday, April 7, at 5 p.m.   

(non-handicapped-accessible spaces) and , southeast section, will be closed.   

Friday, April 5, at 3 p.m. to Sunday, April 7, at 5 p.m.   

, handicapped-accessible spaces will be closed and relocated to .    

PARKING CHANGES FOR FIESTA OYSTER BAKE 

Monday, April 15, at 11 p.m. to Sunday, May 3, at 5 p.m.   

will be partially closed.    

Tuesday, April 16, at 10 p.m. to Monday, April 22, at 5 p.m.   

will be closed.    

Wednesday, April 17, at 10 p.m. to Sunday, April 21, at 5 p.m.   

Lots , , and will be closed.    
will be partially closed.    
will be closed. Handicapped-accessible parking for this lot will be relocated to .   

Thursday, April 18, at 8 p.m. to Sunday, April 21, at noon   

south section will be closed.    

Thursday, April 18, at 10 p.m. to Sunday, April 21, at 5 p.m.   

Lots , and will be closed.    
, southeast section, will be closed.    

Friday, April 19, at 8 a.m. to Sunday, April 21, at 5 p.m.   

St. Mary’s Research Center lot, outside the Culebra Gate, will be closed.    
lot and adjacent field will be open for public parking on Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20.   
Handicapped-accessible parking in will be relocated to for Fiesta Oyster Bake.    
will be closed.   

Friday, April 19, at 10 p.m. to Saturday, April 20, at 11 p.m.   

will be closed for handicapped-accessible parking.   

The Hector and Gloria López Foundation today announced it has awarded St. Mary’s University a grant of more than $2.5 million to help more Texas students graduate debt-free with the resources, leadership skills and support needed to achieve lasting economic success.

In addition to receiving tuition assistance, López Scholars will receive funding for a range of expenses associated with higher education, including housing, paid internships, study abroad programs and leadership development, according to the Foundation. This support also covers costs that may hinder student success, such as purchasing a laptop, getting health insurance, paying for child care and tutoring. Funding will also be allocated toward University staff to support the López Scholars on their journey to degree completion. 

honors the legacy of Hector and Gloria López, married business partners and prominent community figures from South Texas who viewed their higher educational opportunities as the basis for their economic prosperity. St. Mary’s was among three local universities that received funding from the Foundation.

“St. Mary’s University is incredibly grateful to receive the grant of more than $2.5 million through the legacy of Mr. and Mrs. López,” said St. Mary’s University President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D. “It’s a joyous day because we know there will be young men and women who will have the opportunity to graduate debt-free from St. Mary’s. I’m so grateful that the Foundation chose St. Mary’s among the universities it is supporting this year to provide this avenue for success to our students.”

The López Scholar grants have the dual objective to put Latino students on an educational path to economic prosperity and to meet the job demands of the growing Texas economy and population. Four in 10 workers in Texas’ labor force will be Latino by 2031, according to Texas Demographic Center projections. At the same time, three in 10 Texas jobs will require a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce. However, recent U.S. Census estimates show that only 18% of Latinos had a bachelor’s or more advanced degree, requiring at least one and a half times more Latinos to earn a bachelor’s or graduate degree focusing on high-demand fields like health care, business and finance, computer and mathematical science and education to meet workforce demand in the coming years.

López Scholars study a range of majors and disciplines and may be first-year students or transfer students from other colleges or universities. There is no application to be a López Scholar; instead, students are selected randomly by grantee universities among admitted students. Students must demonstrate financial need, be the first in their family to attend college, be Latino and live in or graduate from a high school in one of the five focus areas — El Paso, Austin, San Antonio, and communities in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. 

“We believe that when possible, students should have the opportunity to pursue higher education without financial burden,” said Sergio Rodríguez, Foundation President and CEO and nephew of Hector and Gloria López. “We are excited to invest in students at San Antonio universities that are committed to addressing the unique needs of first-generation students, with comprehensive support for these students’ success both during their college years and after graduation.”

While many students took time off during Spring Break, the St. Mary’s University’s National Dispute Resolution Team was hard at work, culminating in being crowned national champions in an American Bar Association competition and earning the chance to represent the United States internationally.������

“We continue to be impressed with the dedication, hard work and talent of our students and coaches,” said , Dean of the School of Law. “It is a tremendous honor that one of our teams will be representing the United States at the International Championship Rounds in Poland.”  

The national championship builds upon a record-breaking season for the , as the St. Mary’s School of Law is the first, and only, law school in the history of American Bar Association competitions to have teams advance to national finals in all five advocacy categories in the same academic year.  

 Those categories are appellate competition, arbitration, client counseling, mediation and negotiations. 

Advocacy programs give law students real-world experience by allowing them to practice in a courtroom setting before mock judges, juries and other aspects, such as negotiations. The Advocacy Program includes the Dispute Resolution Team, the Moot Court Team, the Trial Team and the International Jessup Moot Court Team. 

The National Dispute Resolution Team won the American Bar Association Client Counseling Competition, held March 15 and 16, and will represent the U.S. in Poland in April.  

The team consisted of third-year J.D. students Max Massey and Jacklyn Dhaemers and second-year J.D. student Delaney Montez.   

History-making team effort 

In addition to the Client Counseling competition, the National Dispute Resolution Team sent two more teams to national finals throughout the year, helping the St. Mary’s Advocacy Program reach finals in the five different categories.  

One of the Dispute Resolution teams went to national finals in negotiations in February, earning their spot after being crowned winners of the ABA Regional Negotiation Competition in November 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.  

The second Dispute Resolution team was crowned regional champions in mediation at the ABA Representation in Mediation Competition in February and will compete in the national finals in April in Chicago.  

The Trial Team sent two teams to the national finals after placing in the ABA Regional Arbitration Competition at Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Nebraska, in November, and the Moot Court Team will compete at the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition finals in April. 

On Saturday, March 23, members of the community are invited to participate in the 30th Annual People’s Law School, hosted by St. Mary’s Law and the San Antonio Bar Foundation. 

The People’s Law School will feature presenters from St. Mary’s Law, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and private practice. 

“The People’s Law School is a way to provide meaningful, timely information to area residents, while also empowering attendees with practical legal knowledge,” said St. Mary’s 91ߣ����Ƶing Clinical Assistant Professor of Law  

The event is free and open to the public. The seminars will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the at the St. Mary’s University School of Law. Those traveling to campus are asked to park in , near the NW 36th Street entrance. For directions, visit the campus map.��

(J.D. ’18), the School of Law’s Director of Pro Bono Programs, said program organizers are excited to bring the San Antonio community together in person to share important and timely legal information. 

Zlotnick, who is co-presenting with St. Mary’s Law student attorneys a session on landlord and tenant rights and obligations, said he loves the opportunity to directly connect with members of the community. 

Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with qualified local attorneys who will share their expertise in various topics. Each topic is presented in a 45-minute track, enabling community members to attend four different sessions. After each session, participants are invited to ask questions and speak personally with the instructors.��

Session topics

Wills and powers of attorney 
Email and phone scams 
Landlord and tenant rights and obligations 
Constitutional and criminal law rights 
Guardianships and trusts 
Plans for retirement 
Divorce, protective orders and Child Protective Services cases 

St. Mary’s University announced today that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) has approved its Bachelor of Science in Nursing. This approval follows the Texas Board of Nursing unanimously providing initial approval of the St. Mary’s Nursing Program at its January meeting in Austin.

Gaining approval from SACSCOC and the Texas Board of Nursing is a significant step forward as the University expects to enroll its first cohort of Nursing students in Fall 2024.

“The St. Mary’s team is pleased by the news from SACSCOC and the Texas Board of Nursing,” said Winston Erevelles, Ph.D., who has helped in the creation of the new degree and who will become the next President of St. Mary’s University on June 1. “We now look forward to recruiting our inaugural Nursing class. Our Nursing Program will integrate a liberal arts education and Catholic and Marianist values with the skills, art and science of nursing. We anticipate working closely with the many clinical partners who have stepped up to be a part of this new initiative.”

SACSCOC is the accrediting body of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states, including St. Mary’s. The Texas Legislature created the Board of Nursing in 1909 to regulate the safe practice of nursing in the state. In addition to issuing licenses, the Board approves schools of nursing.

Due to the significant shortage of nurses in San Antonio, St. Mary’s University will serve the community by increasing the number of baccalaureate-prepared nurses. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of registered nurses is projected to grow by 6% by 2032.

“St. Mary’s has created a rigorous Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program to prepare practice-ready, entry-level professional nurses,” said Donna M. Badowski, DNP, the Vice Dean of the St. Mary’s School of Science, Engineering and Technology; and Founding Director of Nursing. “Our program is dedicated to producing nursing graduates who exemplify the values of compassion and empathy, ensuring that they provide holistic care to their patients.”

On Tuesday, Feb. 27, St. Mary’s University will lead a discussion on how the community can help people who are experiencing homelessness with a panel of policymakers and experts — including U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro and Mayor of San Antonio Ron Nirenberg.

To continue St. Mary’s University’s dedicated pursuit of fostering meaningful dialogue for our community’s well-being, the St. Mary’s Center for Catholic Studies will present the latest in the conversation series called Finding Common Ground for the Common Good. The discussion is free and open to the public. It will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27, in the .

St. Mary’s President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D, will moderate the event. It will feature the Hon. Nelson Wolff (B.B.A. ’66, J.D. ’66), former Bexar County Judge who is now a St. Mary’s Distinguished Service Professor.

More than 3,155 people in Bexar County were experiencing homelessness during the 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ point-in-time count, according to the nonprofit Close to Home San Antonio.

“San Antonio and Bexar County have long been known for their culture of opening doors for its residents,” Wolff said. “By sharing insights and conversation, the upcoming Finding Common Ground for the Common Good discussion will lead us toward opening the doors of opportunity to our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness.”

Additional panelists include:

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of the Texas 20th Congressional District
Ron Nirenberg, Mayor of San Antonio
Kim Jefferies, Haven for Hope President and CEO
Genevieve Hébert Fajardo, J.D., St. Mary’s University Clinical Professor of Law

Those traveling to campus can park in or . For directions, visit the campus map. 

More about the panelists

The Hon. Nelson Wolff, J.D., is a retired Bexar County judge and Democratic politician from San Antonio. He represented Bexar County in the Texas House of Representatives from 1971 to 1973 and the Texas Senate from 1973 to 1975. Wolff served on the San Antonio City Council from 1987 to 1991 and then as mayor of San Antonio from 1991 to 1995. He served as Bexar County judge from 2001 until 2022. In January, Wolff was appointed as University Distinguished Service Professor at St. Mary’s University. He earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from St. Mary’s.

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro has represented San Antonio in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013. Born and raised on the city’s West Side, he is a product of San Antonio’s public schools. Before his election to Congress, he served five terms in the Texas House of Representatives, where he was at the forefront of legislative reforms in mental health, teen pregnancy and juvenile justice. In Congress, his work focuses on what he calls the “Infrastructure of Opportunity” – the great public schools and universities, sound health care system, and good jobs that allow people to pursue their American dreams.

Ron Nirenberg is the mayor of San Antonio, which has the seventh-largest population in the United States and is one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities. Nirenberg is the first San Antonio Mayor of Asian Pacific Islander descent. His mother is Filipino, and his paternal grandparents were immigrants from Eastern Europe who passed through Ellis Island. Through his personal experiences, Nirenberg developed a core commitment to civic participation and the universal values of liberty, justice and equal opportunity for every person.

Kim Jefferies, Haven for Hope President and CEO, has worked in the nonprofit industry for 22 years. She has served as a community leader for The Nonprofit Council, United Way, Headstart, Autism Lifeline Links, as a mentor for the San Antonio Area Foundation and in various other roles. Jefferies was also named a Top 40 Under 40 (2012), a Woman of Impact (2020) and a Top CEO (2021) by the San Antonio Business Journal.

Genevieve Hébert Fajardo, J.D., St. Mary’s University Clinical Professor of Law, teaches the Consumer Protection Clinic, Deceptive Trade Practices and Deposition Skills at St. Mary’s University School of Law. Her clinic work and scholarship focus on deceptive sales practices in marginalized communities, especially home sales and mortgages in South Texas. Hébert Fajardo uses her academic work to advocate for legislative reform on issues important to low-income Texans, including contract for deed reform and landlord-tenant issues. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she started the St. Mary’s Housing Hotline in collaboration with the St. Mary’s Pro Bono Program and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. Before St. Mary’s University, she taught in the Housing Rights Clinic at Hofstra Law School and was executive director of Shelter Legal Services (now Veterans Legal Services) in Boston.

by Nathaniel Miller 

Marina Salgado (B.A. ’17) and her husband, Mario Salgado (B.A. ’17), didn’t expect to find chemistry in a Biology class. ��

It was Fall 2013 when the couple, in the first semester of their first year of college, met in Biology 1301 at St. Mary’s University. Both had aspirations of attending medical school.  

A native San Antonian, Marina Salgado (then Flores) gravitated toward people in class she knew from high school and described herself as outgoing. Mario Salgado, more on the quiet side, had two older brothers also attending St. Mary’s, all of whom were from Las Cruces, New Mexico.  

It wasn’t until the lab portion of the course that the two finally crossed paths. Marina Salgado said that, at the time, she couldn’t “help but notice how handsome” her classmate was and complimented the eyes of this new person in her orbit.  

Mario Salgado, though, left the group to focus less on getting to know his groupmates and more on classwork. 

“He ended up moving lab groups because we weren’t getting any work done,” Marina Salgado said. “I thought, ‘Dang, he must have really not liked our group.’” 

He didn’t stay away though. Calling Marina Salgado a “wonderful writer,” he would return to her, exchanging class notes and strengthening their budding friendship.  

The two would run into each other again in Spring 2014, laughing when they learned they had the same laptop (his was blue and hers was pink).  

A snack break finally helped them make that special connection.  

While purchasing a snack at the University’s bookstore, Mario Salgado felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to find Marina Salgado. Both commuters to campus, she asked him to walk to the parking lot with her.  

“Running into him outside gave us a bunch of time to talk. We, surprisingly, had a lot in common,” she said.  

From there, the two became an official couple, attending events like Fiesta Oyster Bake and supporting each other when they switched their majors to Communications for her and Psychology for him.����

After graduation, they attended separate graduate schools, still in San Antonio, both graduating around the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On the anniversary of their first official date in February 2022, Mario Salgado took Marina to J. Alexander’s for dinner — their special occasion spot. 

Temperatures dipped below freezing, and Marina Salgado was looking forward to a warm night staying in. His persistence got the better of her. 

She sensed the meal was going a bit differently than usual: Mario Salgado had her sit on his left when she usually sits to his right. He hardly touched his food and fidgeted throughout dinner.  

When he returned from a trip to the bathroom, things finally made sense.  

“I stood next to her and asked, ‘Can you stand up?’ and that’s when she started freaking out,” Mario Salgado said. 

He proposed on the spot, gaining applause and well-wishes from other diners. After taking in the moment, Marina said she couldn’t wait to tell her family.  

Unbeknownst to her, Mario had planned the event — including hiring a photographer — in advance. Their family members had been in the back of the bar area the whole evening waiting for the moment.  

“They were all waiting for me to give them the signal,” he said. “It was so funny.” 

They married on May 6, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ and have enjoyed more than 10 years as a couple.  

Marina Salgado now works as the communications manager for The Gonzaba Foundation and Mario Salgado is a counselor at the Children’s Bereavement of South Texas. 

The smaller class sizes and personal connections with professors at St. Mary’s allowed them to build a connection and, eventually, realize there were ways to be of service to others in different careers.  

“St. Mary’s helped put us on the right track. We were given the opportunity to see what our skills were and, over time, learn where we could offer the best to our communities based on our different capabilities.”��

Marina Salgado

“St. Mary’s helped put us on the right track,” Marina Salgado said. “We were given the opportunity to see what our skills were and, over time, learn where we could offer the best to our communities based on our different capabilities.” 

They may not have gone into the medical field, but the couple said St. Mary’s gave them not only a life together, but the tools to go out and make a difference in their community. 

“If I told myself 10 years ago I wasn’t going to become a doctor, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Mario Salgado said. “But I’m sitting here now, and this is where God decided to put me.”��

Tom Mengler is retiring from the presidency on May 31, 2024. Chancellors and Chairs of the Board during Mengler’s presidency led the tribute by thanking them for their friendship, their vision and their success.

“These fundraising initiatives were made possible by donors to recognize Tom and Mona and the legacy they leave St. Mary’s,” said Lynda��Ellis (B.A.S. ’81), Chair of the Board of Trustees.

The Tom and Mona Mengler Conference Room

Underway is renaming and enhancing the space that has served to gather our community and live our mission, Conference Room A in the University Center. Speakers from around the globe have spent time in this space sharing their knowledge about serving the common good, understanding the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, studying The Saint John’s Bible, and addressing concerns about peace and social justice. It is where we come together to greet new students and their parents, recognize our heritage, conduct meetings and party in the spirit of Fiesta. It is the most significant gathering space on campus, now named — The Tom and Mona Mengler Conference Room.

The Tom and Mona Mengler President’s Ambassadors Fund

For more than 40 years, the St. Mary’s President’s Ambassadors have been an integral part of the University. Tom and Mona Mengler have embraced these students, teaching them what it means to be welcoming and caring servant leaders by inviting them into their home as one does with family to share meals, pray and have fun together. To ensure that St. Mary’s continues the President’s Ambassadors Program and its legacy of supporting and attracting the best students to represent and promote the University, a new endowment has been established and named — The Tom and Mona Mengler President’s Ambassadors Fund.

by Michelle Mondo

Even as a child, Anna Marie Wojnar was interested in crime scenes.

“When I was little, I used to take little crime scene photos of my dolls,” she said. “I would lie them out on the floor. That was inspired by TV shows.”

As a St. Mary’s University junior transfer student majoring in Forensic Science (Criminology Option), Wojnar understands the difference between the reality of her future career and the entertainment it inspires. What remains true is how working as a crime scene investigator or in forensics can impact others.

“I’ve always known I wanted to help people. But I wasn’t sure how,” Wojnar said. “Learning that you can incorporate helping people through investigating really intrigued me.”

She connected public service and forensic science as a Biology student at Northwest Vista College, where she began her college journey. Growing up in San Antonio, she used to tag along with her dad, Ronald Wojnar, when he worked there as a digital media professor at Northwest Vista. She knew she wanted an associate degree in science and the chance to explore the possibility of medical school. The realm of forensic science called her when she took her first Criminology class at Northwest Vista.

Being able to pursue Criminology, as well as Forensic Science, in the lab was why Wojnar chose to transfer to St. Mary’s. Two programs paved the way. She was a part of Northwest Vista and St. Mary’s joint program, , and the St. Mary’s Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE).

She credited Andrew Agueros, St. Mary’s Assistant Director of , with making the transfer process as smooth as possible by keeping communication open and less complicated.

With U-RISE, Wojnar has begun biomedical research and traveled to Phoenix with fellow students to attend the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists.

“We got to present our work and see the research from other colleges as well,” she said. “It was a really cool opportunity.”

Wojnar participates in the Student Organization for Cold Case Review (SOCCR) and the Forensic Science Club.

SOCCR was founded Fall 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ by Criminal Justice and Criminology Assistant Professor Colton Daniels, Ph.D., and students, like Wojnar, who are passionate about the topic. The mission of the club is to give students the opportunity to work on real cold cases.

Daniels has seen Wojnar excel in his classes.

“Through discussions in the classroom, SOCCR and office hours, Anna showed the utmost respect, humility and drive to pursue her passion in forensics to provide compassionate justice and give a voice to those who may not have one,” he said.

“I’ve always known I wanted to help people. But I wasn’t sure how. Learning that you can incorporate helping people through investigating really intrigued me.”

Anna Marie Wojnar

Her academic adviser, Associate Professor of Forensic Science Peter Platteborze, Ph.D., has also seen her dedication to the field. Platteborze is the Forensic Science Program Coordinator.

“Anna is very oriented to the interdisciplinary nature of the forensic science field,” he said. “I have seen her actively help other students who don’t understand a certain concept.”

Wojnar serves as a Rattler Orientation Leader and has volunteered at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in Westover Hills as a nurse’s aide.

She said the Marianist culture at St. Mary’s has become important to her experience as a student and for her future success, whether she works for a local police department as a crime scene investigator or pursues a position with the FBI.

“The Marianst mission brings everyone closer together because it is one goal, and that’s to help everyone move forward,” she said. “It’s inspiring to see that.”

by Nathaniel Miller 

It would be easy to say Belinda Román, Ph.D., had a crystal ball for predicting the future, but she’ll tell you all she is doing is following the trends.   

recognized the Associate Professor of Economics at St. Mary’s University this week for being the most accurate of 71 business, academic and financial economists from around the country in their predictions of what would happen to the U.S. Economy in 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ. 

Instead of relying solely on models, Román said she also looked at historical trends — such as employment bumps during the holiday season or during Fiesta in San Antonio — when gauging the different economic indicators.

Most importantly, she added, it’s about remembering each number behind a statistic is built around humans.   

“People are out there doing these things,” she said. “And those numbers represent us in our actions and activities.” 

Participating in the newspaper’s quarterly forecasts, Román suggested a 2.8% growth for the gross domestic product in 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ and was closest to the 3.1%, as reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce. She also predicted an unemployment rate of 3.4%, which was closest to the reported 3.7%.  

Román’s laser-sharp predictions outdid economists for Decision Economics, Santander US Capital Markets and Goldman Sachs. 

Though most focused on a slowdown in spending from funds issued during the COVID-19 pandemic and higher inflation, Román’s forecast included more room for growth than her peers. The threat of a slower economy did not stop Americans from flocking to concerts and theaters. 

Román highlighted events, such as Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour, and the dual summer release of the films Barbie and Oppenheimer, as examples of how spending can bring joy as the world emerges into a post-pandemic routine.  

“It doesn’t have to be extravagant like Super Bowl tickets because those are thousands of dollars,” Román said, adding she contributed by watching Godzilla Minus One in theaters. “But we’re the ones buying T-shirts and hats, and that’s where some people are finding their happiness.” 

Looking at how to serve and inform the public is something that Román has been doing since her childhood in El Paso.  

The daughter of a physician, Román also has a brother who followed in their father’s footsteps and others who became engineers and lawyers. The family was also involved in charity work, focusing on helping lower-income Hispanic populations.����

Starting college at Texas Christian University as a Chemistry major, Román’s plan was to eventually go into the medical field. A summer Economics class helped her see she could still make a difference in people’s lives through policy changes.  

“It all just clicked for me that I was going to still be able to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Román, who went on to earn a doctorate from University of Western Ontario in Canada and a Master in Philosophy from the London School of Economics before her time working at St. Mary’s.

In September, the National Science Foundation awarded Román a grant of $553,900 for a three-year research project on how diabetes affects workforce participation in San Antonio. 

“I hope they take away that economics is much bigger than just supply and demand curves in the free market. Whether those students end up focusing on business or philosophy in their careers, I hope they realize that we at St. Mary’s tried to show them the bigger picture.” 

Belinda Román

Román leads a research team that includes faculty from the Biology and Public Health programs at St. Mary’s, and an external expert from Pepperdine University to study how diabetes affects the economy via work and earnings. 

She also oversees the Mexican American Studies program at St. Mary’s, which launched in Fall 2021 and offers a 15-hour certificate and 18-hour minor.  

Chair of the Department of Economics and Associate Professor Steve Nivin, Ph.D., said the job can feel like that of a weather person: updates are being made as data changes.  

To come out on top of a forecast against lead economists across the country, especially during a time of uncertainty is a testament to Román’s abilities, Nivin said. 

“It’s a challenging time to just make an accurate forecast,” Nivin said. “To be top among that type of panel is pretty remarkable.” 

As Román prepares to participate in the Wall Street Journal’s next survey in April, she said she hopes the public, especially her students, remember the economy is more than just numbers on a page.  

“I hope they take away that economics is much bigger than just supply and demand curves in the free market,” she said. “Whether those students end up focusing on business or philosophy in their careers, I hope they realize that we at St. Mary’s tried to show them the bigger picture.” 

by Jennifer R. Lloyd (M.B.A. ’16)

It wasn’t enough for Christian Elguera Olórtegui, Ph.D., 91ߣ����Ƶing Assistant Professor of Spanish at St. Mary’s University, to teach four Spanish literature and language classes, compose award-winning short stories, and translate pieces from Portuguese to Spanish and from the Andean indigenous language Quechua to English.

With a pen and a spiral notebook in hand, Elguera spent scraps of his free time researching and writing a novel in Spanish over six years. The effort paid off.

That novel, Los espectros, or The Specters, just won a top literary prize in Elguera’s home country of Peru — . Read his acceptance speech in Spanish .

Fresh from receiving his award in Lima this February and looking forward to seeing his book’s publication this summer, Elguera sat down with Gold & Blue for this Q&A to share his perspectives on writing, translating and teaching the next generation how to share in the richness of language.

Q: Can you tell us more about the Copé Award and what it means to you to have won it?

A: This literary contest has a long history in my country. The Copé Award is organized by the Petroleum State Company, called Petroperú. They are the most prestigious literary awards in Peru. From 1979 to the present, important authors have received this prize, such as Washington Delgado, Óscar Colchado Lucio and Cronwell Jara, among others, defining the routes of the Peruvian literary tradition. A jury of distinguished Peruvian intellectuals decides the winner. If you are a writer in Peru, you want to receive this award.

Q: So, the competition was quite stiff?

A: For the novel portion of the prize, they received 177 entries. The judges had a lot of material to read. But this is not the first time I received this kind of award. In 2022, I received another accolade in a literary contest: the Copé Silver for my short story , or The Last Conjuring of Fernando Pessoa. In addition, in 2020, I received an honorable mention in the XXI Short Story Biennial Copé Award for my narration or The Strange Case of Mr. Panizza. For short stories and poems, the judges award prizes for first, second and third place. But in the novel section, there is just one winner.

My novel Los espectros discusses some serious problems in the current context of Peru. It’s a text about the history of the political crises in my country during the 20th and 21st centuries. So, in my case, it was a surprise to be awarded the prize for this kind of political fiction.

Q: You’ve said you expect the book to be in print by this summer and that it is the first in a trilogy. Can you tell us more about the plot of Los espectros?

A: The first intention of Los espectros was to be critical of the past and present socio-political climate in Peru. In this regard, the novel represents events from many decades ago and, principally, offers a fictionalized and hyperbolic portrait of a real person, Eudocio Ravines. During the 1930s, Ravines was the first secretary general of the Communist Party in Peru. But he later became a supporter of right-wing politics and a machinator against Peruvian presidents. In my novel, Ravines is a political chameleon, a sinister character who tries to destroy Peru. But he is actually a bit player in this game because the real masters of the political situation in Peru and around the world are called the Specters.

Q: How do you balance writing fiction with teaching at St. Mary’s University? How do these two areas of your life blend together?

A: I have many facets in my life. On the one hand, I am a professor, but I am also a translator and a scholar of indigenous literature. Honestly, I write at certain moments after my classes and investigations. Due to my academic responsibilities, I can stop my creative writing for many months. But my academic life also helped me create this novel because, for example, there is a character who is a historian presenting about Ravines at a conference at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima. So, I invented a fictional scenario. But the vocabulary, the style and the performance of this historian is that of a scholar. As I was writing, I also had to complete a methodical study about Ravines in Peru and the U.S. Because I am a literary scholar, I know how to conduct this research to create my character. Also, I teach different classes about the ideologies and political history of Latin America. These classes were very helpful in recreating significant debates about communism and indigenous struggles. Additionally, I created another character who is a translator and who reflects my own ideas and practice of translation. There is a synergy between these different aspects of my life.

Q: You’ve said that, as a young person, you didn’t think you could write a long novel. Now, you teach classrooms full of young people. How do you convey to them that achieving a goal like this is possible?

A: In Spring 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, I taught the class Culture and Civilization of Spain. The principal goal was to discuss with students the tradition of Peninsular fantastic literature. One of the final assignments included an option to write a short story. I received a few short stories and am now editing them. We will try to publish them in a journal or magazine. I am doing something similar in my class on Latin American gothic and speculative fiction this semester. I try to dedicate one part of my life to teaching these students how to write a short story and how to use the language at a different level.

For instance, students of Spanish in the Department of Languages can start with the conjugation of the verbs and, subsequently, they can write long compositions. My next goal, in the upper division courses, is to motivate students to produce essays and short stories with this language. At this level, students can use Spanish in many ways, understanding the cultural, linguistic and artistic dimensions of Spanish.

As an award-winning author, one of my major aims is to inspire students to write fiction in Spanish. With this goal in mind, I organize some of my classes as literary workshops in which students understand and practice how to create a storyline, describe spaces, or use different narrative voices and literary devices.

I show students that they can use language in many ways. They can create new worlds. Once they know how to speak and read Spanish, they can create artistic expressions with the language.

St. Mary’s University gathered to celebrate the life and heritage of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, founder of the Society of Mary. The community also honored eight members of the St. Mary’s University community with a 2024 Marianist Heritage Award, which recognizes those who showcase faithfulness to the University’s .��

Since 1981, these annual awards have celebrated those who express an interest in the development of the Marianist charism through efforts at increasing knowledge and working for its transformation into practice in the University community.  

Marianist Student Leadership Award

Patrick Coan, History and Political Science dual major, May 2024
Theresa Mayorga, Biology major, May 2024
Mary Sommer, Psychology major, May 2024

Marianist Heritage Award

Jeffrey Johnson, Ph.D., Professor, Greehey School of Business
Leticia Morales-Bissaro, Associate Director, Graduate Admission
Linda Muller, Director, Enterprise Systems and Services, Information Services
Dianne Pipes, Chief of Staff, Office of the President
Betsy L. Smith, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Political Science

by Nathaniel Miller 

Before he began to entertain thoughts about becoming a Marianist, the Rev. Brandon Paluch, S.M., was learning the foundations of ministry on the golf course.  

Starting in seventh grade and throughout high school, Paluch would work as a caddy at a local country club in the suburbs of Chicago, carrying bags and assisting golfers on the course as needed. During this time, and unbeknownst to him, he was forming the skills that would serve him in his role as Minister for Student Leadership Development at St. Mary’s University, and offering pastoral services to the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences as needed.  

“I learned how to be a servant and I learned how to listen,” he said.  

Paluch is a member of the Society of Mary, a group of Catholic brothers, priests, sisters and lay people dedicated to emulating Mary as a model of faith. They’re commonly called Marianists. 

Every January, two of the order’s founders — Blessed William Joseph Chaminade and Adèle de Batz de Trenquelléon, also known as Blessed Marie of the Conception — are recognized during Marianist Heritage Month. St. Mary’s also honors five members of the University’s community with Marianist Heritage Awards during this time, recognizing those who showcase faithfulness to the University’s Marianist heritage.  

Before educating in faith, Paluch’s first choice in his passion for service was to become a teacher.  

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and History from the University of Dayton in 2006, Paluch finally agreed to go on a retreat with the Marianist on campus to see if that pathway was for him.  

Already having an admiration of the Marianists on campus and seeing how their lives were not “cookie cutters” of what the priesthood could be, becoming a Marianist was always on his mind as he earned a master’s degree in Education while serving with the Loyola Marymount University Partners in a Catholic teacher service corps in Los Angeles. 

While teaching social studies and history to middle schoolers, Paluch said he knew it was time to finally decide his future. 

“During that time, I told myself, ‘You can only go on so many retreats and you can only read so many books before you have to take a risk and see whether this is where God is calling me,’” he said.  

Professing his first vows in 2012, Paluch was ordained as a priest in August 2020 and was sent to St. Mary’s University’s neighbor, Holy Rosary Parish, which included sacramental ministry at Marianist-sponsored locations. In 2021, he moved to a full-time role at St. Mary’s. 

The Rev. John Thompson, S.M., Ed.D., the University’s Vice President for Mission said Paluch formed Praying with the Marianists — an evening prayer held on campus six times a year; and Prayer Pals, through which the St. Mary’s community and alumni share prayer requests.

“I am so inspired by our students. In so many of them, I have seen goodness, kindness, hard work, a lack of entitlement, humility, sweetness and a love for God.” 

The Rev. Brandon Paluch, S.M.

Paluch also works with the Marianists Leadership Program — a faith-based leadership and service program that cultivates and nurtures family spirit — and uploads Sunday homilies to the podcast , or “Son of Mary,” which launched during the coronavirus pandemic.��

He also participates in the Blessing of the Cars, an event at St. Mary’s where commuter students have their vehicles prayed over for safe travels.

Thompson praised Paluch’s work at St. Mary’s. 

“Father Brandon is one of the hardest workers I know,” Thompson said. “He gives his all for the mission, for the students and for the Marianists. Not only does he have a great attention to detail, but he also has a compassionate heart.” 

Paluch said, if given a choice, he would like to spend his entire career at St. Mary’s. He said the dedication to Catholic teachings and the student’s dedication to the Marianist mission make the campus a great place to work.  

“I am so inspired by our students,” he said. “In so many of them, I have seen goodness, kindness, hard work, a lack of entitlement, humility, sweetness and a love for God.” 

by Leticia Romero

If you were in Texas during the catastrophic winter storm of 2021, what many referred to as Snowvid, you may have experienced the turmoil of what it was like to live without running water.

For homeowner Lisa Woods, that upheaval continued over the next two years, and she’s still living without running water. A simple house title stood between her and much-needed home repairs.

“Both of my uncles had originally bought the house with cash and put my grandmother’s name on the title. My grandmother put one of my uncle’s names on the property. When my grandmother passed, she passed the house on to my mother, and my mother passed it on to me,” Woods said.

This unclear title passage is called a clouded or tangled title in the legal community.

At the advice of a friend, Woods called the St. Mary’s University School of Law in hopes of getting legal help she couldn’t afford otherwise.

Clearing titles and postponing or avoiding evictions, among other legal housing battles, are the primary focus of the St. Mary’s Law students, staff attorneys and faculty in the , the latter of which started in Fall 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.

“There is a very thin line between housing and homelessness,” said , who serves as both a 91ߣ����Ƶing Clinical Assistant Professor and Supervising Attorney for the Housing Rights Project at St. Mary’s Law. “For many students, being able to serve their community and make a difference in this way is one of the major reasons why they came to law school.”

St. Mary’s Law operates five clinical programs, all housed in the Center for Legal and Social Justice building. Law students are eligible to enroll beginning in their second year. Third-year J.D. student Katherine Chevalier of San Antonio said her confidence has grown through her clinical work.

“At St. Mary’s, you’re surrounded by amazing people,” Chevalier said. “I could never imagine myself talking before a judge. I didn’t think I had that in me. But being able to advocate for someone else who doesn’t have a voice, who doesn’t know how to bring their case before a judge, really changed that for me.”

Consumer Protection Clinic

One of the concerns of local and federal governments during the COVID-19 pandemic was that a massive unemployment spike would lead to, in Zlotnick’s words, “an eviction tsunami,” leaving many people homeless.

Help is in great demand. For instance, the hotline received nearly 1,300 voicemails in 2022. Some calls were general inquiries or return calls, but the majority were tenants facing a housing crisis. School of Law Paralegal Rita Arce is the first to screen the calls. Arce got emotional when describing the distress of some of the callers.

“You hear them pleading with you on the phone,” Arce said. “A lot of people just fell on hard times, and now they have a job and are catching up with the bills, and they have kids.”

Rising to the need in Spring 2020, , Clinical Professor of Law, spearheaded the creation of the Consumer Protection Clinic’s Housing Hotline with support from Zlotnick and the Pro Bono Program team. The operation features a call-back hotline at which tenants facing evictions and other real estate-related problems can leave a message.

“There is a very thin line between housing and homelessness”

Greg Zlotnick

Arce then makes the tough decisions to refer callers elsewhere or route them for a 30-to-45-minute consultation with student attorneys under the supervision of staff lawyers. Clinic students conduct interviews, research a course of action, get approval from their supervising attorney and relay next steps.

In August 2021, the St. Mary’s School of Law was one of 99 law schools that responded to the U.S. Attorney General’s call to action to address the housing and eviction crisis. At a 2022 White House virtual convening, St. Mary’s Law, along with the other schools, was recognized as a law school committed to meaningful action toward expanding access to justice and increasing housing stability, through initiatives like the Housing Hotline.

The Consumer Protection Clinic also wrapped up 332 matters related to tenants’ rights and eviction prevention in 2022. This included advice, referral, information provided on the hotline and direct representation in courtroom proceedings.

Third-year J.D. student Larissa Jackson of Queens, New York, is in her second year of clinic work and said this experience is laying a solid foundation for her legal career.

“One thing that I love about the clinic is that they don’t just say, ‘Yes, you should do this,’ or ‘No, you need to do this,’” Jackson said. “Faculty work with you to use the information you’ve learned through the class part of clinic and think through what would be the best outcome in this scenario for this client.”

The eviction crisis and government funding

According to the nonprofit Texas Housers, there were 17,900 evictions filed in Bexar County in 2022 — an average of 49 filed per day, with 76% of cases won by the landlord. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gave the City of San Antonio an eviction protection grant of $2.4 million to expand tenants’ access to legal representation. The City allocated $690,000 of the grant to the St. Mary’s Consumer Protection Clinic to support the School of Law in its eviction protection work.

Along with St. Mary’s Law, other sub-recipients of the funding included Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) and San Antonio Legal Services Association (SALSA). St. Mary’s and TRLA receive grant funding from HUD’s Eviction Protection Grant Program, while SALSA and TRLA receive grant funding from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to provide eviction prevention legal services. Representatives from the four entities frequently collaborate.

“When one brick falls, all the others fall as well”

Lizbeth Parra Davila (J.D. ’19)

Kristen Adams (J.D. ’18), attorney for SALSA, said there are many misconceptions about tenants facing eviction.

“I don’t think I ever met a tenant who didn’t want to pay their rent,” Adams said. “I can tell you the type of horrors I’ve heard are kind of a Sophie’s Choice as far as, ‘Am I going to pay rent?’ or ‘Am I going to bury
my son?’”

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid attorney Lizbeth Parra Davila (J.D. ’19) said evictions can trigger a tremendous downward spiral for tenants — from preventing them from finding new housing, which could lead to homelessness or general housing instability — which is especially detrimental to households with children.

“When one brick falls, all the others fall as well,” Davila said.

Real Estate Clinic

While its recent focus has been eviction prevention, historically, the Consumer Protection Clinic handles a range of consumer-related issues, from deceptive trade practices to other consumer-related matters like homeowner Lisa Woods’ clouded title. Fajardo created the Real Estate Clinic as a standalone transactional clinic.

“When you don’t have the title to a home, you can’t use the equity that you have in the home. You can’t get repairs. You can’t sell it,” Fajardo said. “Often in San Antonio, it’s someone’s primary asset. Their only form of wealth is in their home.”

The Real Estate Clinic works as a legal mechanism to try to get a clear title to their homes. They help with property taxes and exemptions, if there’s a threat of foreclosure, and with basic estate planning for clients, particularly if they had a tangled title in the past.

Woods was impressed by Fajardo and her team’s thoroughness as they dove into her family line to get the signatures needed to clear up her title. The St. Mary’s Law team has worked on this case for more than
100 days.

“It was pretty awesome the way they helped me out and got things taken care of,” Woods said. “It took a while with me because there are so many family members who I had to go through.”

Jessica Henry (J.D. ’23), attorney at Porter, Rogers, Dahlman and Gordon, P.C., said learning from Fajardo provided invaluable training.

“Professor Fajardo ended up getting Ancestry.com for us because we have these big, convoluted family trees to work with,” Henry said. “We’re digging through obituaries and looking for property records.
It was just a lot of title research and genealogy. I learned so much.”

San Antonio resident Bernadette Vasquez used the Housing Hotline after her landlord was trying to change the contract for a deed she already signed. Vasquez said the St. Mary’s Law students were kind and helped her resolve the situation.

“I’m very happy that the students are there to help people like me who don’t have the resources to contract a lawyer,” Vasquez said. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go, so I’m glad they took the chance to help me out with my situation.”

Know your rights

The clinical work extends beyond legal representation into educating the community about tenant rights through resource tables at public libraries, the Justice of the Peace courts around Bexar County and local nonprofits.

Law students Chevalier and Jackson wanted to expand these efforts. They collaborated with San Antonio Independent School District’s social workers for homeless youths, providing them with tenant rights information packets. The St. Mary’s Law clinic students also presented to Jefferson High School’s Graduation Club, a group that prepares students for life after high school.

“St. Mary’s Law has some of the best teachers I’ve ever had. They changed the game for me. It went from feeling like school to feeling like I had a purpose.”

Jessica Henry (J.D. ’23)

“A lot of them are going to be tenants themselves once they’re out of high school,” Jackson said. “This is stuff that I would have liked to have known as a young adult.”

The Real Estate and Consumer Protection Clinics’ work would not be possible without the unsung heroes of the clinic faculty, administration and staff.

“I’m the biggest cheerleader for the clinic,” Henry said. “St. Mary’s Law has some of the best teachers I’ve ever had. They changed the game for me. It went from feeling like school to feeling like I had a purpose.”

Rebuilding brick by brick

With the help of the St. Mary’s Law clinic team, Woods is on the path to getting her much-needed home repairs and running water. Woods said the title had been held up by two family members who had refused to sign the title papers. It was Fajardo who finally got a judge to sign off on the title by showing the family members had not paid any taxes or made any contributions to the property.

“Thank God, the judge agreed, and now I have the house in my name,” Woods said.

by Leticia Romero

, is a self-proclaimed “farm girl from North Carolina.” As a child, her first encounter with an attorney was at a county commissioner’s office, where the local farmers had hired a lawyer to represent them in a rezoning dispute.

“I was so impressed by how articulate she was and how she was able to advocate for the rights of these farmers in front of the county commissioners,” Lampley said.

This desire to champion on behalf of a cause became a calling for Lampley, inspiring her to attend Wake Forest University School of Law and focus much of her legal work on preventing forced labor in international supply chains.

Now the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and South Texas Professor of Law, Lampley said that before joining the St. Mary’s University School of Law, the University’s mission piqued her interest.

“The emphasis on social justice and components of the Marianist mission were a huge draw for me,” Lampley said. “It changed the trajectory of my life.”

Safeguarding supply chains

From 2017 to 2018, Lampley served as chair of the American Bar Association’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Subcommittee on Sale of Goods. The broader UCC committee provides timely information and trains its members and the wider bar on recent developments in commercial law, commercial transactions and commercial practices. Her interactions in this subcommittee compelled her to learn more about forced labor, including child labor, and how it was a significant problem in international supply chains.

“Under American law, a large sports retailer, hypothetically, agrees to buy 100 soccer balls from a company in another country,” Lampley posed an example. “If the company delivers the soccer balls according to the contract specifications, they have satisfied their end of the contract, regardless of how they were made, if there were environmental hazards or if they used 6-year-old kids to sew the soccer balls.”

After seeing the lack of disciplinary action, Lampley worked with the subcommittee to create Model Contract Clauses, which domestic companies use in international supply agreements requiring the supplier to meet terms that include human rights.

“That is a humanitarian tragedy in and of itself, which my work and the work of others is trying to avoid.”

Ramona Lampley

“Incorporating those terms would give the American company the legal grounds to refuse products when they found out they’d been made with abusive labor,” Lampley said. “The international community does want the means to have a contractual remedy when they find abusive labor practices.”

In 2019, Lampley published an article in the American University Law Review titled . Her research centered on whether U.S. courts would hold companies liable when they knowingly benefit from forced labor in their supply chain.

Lampley’s research continued in a forthcoming article to be published in 2024, in which she dove deeper into victim recovery.

“If there’s an abuse of labor in the supply chain here in the United States, there is typically an avenue for recovery against the employer, but a lot of times, these victims don’t have a voice or someone to bring the claim or even know that there is an avenue for recovery,” Lampley said. “That is a humanitarian tragedy in and of itself, which my work and the work of others is trying to avoid.”

by Samantha Mendoza

David Louis is proof that it’s never too late to start a new career.

After serving 20 years as a combat medic in the United States Army, Louis received his J.D. degree from the St. Mary’s University School of Law in 2020. Using his military mindset to excel in his studies, he eventually made the leap from St. Mary’s to clerk for the Supreme Court of Texas.

“St. Mary’s really prepares you to hit the ground running and practice law,” Louis said. “All of my professors had an amazing role to play in my journey.”

The son of Haitian immigrants, Louis was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Unsure of which career to pursue, but propelled by his interest in health science, Louis enlisted in the Army at age 18.

As a combat medic who served in Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan, he managed teams of medics in the combat field, providing them with the equipment and training to distribute medicine and care where most needed. 

After exactly 20 years and seven days of service, Louis was ready for a new career challenge. Recognizing the racial disparities many minorities in the U.S. face when trying to access legal services, Louis realized that studying and practicing law could allow him to help himself, his family and others, no matter which career path he chose to pursue.

Louis enrolled in the St. Mary’s School of Law as a first-generation college student. A standout scholar, he became the Managing Executive Editor of and was inducted into the Harlan Society.

“Entering a new field, I felt like I was starting from the bottom. I was self-conscious, but St. Mary’s prepared me to be a great researcher and writer,” he said. “St. Mary’s was instrumental to me becoming confident in my analytical skills.”

Louis’ academic excellence led professors to set high expectations for him; so high, in fact, that Professor of Law , nominated him for an opportunity with the highest court in the state.

“I was so impressed by David’s ability to get to the heart of legal issues that I recommended him for a Texas Supreme Court internship,” Kauffman said. “Based on his skills, he parlayed that into a full clerkship with the Texas Supreme Court. That is the best preparation possible for law practice in Texas.”

“St. Mary’s really prepares you to hit the ground running and practice law. All of my professors had an amazing role to play in my journey.”

David Louis

Louis clerked for Justice Rebeca A. Huddle, J.D., which allowed him to hone his skills with some of the top legal authorities in the state. Louis now practices civil defense law at Valdez & Treviño Attorneys at Law, PC, in San Antonio.

He remains connected to St. Mary’s Law as a mentor, as an executive committee member of the law school’s Board of 91ߣ����Ƶors and through his participation in the for those who give $1,000 or more annually.

“I left New York at a young age, and St. Mary’s is the first place where I felt a sense of community. It was like the TV show Cheers, where everyone knows your name,” Louis said. “I’ve made a promise that whenever the School of Law needs anything, I’ll do my best to help, whether it be financially or through mentoring other students. St. Mary’s will always have a special place in my heart.”   

by Suzi Morales

Julia Mann (J.D. ’94) has held just about every job one could have at a law firm.

She is the managing partner of Jackson Walker LLP’s San Antonio office and led the firm’s move to its new location at the recently opened Jefferson Bank building near The Pearl. Still, her legal career had a decidedly more humble start.

As a high school student, she worked at the law office of her father, George T. Wommack Jr., a litigator with 50 years of experience in Lake Jackson.

“One summer, I was the assistant to the runner, which means I did everything from cleaning the boss’ fish tank to making sure those paper filings that we used to do in the old days got to the courthouse on time and returned with that actual file stamp on them,” she recalled.

As a student at the St. Mary’s University School of Law, Mann continued to value practical experience, particularly with and the.

Beyond giving her a solid foundation in legal writing and advocacy, these activities taught her time management and how to forge meaningful relationships with peers.

“I enjoy having relationships with my opposing counsel,” Mann said. “I don’t want to fight with them about silly things, but let’s fight about substantive things. Let’s trust each other. It’s better for our clients in the long run.”

Mann has been a litigator her entire career, assisting clients from oil and gas to banking. For many of her clients who are leaders in their respective fields, being a party to a lawsuit and not being able to control the situation is a new experience. Mann takes pride in listening to them and serving as their voices in complex legal situations.

Mann continues to be an active presence at St. Mary’s Law, including as a new member of the law school’s Board of 91ߣ����Ƶors. She particularly enjoys sharing her experience as a guest lecturer, including during a recent visit to the leadership class of St. Mary’s Law Dean

“Julia Mann’s exceptional leadership and lawyering skills have enabled her to succeed in positions and practice areas traditionally dominated by men,” Roberts said. “She’s achieved her professional success alongside the joy of raising her family and serving her community.”

In August 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, Jackson Walker’s San Antonio office moved into the new building at 1900 Broadway. Mann and other firm leaders were deliberate about the work environment they hoped to cultivate. That care can be found in everything from easy access to parking to ample conference space serving as a hub for the firm and the San Antonio community.

“Julia Mann’s exceptional leadership and lawyering skills have enabled her to succeed in positions and practice areas traditionally dominated by men. She’s achieved her professional success alongside the joy of raising her family and serving her community.”

Patricia Roberts

There are few physical similarities between Jackson Walker’s new office and her father’s small-town practice. For one thing, there’s no fish tank for her to clean as she did in her father’s office.

“Our new office reflects a more modern law practice,” she remarked.

According to Mann, her early experience working for her dad “shaped me into a servant leader.”

“I will not ask anyone to do a task that I am not willing to do, and in many cases have actually done, myself,” she said.

The lessons she learned at St. Mary’s Law about building relationships with colleagues and competitors shaped her into the lawyer she is today.

Even though the surroundings have changed since those days, some things remain the same.

by Nathaniel Miller

C. Gregory Shamoun (J.D. ’89) jokes he didn’t know where the Sarita Kenedy East Law Library was located during his first semester at the St. Mary’s University School of Law.

Before attending St. Mary’s, however, he received his bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Mississippi and his graduate degree in Finance from Dallas Baptist University, so he was familiar with the concept of university libraries.

However, after his first semester at St. Mary’s Law, Shamoun’s GPA was below what was required to continue. He said some doubted he would be able to raise his grades and advised him several times to find a different career path.

Undeterred, Shamoun “found that library,” which he discovered was a “wonderful place.” He not only raised his GPA, but also graduated and became a sought-after attorney in Dallas.

Now president of C. Gregory Shamoun, P.C., and managing partner at Shamoun & Norman LLP, Shamoun spoke fondly of his time at St. Mary’s, calling his experience in the classroom and with the School of Law’s beneficial to his education.

“The St. Mary’s School of Law handed me the experience to go do something with my life,” said Shamoun, whose son, Alex Shamoun, now attends St. Mary’s Law. “I’ve utilized those tools by getting my license, running a law firm and giving back to those I can.”

Success did not come easy, Shamoun said. After passing the bar exam, he looked for employment before a friend hired him to work his first case in Denton. A year later, he was brought on for a wrongful death case in Dallas County, where the jury rendered a verdict in favor of his client in about 90 minutes.

During his career, Shamoun has represented numerous high-profile clients ranging from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to making national news for bringing a donkey named Buddy to testify on its own behalf.

Due to a connection made during his time at the St. Mary’s Law’s summer program, the , Austria, Shamoun became a special adviser to Austria’s Swarovski family, known worldwide for their jewelry.

But being in the courtroom is where Shamoun said he feels most comfortable.

“The St. Mary’s School of Law handed me the experience to go do something with my life. I’ve utilized those tools by getting my license, running a law firm and giving back to those I can.”

C. Gregory Shamoun

“Once you find what you’re great at in the practice of law, whatever field it’s in, your day is going to be more enjoyable,” he said. “Your time is going to be spent more efficiently, and you’re going to be a happier person because you can feel the greatness in what you do.”

Shamoun also makes it a point to give back to the community. As a practicing Catholic, he served as an adviser to the board of trustees for Catholic Charities Dallas and works with Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. He also helped bring to the Stockyards in Fort Worth a museum dedicated to the life of movie star John Wayne called John Wayne: An American Experience.

Each year, he provides pro bono work to those who need an attorney but cannot otherwise afford the service. That type of work, he said, is most important when it comes to the services an attorney can provide.

“That, to me, is more rewarding than the balance of my bank account,” he said.

by Jennifer R. Lloyd (M.B.A. ’16)

Where some would display a clichéd motivational poster in their office, perhaps with a soaring eagle and platitude about leadership, Tyler J. Ryska (J.D. ’17) has an enlarged photograph of a toxin-filled yard stacked with paint cans and metal drums that have burned and contaminated the soil.

The Austin-based attorney has founded a new nonprofit, , born out of this inauspicious image, which stems from a legal case he encountered at his day job. As an assistant attorney general, Ryska worked first with the Texas Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Division and now the Utilities and Special Issues Team.

Through donations and other funding sources, The Clean Initiative Project facilitates the clean-up of contaminated properties and drinking water, aiming to help properties in Texas and California, where Ryksa grew up. For now, the first projects are in Comal County.

“I’m cleaning up the environment for my kids and the kids all throughout Texas,” Ryska said. “I don’t care how much in civil penalties or attorney’s fees I collect. I just want the property to be cleaned up. That was a big reason why I started The Clean Initiative Project.”

“I’m cleaning up the environment for my kids and the kids all throughout Texas.”

Tyler J. Ryska

The original photo depicts a case that was already underway before Ryksa joined the Environmental Protection Division. A property owner in Harlingen received paint to remix and sell out of his junkyard. The state sued the owner to clean up his property in a legal fight that dragged on for years until a fire burned down the paint barrels leaving contamination, which the owner is still slowly trying to clean up as he can afford to do so.

After working with the property owner for about five years, Ryska thought there had to be a better way to help clean up properties for people with low incomes. The scenarios Ryska sees most often are the “self-inflicted wound” areas where property owners have contaminated it themselves. Some of them may have mental illnesses, such as hoarding disorder. Others inherited property covered in solid waste or purchased property unaware of environmental contamination.

“That was the catalyst of The Clean Initiative Project: trying to find a way that, instead of the state continuing to sue people, using all these resources on the state side, and, in the end, not really seeing the fruits of the labor and seeing the property cleaned up, maybe there could be an alternative way to help people without the state getting involved.”

Ryska realized his passion for environmental law while taking an elective at the St. Mary’s University School of Law, where he was also on the .

Professor of Law , said Ryska helped lead lively discussions in his class. Professor of Law , added that he was grateful to have been one of Ryska’s teachers along the way.

“Tyler was a superb student who skillfully blended intellectual insights and heartfelt idealism with plenty of good, old-fashioned studying and class participation,” Teeter said. “I’m extremely proud of Tyler’s work in the Environmental Protection Division.”

Ryska’s work aligns with the University’s commitment to Pope Francis’ seven-year action plan to implement environmental sustainability measures, known as the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.

“Ultimately, you’re not just helping that person, but you’re helping the community, the city, the county, and anywhere that we’re able to reach out and help people,” Ryska said.

by Jennifer R. Lloyd (M.B.A. ’16)

Many may see Alex Pérez (J.D. ’96) as an international attorney, a tax law expert or a leader in San Antonio’s philanthropic efforts as the San Antonio Area Foundation’s board chair. But he views himself, fundamentally, as an interpreter.

His Chilean father arrived in the United States at age 16 before joining the U.S. Army, gaining citizenship and meeting Pérez’s American mother. Pérez grew up in a Spanish-speaking household, moving between Chile and the United States before finishing high school in Mexico City.

Pérez described a childhood of frequent moves as his family looked for economic opportunity in the U.S. When Chile’s economy faltered, many of his relatives joined his parents, living under one roof in the U.S.

“I grew up as a bridge between cultures, as an interpreter of cultures between my family and the outside world,” Pérez said. “As a 10-year-old kid, I would interpret the world for my grandparents, who did not speak English, and go to Kmart to ask about my grandmother’s stockings if she had a question.”

“I grew up as a bridge between cultures, as an interpreter of cultures between my family and the outside world.”

Alex Pérez

Pérez grew comfortable navigating the liminal space between American culture and his family’s cultural background. This skill proved key to his career journey, both as a German linguist in the U.S. Army Reserves, during a break from his undergraduate studies at Purdue University in Indiana, and in his current international legal expertise.

As an attorney at Clark Hill and the member-in-charge of the firm’s Mexico City office, Pérez represents Latin American businesses and high-net-worth families in their investments and expansion of operations into the United States.

“That’s the tie to what I do as a lawyer: I, essentially, serve as an interpreter between two cultures, two legal systems and two languages,” Pérez said.

Birth and taxes

For Pérez, the draw to study law arose out of a combined love of rhetoric, argumentation and logic he discovered during high school debate and Model United Nations, along with a touch of romanticism for trial law from reading John Grisham’s A Time to Kill.

Pérez decided to attend the St. Mary’s University School of Law to be closer to his mother who lived in the area and because of the law school’s approach to ensuring the success of its Latino students. A nontraditional student, Pérez married and welcomed his first of three children during law school.

“I have fond memories of bringing my son in my papoose strapped to my front, going into class and burping him in the middle of the professor’s lecture when my wife couldn’t take him,” Pérez recalled.

Though, initially, he practiced trial law after graduation, two tax law classes with Professor of Law , planted a seed that later propelled him to earn an LL.M. in Taxation from the New York University School of Law.

“I always enjoy following the achievements of former students, and it is especially gratifying to know that Alex’s remarkable journey in tax law began in my introductory course,” Cochran said. “His intellectual curiosity and his demonstrated commitment to public service provide an inspiring example to current and future students.”

Equitable transactions

Pérez became a tax and corporate lawyer at the San Antonio firm formally called Cox Smith for many years, often representing Mexican and Latin American clients, and worked as a corporate lawyer handling international business matters in Amsterdam for a medical device company.

“I always knew I had this international component that was built into me in my upbringing and heritage,” Pérez said. “I wanted to go into transnational legal work, and transactional work lends itself to that.”

“I always knew I had this international component that was built into me in my upbringing and heritage.”

Alex Pérez

He later co-founded Sañudo Pérez, PLLC, in Mexico City and San Antonio, to handle Mexico-U.S. transactions before joining Clark Hill two years ago. His work now focuses on nearshoring, which he defines as a “switch in a multinational corporation’s manufacturing operations from Asia back to, in this case, Mexico and the United States.”

Threaded throughout his career lies a commitment to service in keeping with the St. Mary’s University mission, which included joining the board of the in 2016. In January 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, Pérez became chairman of the Area Foundation’s board of directors, which oversees the philanthropic powerhouse with a balance sheet of more than
$1 billion in assets.

“It has been great to have Alex contribute to our board in general and in the chairmanship this year in particular,” said Lisa Brunsvold, interim CEO of the San Antonio Area Foundation. “It’s never easy to lead during times of transition, so Alex has really stepped up in his role as board chairman in providing constructive feedback to senior staff and making himself available to the entire Area Foundation team. We look forward to his continued leadership as we gear up for our 60th anniversary in 2024.”

The Area Foundation gave out $57.6 million in grants to nonprofits throughout San Antonio and Central Texas in 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.

“All the grants that we give have one thing in common, and that is that they’re devoted to our concept of equity,” Pérez said. “That is the idea of closing the gaps among those who need it the most, devoting our resources to some of the poorest zip codes in the country that are all, unfortunately, in San Antonio. So, I’m very proud of that mission.”������

by Leticia Romero

On Dec. 9, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, Meagan Folmar (J.D. ’23) walked across the stage at St. Mary’s University’s Alumni Athletics & Convocation Center and into her new life as a law school graduate. 

While the academic experience at the proved challenging, she expects her days of pushing through life and legal challenges to continue. After passing the bar exam, Folmar of San Antonio, plans to join the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, a government law organization more commonly called JAG. She is set to leave for the Direct Commision Course in August 2024. The course is a six-week intensive physical, weapons and leadership course that will prepare Folmar to serve as an officer in the U.S. Army.����

Gold & Blue Law Edition sat down with Folmar to discuss her School of Law experience and career plans.  

Q: Where did you earn your undergraduate degree, and what drew you to apply to the St. Mary’s University School of Law? 

A: For undergrad, I went to the University of Texas at San Antonio. I studied cybersecurity and graduated in 2019. I went into civilian service as a U.S. Air Force intelligence intern, and something about working in IT never felt quite right. People always told me that I should go to law school because I love reading and writing, but I wasn’t convinced. As time went by in my internship, I started thinking about it more and more. One day, I ordered an LSAT book, and the rest was history. 

Q: What was an impactful moment during your time at law school St. Mary’s Law? 

A: Joining the was the most impactful part of my experience. As a first-year J.D. student, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to join the National Team’s Trial Team or Moot Court Team. After sitting down and going to the Trial Team informational session, I remember the team captain, a third-year J.D. student at the time, stood up before all of us and gave this closing argument. Something about it resonated with me. It’s why I got so interested in the Trial Team.  

Learning to think on my feet and being in high-pressure situations without feeling 100% prepared — because a lot can happen — is helpful for my future career since I’m trying to go into JAG and help represent soldiers. 

Q: What would you say to the person who is talking themselves out of law school right now? 

A: Law school can be very intense. You have to find that inner resolve on those difficult days when it feels like all your time is gone. Find your purpose for wanting to do this, see that resolve in yourself and remember to find a moment for rest now and again.  

Q: What faculty or staff member positively impacted your education here at St. Mary’s Law? 

A: Professor of Law , was an amazing professor. He helped write a letter of recommendation from his military attorney’s perspective. Professor of Law , did the same. He’s probably one of my favorite professors, along with Associate Dean for Academic Affairs , and Assistant Dean for Advocacy Programs They take an invested interest and go the extra mile to help students with their classes and in their careers. It’s a true community here at St. Mary’s Law. 

Q: Tell us about your plans to become a military lawyer and how the School of Law has prepared you for your career path.  

A: Most of my family is in the military, so I’ve always been around it. I joined the Army National Guard in 2020. I’ve always wanted to go to JAG. I went to a JAG session on campus once and met some great mentors who’ve been helping me along the way. If all goes well, I’m leaving for training in August 2024.��

Following a national search, the St. Mary’s University Board of Trustees has unanimously appointed Winston Erevelles, Ph.D., as the next president of St. Mary’s University, beginning June 1, 2024.

St. Mary’s University, founded in 1852, is the first institution of higher learning in San Antonio and the oldest Catholic university in the Southwest. Erevelles will become the University’s 14th president.

Erevelles is a dedicated St. Mary’s community member who served 12 transformative years as Dean of the School of Science, Engineering and Technology from 2009 to 2021. Since then, he has been working on two new initiatives — the University’s anticipated Nursing Program and the creation of the three-story Blank Sheppard Innovation Center. Erevelles is also a Professor of Industrial Engineering.

“Winston will be a great champion for St. Mary’s University,” said Lynda Ellis (B.A.S. ’81), Chair of the Board of Trustees. “Those involved in the national search process demonstrated great enthusiasm for Winston’s candidacy for president, given his character and personal warmth, as well as his reputation and track record for advancing the St. Mary’s Catholic and Marianist mission and advocating for its distinctive education.”

St. Mary’s University enrolls 3,183 students in 75 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and law programs. As its first president of Asian descent, Erevelles will continue the University’s dedication to providing its inclusive student body with access to an academically excellent liberal arts education.

“I am deeply humbled by the trust and responsibility that the Board of Trustees has placed in me through this appointment to serve as the 14th President of St. Mary’s University,” Erevelles said. “St. Mary’s has been an integral part of our city and region for more than 170 years, educating transformational leaders of character and faith who, in service to others, create a better world. Today, we remain a vibrant Catholic and Marianist university and a nationally recognized Hispanic-Serving Institution, steadfast in our purpose and mission.”

Erevelles received his master’s and Ph.D. in Engineering Management (Manufacturing Engineering) from what was then called the University of Missouri-Rolla. His bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering is from Bangalore University in India. He held several academic roles before joining St. Mary’s, including as Program Director for Manufacturing Engineering at Kettering University in Michigan, and as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania.

In 2015, Erevelles was named a Fellow by the organization ABET, which is the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. In January, Erevelles will also become the President of the Board for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME).

“I have had the pleasure of working closely with Winston during my time at St. Mary’s and seeing firsthand his innovative mindset and authentic love of our unique Marianist mission,” said retiring St. Mary’s President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D. “This historic institution could not have found a better leader to fill the role of its next president.”

Michael “Mickey” Schott (B.B.A. ’68), Chair of the Presidential Nominating Committee, said that, among the many candidates considered through the national search process, the Committee members were pleased to find that the top choice was already serving here at St. Mary’s.

“Though we weighed the strengths of many qualified applicants for this role, the Committee members were delighted to know that our own community has had the privilege of helping develop the best of the best,” Schott said.

Ellis said Erevelles understands that the University’s continued success will require an inspiring vision and a set of strategic priorities that advance St. Mary’s in tangible and meaningful ways. Achieving this strategic vision means that, under Erevelles’ leadership, St. Mary’s must continue building on the historic success of The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign, which concluded in 2021 after raising $165 million.

Erevelles demonstrated his ability to fundraise while serving as the Dean of the School of Science, Engineering and Technology. During the campaign, the School of Science, Engineering and Technology secured more than $45 million in gifts and grants to modernize labs, provide state-of-the-art equipment for learning and research, advance STEM education and create a drone lab. Under Erevelles’ successful leadership, the School of Science, Engineering and Technology vastly improved its facilities and its educational programs and opportunities, Ellis said.

“I look forward to working closely with the Board of Trustees, St. Mary’s leadership, the campus community and our alumni as we write the next chapter on our journey to becoming one of the finest private universities in the Southwest,” Erevelles said.

I am delighted to announce that the St. Mary’s University Board of Trustees has unanimously appointed Winston Erevelles, Ph.D., as the next President of St. Mary’s University, beginning June 1, 2024. Winston is a treasured and dedicated member of the St. Mary’s community, who served 12 transformative years as Dean of the School of Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) from 2009 to 2021. Since then, he has been working on the development of two new initiatives — the University’s Nursing Program and the Blank Sheppard Innovation Center.

National search enables St. Mary’s to select the most qualified candidate

Those involved in the search process demonstrated great enthusiasm for Winston’s candidacy for President, given his character and personal warmth, as well as his reputation and track record for advancing the St. Mary’s Catholic and Marianist mission and advocating for its distinctive education. Winston models and lives the Marianist charism in word and deed, and he and his wife, Chris, are dedicated and engaged in their Catholic faith. Their love and affection for St. Mary’s is deep and authentic.

We selected Winston following a national search that began with more than 60 quality candidates from higher education leadership positions. The process included interviews with groups representing our core St. Mary’s community — Trustees, faculty, staff, students, Marianists and alumni — that provided survey feedback on the finalist candidates. Based on the survey results from these groups, including the Presidential Nominating Committee, the Board of Trustees learned that enthusiasm for Winston was very high, and actually among the highest for finalists in other presidential searches conducted by Consultant Scott Flanagan at Academic Search.

Winston embodies professional experience, academic excellence and the Marianist mindset

Winston understands the University’s continued success will require an inspiring vision and a set of strategic priorities that advance St. Mary’s in tangible and meaningful ways. Achieving this strategic vision means that, under Winston’s leadership, we must continue building on the historic success of The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign. Winston has demonstrated his ability to fundraise while serving as the SET Dean. During the Campaign, SET secured more than $45 million in gifts and grants to modernize labs, provide state-of-the-art equipment for learning and research, advance STEM education and create a drone lab. Under Winston’s successful leadership, SET facilities and its educational programs and opportunities have vastly improved.

St. Mary’s, like many private colleges and universities across the nation, must continue to address value and affordability while implementing new innovative programs to attract students. Winston’s 35-year career as an engineer, manager, professor and leader has prepared him for this next important stage of his outstanding career, including tackling these challenges for St. Mary’s.

Winston received his master’s and Ph.D. in Engineering Management (Manufacturing Engineering) from what was then called the University of Missouri-Rolla. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Bangalore University in India. He was named a Fellow by the ABET. ABET is the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. In January, Winston will also become the President of the Board for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). Winston is married to Christine “Chris” Erevelles, M.D., an emergency physician, medical director and system director for the Baptist Neighborhood Hospitals in San Antonio.

St. Mary’s University invites our community to greet our new leader

Winston will be a great champion for St. Mary’s University. I invite you to join me in assisting Winston to advance St. Mary’s mission to foster the formation of people in faith and educate leaders for the common good.

Also, please join me in expressing appreciation to the Presidential Nominating Committee and Trustee Mickey Schott for his leadership as Committee Chair. I am grateful to the Committee members and the representative groups who were generous with their time, energy and commitment to this important endeavor.

by Samantha Mendoza

Many consider themselves lifelong learners, but few have committed themselves to the pursuit of education quite like St. Mary’s University student Priya Bhakta (B.B.A. ’18, M.B.A. ’19).  

Bhakta is pursuing her Master of Jurisprudence with a Concentration in Compliance, Business Law and Risk — her third degree at St. Mary’s. By the time she completes the program in May, she will have spent more than 10 years as a St. Mary’s Rattler.��

“The University is like a second home for me,” Bhakta said. “The key Marianist pillars have made me who I am today.” 

Born and raised in San Antonio, Bhakta joined the St. Mary’s community with the goal of pursuing a career in Business Law after being inspired by her father. A lawyer in his home country of India, he was unable to practice law when he moved to the U.S. and, ultimately, became an entrepreneur.  

Having her dad as a role model, Bhakta said she always valued a legal education and “given his shift to entrepreneurship, I’ve always been interested in the legal component of business.” 

Bhakta completed a bachelor’s degree in Accounting in 2018. Little did she know India would soon play another role in shaping her professional trajectory.  

Through the Greehey School of Business, she joined a Spring Break trip to Bangalore, India, during her junior year, where she and other entrepreneurial-minded St. Mary’s students stayed with Marianists and developed a three-day start-up program promoting financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills for adult students at a vocational training center.  

“That trip solidified my decision to pursue my MBA,” Bhakta said.  

Bhakta completed her MBA in 2019 and became an auditor with USAA. But her dream of learning more about the law was never far from her mind. After receiving guidance and mentorship from professors of the St. Mary’s School of Law, Bhakta determined that the M.Jur. program was the best fit for her personal and professional goals. 

“What sets this M.Jur. Program apart from what’s offered at other universities is the community, the flexibility for working professionals, and the fact that it allows you to sit for the Compliance Certification Board exam to become a certified compliance risk officer,” she said.  

Being welcomed into this Marianist community has been life-changing.

Priya Bhakta (B.B.A. ’18, M.B.A. ’19)

Typically, professionals need to have completed about 500 hours of work in a compliance officer role in order to qualify for the exam.  

“As an independent auditor, I would have to transition into a compliance role, versus through this degree, I’m able to automatically sit for that exam without fulfilling those working requirements,” Bhakta said. “That’s a key factor.” 

In addition to balancing the demands of the program with her full-time job, Bhakta is a Teaching Assistant for Assistant Dean for Graduate Law Programs Shannon Sevier (J.D. ’07, M.P.A. ’21) in her Fundamental Law course. 

“Ms. Bhakta consistently contributes to the growth and success of her peers,” Sevier said. “Her outstanding mentoring and leadership abilities make her a shining example of what a dedicated student leader and professional should aspire to be. She embodies the qualities of a lifelong learner.” 

“Being welcomed into this Marianist community has been life-changing,” Bhakta said. “It makes you feel like you’re at home.” 

As the need for special education advocates��grows, the St. Mary’s University announces a new Master of Jurisprudence (M.Jur.) degree concentration in Special Education Advocacy, the first M.Jur. in the country focused on special education advocacy. The program has begun enrolling students for Spring 2024.��

According to the , 14.7% of students between the ages of 3 and 21 in the United States qualified for special education services during the 2021-2022 academic year. Percentages varied by state, from 11.7% in Texas to 20.5% in New York, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that employment of special education teachers and advocates is projected to grow 3% between 2020 and 2030.��

“As the destination for advancing legal education, St. Mary’s recognizes the critical need for grassroots advocates in our schools and champions the training of professionals in special education advocacy to shape policymaking,” Sevier said.

Assistant Dean for Graduate Law Programs Shannon Sevier (M.P.A. ’21, J.D. ’07)

The M.Jur. is a nonprofessional degree program that offers non-lawyers the opportunity to gain an understanding of the law. This new graduate degree concentration can aid school personnel, service providers and those advocating on behalf of students with disabilities and their families in gaining a greater understanding of the law in this area. It is the first and only such program to receive acquiescence from the American Bar Association. The M.Jur. degree requires the successful completion of 30 credit��hours that can be completed in two semesters if enrolled full time.��

“Rooted in our rich Marianist traditions, this innovative initiative at St. Mary’s exemplifies our commitment to fostering relevant discourse in social advocacy and embracing the powerful intersection of servant leadership with professional agency,” said Assistant Dean for Graduate Law Programs (M.P.A. ’21, J.D. ’07).��

St. Mary’s Law M.Jur. student Patricia Howey, who is completing her degree online from her home in Westpoint, Indiana, said her journey began when her youngest child was born with a severe disability, leading to her��creating a��special education advocacy practice. As the author of Special Education: Plain and Simple and a series of books centered on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Howey originally enrolled under the Education Law concentration, but recently declared her concentration as Special Education Advocacy.��

“I hope others will join me and enroll, taking one step toward making special education advocacy a true profession,” Howey said. 

Special Education Advocacy M.Jur. students will gain a general knowledge of the law and will graduate with the ability to better understand legal issues, such as statutes, regulations, contracts and employment matters. Sevier said this innovative concentration is just one example of how the St. Mary’s University School of Law is working to shape the legal community for the better.  

“As the destination for advancing legal education, St. Mary’s recognizes the critical need for grassroots advocates in our schools and champions the training of professionals in special education advocacy to shape policymaking,” Sevier said. “In a world where inclusivity and equitable education are paramount, this concentration not only fills a void but also propels our graduates to become catalysts for positive change.” 

St. Mary’s University is among three schools to which the National Science Foundation awarded $526,630 to create research experiences for undergraduates studying STEM with a focus on social change as defined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. 

Led by faculty at the University of Dayton in Ohio, Central State University in Ohio and St. Mary’s University, students in the 10-week summer program will explore responsible production and consumption of goods, including ways to reuse or recycle; access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all; technologies that provide an inclusive, equitable education; and using materials to treat contaminated water.  

“This grant allows our students and faculty mentors to engage in collaborative, interdisciplinary research with not only students and faculty across multiple institutions and subject areas, but with different social partners,” said Melissa Karlin, Ph.D., St. Mary’s Professor of Environmental Science. “The experience will bridge connections between STEM research and education with real-world needs identified by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Through this opportunity, we are preparing our students to go out into this world, reflecting on the St. Mary’s mission with an education in service, justice, peace, adaptation and change.” 

Open to undergraduate students nationwide studying science, technology, engineering and math, the program provides a $6,000 stipend, housing and meals at the campus hosting that summer’s session; professional development workshops on laboratory safety, research ethics, creating résumés, applying to graduate school, effective scientific communication, research skills and community engagement; and networking opportunities. ��

“This grant allows our students and faculty mentors to engage in collaborative, interdisciplinary research with not only students and faculty across multiple institutions and subject areas, but with different social partners.”

Melissa Karlin, Ph.D.

“Our goal is to mentor the next generation of STEM professionals to foster their STEM identity development and research skills to create positive social change,” said Kenya Crosson, Associate Dean for Faculty and Staff Affairs and Research at the University of Dayton’s School of Engineering, who will lead the project. “In addition to the faculty at the schools, students in the program will work with organizations that advance scientific discovery, knowledge and technology to achieve the U.N.’s sustainable development goals.” 

The University of Dayton will host in Summer 2024 before going to Central State University in 2025 and St. Mary’s University in 2026. 91ߣ����Ƶ the for more information and to apply. Applicants must be full-time students majoring in a STEM field or can be an undeclared science or engineering major in some cases, and not have completed their third year in college.

Learn more about St. Mary’s University’s sustainability efforts on the Gold and Blue Go Green webpage.

by David DeKunder

As a student at O’Connor High School in Helotes, Valeria Garza (B.S. ’18, M.B.A. ’21) visited a few local colleges before deciding St. Mary’s University was where she wanted to be.

It’s a decision, Garza said, which led to new opportunities in her life — professionally, academically and through community service.

“My journey at St. Mary’s has helped me to grow into a better person by nourishing the gifts God has given me and teaching me how to be present and serve my professional and personal communities,” she said.

“My journey at St. Mary’s has helped me to grow into a better person by nourishing the gifts God has given me and teaching me how to be present and serve my professional and personal communities.”

Valeria Garza (B.S. ’18, M.B.A. ’21)

Garza became a software engineer at USAA, where she mentors college students who are considering a career in software engineering. She said mentoring has been a rewarding experience for her, especially since she also interned at USAA while attending St. Mary’s. Garza started as an employee at the company in 2018 after graduating from St. Mary’s.

“I had a lot of very good mentors and a support system as an intern and as a new employee when I started five years ago at USAA,” Garza said. “I really wanted to help these interns feel that this was somewhere they could succeed and learn and be part of a community with an important mission.”

Being a software engineer wasn’t Garza’s first career choice. She chose to attend St. Mary’s because of the school’s Industrial Engineering program, through which she earned her bachelor’s degree.

The encouragement of two of her Industrial Engineering professors, Gopalakrishnan Easwaran, Ph.D., and Rafael Moras, Ph.D., prompted her to explore her career options beyond industrial engineering. Garza said both professors understood, like she did, that the skills she learned as an industrial engineer would prepare her for a career in information technology, if she chose to do that.

After working as a software engineer for one year, Garza decided to do postgraduate work at St. Mary’s through the MBA for Professionals program. Garza said she chose the program because it was a continuation of the valuable Marianist education she received as an undergraduate at St. Mary’s. Also, she said, the program provided flexible options to earn her MBA at her own pace, particularly during the pandemic when classes were moved to a virtual format.

“Our professors were very willing to accommodate student needs by providing options such as pre-recorded lectures, virtual office hours and flexible assignment deadlines,” Garza said. “Whether I was taking classes in-person or online, the professors were always generous in engaging students in discussion, encouraging peer collaboration, and helping students grow professionally through research projects and career advice.”

“Whether I was taking classes in-person or online, the professors were always generous in engaging students in discussion, encouraging peer collaboration, and helping students grow professionally through research projects and career advice.”

Valeria Garza (B.S. ’18, M.B.A. ’21)

Garza completed her MBA in 2021. She gave her insights and perspectives on what it is like to be a working professional to St. Mary’s graduate students at the Greehey School of Business as part of an alumni panel discussion during Research Week at the University in 2022.

In those talks, Garza emphasized how a group research project she helped conduct at St. Mary’s as an undergraduate in the Engineering Senior Design Project course helped her excel in her career. The focus of the project was how the San Antonio Food Bank could improve its processes in its day-to-day operations.

Ajaya Swain, Ph.D., the Associate Professor of Quantitative Management at St. Mary’s who oversees the Online MBA for Professionals, was one of Garza’s instructors in graduate school.

“To me, Valeria Garza is a remarkable individual who has excelled academically, demonstrated outstanding research capabilities, and exhibited a profound commitment to community service and education,” Swain said. “Her contributions serve as a source of inspiration to her peers and colleagues.”

by Nathaniel Miller 

Like many young people, Isabella “Bella” Tamez was steadfast in her decision not to follow in her family’s footsteps.  

Her stepfather, David Wiechmann, and her grandfather, Ruben Escobedo (B.B.A. ’60), worked as certified public accountants. Her grandfather, and his wife, Veronica Salazar Escobedo, have donated to St. Mary’s University over the years, including helping establish the Escobedo Saint John’s Bible Lecture Series. 

Tamez’s mother, Cristina Escobedo (M.P.A. ’97), is also an alumna of St. Mary’s University and worked with human resources for North East Independent School District.  

When Tamez was getting close to graduating from Antonian College Preparatory High School in San Antonio, she was already familiar with St. Mary’s because of the lecture series and from attending the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. Still, she was sure she wanted to go to school outside of San Antonio.  

But as a self-described “sometimes procrastinator,” Tamez knew she would get the best education at St. Mary’s. The 11-to-one student-to-teacher ratio and small class sizes would hold her accountable to herself and her classmates.  

Along with the focus on the Catholic and Marianist mission, and an education that served her family well, she decided St. Mary’s was the best and only choice for her. 

“I prefer small classes because if I have to decide between being in a huge auditorium with 100 people or a class with 12 people, I’ll take the class of 12,” Tamez said. “I’m glad that I did because it’s such a small community where you can find your place and meet so many people.” 

Initially a Marketing major, Tamez excelled in an Accounting class during her sophomore year. She changed her major to Accounting even though it meant delaying her graduation by a year. She walked the stage at Fall Commencement on Dec. 9.��

During her time at St. Mary’s, Tamez was able to form relationships with professors that she wouldn’t have been able to do at a larger university. One-on-one connections and networking were essential in her development.  

Joining the President’s Ambassadors program helped her get over her social anxiety and pushed her to be more comfortable in new settings. She also had the opportunity to meet with alumni, such as former Chair of the Board of Trustees Michael “Mickey” Schott (B.B.A. ’68). 

Tamez also worked closely with Thomas Madison, Ph.D., the Chair of the Department of Accounting, and the Ed Boyle Professor of Accounting, both in taking courses with him and working with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, or VITA. VITA provides free tax filing services to qualifying families.  

“Isabella was constantly kind, thoughtful and patient with all of the taxpayers we served, as well as the students and community members who volunteered in our VITA program,” Madison said. “Isabella is the type of person we will all be proud to call an alumna of St. Mary’s University.”   

“St. Mary’s is a Catholic and Marianist University, but you meet a lot of different people of different backgrounds and learn how to respect one another.”

Isabella Tamez

Her experience with VITA, along with an internship with Frost Bank, resulted in a job offer upon graduation as a trust officer with the organization. 

Her time at the University also helped her grow closer to her faith. During her Capstone seminar, Tamez’s class discussed current events that led to an open discussion about respect for others.  

“St. Mary’s is a Catholic and Marianist University, but you meet a lot of different people of different backgrounds and learn how to respect one another,” she said. “I’m really thankful I took these classes because they showed we may have different religions, but we share common goals, and that’s something we can all identify with.” 

The City of McAllen and St. Mary’s University have signed a memorandum of understanding to provide internship opportunities at the municipal organization for St. Mary’s students from the Rio Grande Valley.

The purpose of the program is to provide students with work-related experience in their chosen field of study or anticipated career field. While the goal is for students to use their skills to become more adept in and prepared for the workforce, the City of McAllen also hopes to develop a future workforce for municipal government in McAllen and the Rio Grande Valley.

“I am very excited about this unique partnership that the City of McAllen has developed with St. Mary’s University,” said McAllen City Manager Roel “Roy” Rodriguez, P.E. “A career in municipal government is not only rewarding, but also truly a way to give back to the community in which one lives. Working in the public sector aligns with the St. Mary’s mission of the servant leader, and I am proud the City of McAllen will be able to offer that opportunity for students from McAllen and throughout the Rio Grande Valley who wish to come back and make a difference as interns and, hopefully, as alumni as well.”

Aside from providing a paid internship in the students’ disciplines, the City of McAllen also hopes to develop leadership, mentoring and meaningful work skills for the interns. The internship is open to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as students from the St. Mary’s University School of Law. 

Multiple academic fields of study can be accepted, including: Communications, Marketing, Business, Criminal Justice, Criminology, Forensic Science, Sociology, History, International and Global Studies, Math, Data Analytics, Computer Science, Engineering, the Master of Public Administration, the Master of Business Administration and the Master of Jurisprudence.

“As part of our Catholic and Marianist mission, St. Mary’s University is dedicated to helping students discover their purpose and vocation,” said Stephanie Ward, Ph.D., St. Mary’s Vice Provost for Student Success and Vocation. “This partnership enables St. Mary’s to connect students with valuable opportunities in McAllen, gain experience necessary to lead fulfilling careers and contribute to the workforce of one of the fastest growing cities in the nation.”

“This partnership enables St. Mary’s to connect students with valuable opportunities in McAllen, gain experience necessary to lead fulfilling careers and contribute to the workforce of one of the fastest growing cities in the nation.”

Stephanie Ward, Ph.D.

Many degree programs at St. Mary’s University require internships. However, for students from the Rio Grande Valley, unpaid or minimum-wage internships may pose a financial challenge for students to afford to live in San Antonio while participating in an internship program.  The partnership with the City of McAllen will allow these Rio Grande Valley students to return home while interning, gaining meaningful experience and a competitive wage and/or class credit, to help them as they work toward their degree.

A recent Census study showed that, after graduation, students from the Rio Grande Valley return home at a rate of 70%, more than students from any other area in the state.

Learn more about the St. Mary’s University Career and Professional Development Center.

St. Mary’s University will honor the accomplishments of its 276 new graduates with an in-person Commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 9.

The Fall 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ Commencement will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Alumni Athletics & Convocation Center, .

Sister Norma Pimentel, M.J., (M.A. ’89), executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, will be the Commencement speaker and will receive a Doctorate in Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Due to limited seating, tickets are required for all guests. The ceremony will also be livestreamed on the St. Mary’s Livestream Channel webpage, and the ceremony recording will be available for download at that URL following the ceremony.

The ceremony will celebrate the achievements of 276 new graduates, including 121 receiving bachelor’s degrees, 100 receiving master’s degrees, 47 receiving degrees from the School of Law and eight receiving doctoral degrees.

More about the Commencement speaker:

Norma Pimentel, M.J. (M.A. ’89), Sister with the Missionaries of Jesus and executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley

In recognition of her advocacy for migrants and humanitarian work along the U.S.-Mexico border, Pimentel has received the Catholic Charities USA Martin Luther King Jr. “Keep the Dream Alive” Award, Rio Grande Valley’s “Citizen of the Year,” TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and is the recipient of the University of Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, which is among the highest honors for an American Catholic.

Pimentel has testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on the “State of Civil Rights in Immigration Detention Facilities” and spoke on “Women Upholding Human Dignity” at the United Nations.

Pimentel graduated from then The University of Texas-Pan American with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She received her Master of Arts in Theology from St. Mary’s.

“Called by many Pope Francis’ favorite nun because of his recognition in 2015 of Sister Pimentel’s loving protection of migrants at the Border, Sister Pimentel has served since 2004 as Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley,” said St. Mary’s University President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D. “I am privileged to honor Sister Pimentel in celebration of her outstanding career of serving the most vulnerable among us — as she has done for many years — with respect and care, compassion and love.”

Additional information for the ceremony can be found on the University’s Commencement webpage.

by Jayden Mendez 

Environmental Science major Jose Cornejo has always been environmentally conscious.  

Growing up in Lima, Peru, he came from a Marianist high school that valued protecting God’s creation. He loved living there; however, he was always noticing how brown and polluted the beaches were. Taking God’s values to heart, he decided to do something about it. 

Now a junior at St. Mary’s University, Cornejo has taken steps toward helping the environment — one blade of grass at a time.  

To observe the difference between native and non-native plants, Cornejo began a project testing to see which are most sustainable, affordable and aesthetically pleasing.  

Just outside Garni Science Hall sit three boxes containing a mixture of plants. One contains only native plants, another all non-native plants and the third includes a half-and-half mixture. Cornejo expects to complete his project during the Spring 2024 semester. 

Before beginning, Cornejo talked to the University’s landscaping staff to get a feel for what type of plants already fill the St. Mary’s campus, finding most plants on campus are not native to San Antonio. Kentucky Blue Grass is common across campus but dries up quickly in the Texas heat.  

The goal is to incorporate plants that can endure the punishing summers and help conserve water while still being affordable. 

“In the fieldwork, I just tried to put three types of plants together to see which one of the three was most sustainable and, at the same time, was cheapest,” Cornejo said. 

Laudato Si’ integration

Cornejo’s mentor for this project, Professor of Environmental Science David Turner, Ph.D., said he believes Cornejo’s project will help St. Mary’s further its plan to be more environmentally friendly. 

“Laudato Si’ , on Care for Our Common Home, is Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on integral ecology.  Laudato Si’ is a seven-year action plan that launched in November 2021 in a call from Pope Francis to alleviate the climate change crisis. St. Mary’s was the first university in Texas, among a global cohort, to join the pope’s call to action.

Turner is chair of the Laudato Si’ Action Plan Development Committee, a team created at St. Mary’s to organize and develop a roadmap to meet those objectives.

“I have a brown thumb. I kill plants. But I knew Jose was very passionate about it, and he demonstrated that he was going to take charge of getting what he needed and be proactive.”  

David Turner, Ph.D.

Turner said Cornejo’s project can be a small step in helping the University toward that goal by finding out what sort of plants would be best for this region when it comes to issues of cost, sustainability and visual appeal. 

“I have a brown thumb. I kill plants,” Turner said. “But I knew Jose was very passionate about it, and he demonstrated that he was going to take charge of getting what he needed and be proactive.”  

The project, born out of a passion for helping the environment, will also integrate the Marianist values of protecting the Earth and will explore the diverse plant life at St. Mary’s. 

Although change won’t happen overnight, this project addresses biodiversity and building a framework for what plants will make St. Mary’s more environmentally friendly.  

“A non-native species doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with it. Our environments change and keep changing,” Cornejo said. “One of the greatest outcomes I got from this research is to promote biodiversity.” 

by Nathaniel Miller

Not long after taking the position of president of St. Mary’s University, Thomas M. Mengler, J.D., was sharing his vision with the Board of Trustees when he quoted one of the most famous lines from the film Casablanca about how this was the beginning of a “beautiful friendship.”

That partnership of almost 12 years saw Mengler — the second most famous face of the University behind Rattler Man — sharing his vision with others while expanding on the University’s Catholic and Marianist traditions to continue educating servant leaders for future generations. 

Now, the indefatigable Mengler will start a new chapter when he retires on May 31, 2024.

Since June 1, 2012, Mengler has guided the University through some of the biggest moments in its 171-year history: from overseeing the largest fundraising campaign in St. Mary’s history, creating more than a dozen new degrees and certificates, strengthening community ties in San Antonio and bolstering the University’s emphasis on integrating Catholic Intellectual Tradition into the educational experience.

In the last decade, a new residence hall, the foundation of the Blank Sheppard Innovation Center, a Drone Lab, and the additions of The Pub at St. Mary’s, the Contreras Family Terrace and Student Lounge, and Alkek Plaza have changed the layout of the campus. Additionally, faculty have received millions of dollars in grants to expand research efforts and help students prepare for their future careers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mengler’s decision-making and communication while navigating an unprecedented series of events have been widely praised by members of faculty and trustees alike.

Mengler, along with his wife, Mona Mengler, leave behind lasting memories for those they encountered, many of whom extol the couple’s accomplishments across these pages.

“True leadership is about being humble enough to serve others and strong enough to do what’s right,” said Martin Beirne (J.D. ’69), St. Mary’s Trustee Emeritus. “And that is Tom Mengler.”

by Lynda Ellis (B.A.S. ’81), Chair of the Board of Trustees

Nearly a dozen years of visionary leadership and unwavering dedication have reshaped St. Mary’s University under the guidance of President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D. — or simply “Tom” to those of us who have had the pleasure of getting to know him.

His tenure has been defined by a leadership approach transcending the ordinary and profoundly impacting the University’s students, staff, faculty and alumni. Tom’s legacy is a testament to his ability to build a strong team, nurture growth and fearlessly champion innovation.

Perhaps this is best demonstrated by the Center for Catholic Studies, created during his tenure. This dream became a reality by engaging students and deepening their faith and understanding of the gifts given though the grace of the Holy Spirit, helping our students become examples of God’s love.

A thoughtful leader, Tom’s authenticity radiates through his actions. His commitment to Marianist and Catholic values is not a mere formality; it’s a living embodiment in his everyday interactions.

“A thoughtful leader, Tom’s authenticity radiates through his actions. His commitment to Marianist and Catholic values is not a mere formality; it’s a living embodiment in his everyday interactions.”

Lynda Ellis (B.A.S. ’81)

His deep understanding of these values and their application to the University’s mission has been a compass that directs the St. Mary’s community toward ethical growth.

It’s said that one must “walk the talk,” which Tom models through his Catholic and Marianst values, whether in making tough decisions, guiding others through failures, proactively reaching out to extend his hand or simply being there.

These impacts extend beyond campus borders. His embrace of the wider community reflects his dedication to building bridges and nurturing relationships. He recognizes that a university’s vitality is interconnected with its surroundings, and his efforts have woven St. Mary’s into the fabric of San Antonio, especially the West Side.

For the members of the University’s Board of Trustees, Tom’s leadership has been transformative. With a discerning eye, he identifies opportunities and embraces feedback to drive trust and confidence. His meticulous approach and openness to learning from others have elevated the Board’s effectiveness, leaving an indelible mark on its members. Personally and professionally, I have benefited immensely from his leadership.

“There is no doubt Tom will leave a legacy that will continue to shape the University’s trajectory for years to come.”

Lynda Ellis (B.A.S. ’81)

I loved Tom’s comment about what being on the Board should be like for trustees, “It should be fun,” driving home his passion for enjoying getting things done and working as a team.

A one-of-a-kind fundraiser, Tom has shared his vision with such passion that donors have been drawn to the St. Mary’s mission. He doesn’t merely ask for support; he invites individuals to be part of a larger purpose. And nearly 11,500 donors heard his clarion call to contribute to The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign.

As Tom’s presidential tenure draws to a close, we celebrate his remarkable journey of leadership with this issue of Gold & Blue.

St. Mary’s University stands stronger and more deeply connected to its values and its community, all thanks to a man whose word is his bond, whose actions reflect unwavering integrity and whose vision ignited a collective spirit of growth.

There is no doubt Tom will leave a legacy that will continue to shape the University’s trajectory for years to come. 

by Nathaniel Miller

Getting up from his seat in the Bill Greehey Arena, St. Mary’s University President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D., made his way to the stage and walked up to the podium like he’s done more than a few times since June 2012.

Addressing St. Mary’s students, staff and faculty in August 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ during the annual Mass of the Holy Spirit, also known as Opening School Mass, Mengler restated the importance of the Catholic and Marianist mission, focusing on the formation of faith.

“As Christians, the way of servant leadership modeled by our teacher and Lord becomes our own,” Mengler said. “All that is asked on our part is faithfulness to love God and neighbor.”

Since being selected as the University’s 13th president — the second layperson to hold the position — Mengler’s goal has been to make St. Mary’s not just a top-notch Catholic institution in the Southwest, but a premier university where people can “revitalize and expand” what makes exceptional Catholics and servant leaders.

Sharing the St. Mary’s mission

In pursuit of this mission, Mengler, along with his wife, Mona Mengler, have been recognized by members of the Catholic community inside and outside of the University.

“I have come to know Tom and Mona very well over the past decade — they are faith-filled Catholics who put their faith into action — not only in the outstanding efforts they make on behalf of St. Mary’s University, but in many other fields,” said the Most Rev. Gustavo García-Siller, M.Sp.S., Archbishop of San Antonio. “They do this quietly and without fanfare.”

Despite his humble demeanor, Mengler still brought fanfare to the accomplishments and new additions to the University in its pursuit of expanding Catholic studies and reinforcing Catholic Intellectual Tradition.

In a February 2014 speech, Mengler shared his vision for St. Mary’s to expand the education of Marianist values to prepare for a future in which those teachings can be continued and extended by laypeople, in addition to priests and brothers.

In that same speech, Mengler announced two new endowments, one supporting research initiatives for Theology and Philosophy faculty, and another funding student scholarships for studying peace and social justice. Mengler also announced the acquisition of the Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible and the establishment of the Escobedo Saint John’s Bible Lecture Series, funded by Ruben Escobedo (B.B.A. ’60) and his wife, Veronica Salazar Escobedo.

The Saint John’s Bible is the first completely handwritten and illustrated Bible to be commissioned by a Benedictine abbey since the invention of the printing press. The Heritage Edition owned by the University is a high-quality reproduction of the seven-volume set, one of only 299 created.

To bring the work to life for the community, the Escobedo Saint John’s Bible Lecture Series draws biblical scholars to campus to share knowledge on topics enhancing intellectual development and spiritual growth. Martin Beirne (J.D. ’69), St. Mary’s University Trustee Emeritus — who has a passion for Catholic Intellectual Tradition and endowed the Beirne Director of the Center for Catholic Studies with a $1 million gift — considers the Escobedo Saint John’s Bible Lecture Series part of what helps make the University a beacon for Catholic teachings.

“In a world we live in that can seem full of negativism, we need people out there explaining what faith is about, who people of faith are and what they can do,” Beirne said.

Building a strong foundation

Being offered a chance to support Mengler’s vision for further infusing the Catholic Intellectual Tradition into education, Beirne and his wife, Kathleen Beirne, could not pass up the invitation.

The University established the Beirne Director and the Center for Catholic Studies in 2018. The Center enables faculty, staff, alumni and students to deepen their understanding of Marianist education and the Southwest. The Center’s events include the Escobedo Saint John’s Bible Lecture Series, the MacTaggart Catholic Intellectual Tradition Lecture Series and the Lin Great Speakers Series. Another area for teaching and implementing Catholic Intellectual Tradition involves planning how St. Mary’s can embrace environmental sustainability.

Heeding Pope Francis’ call regarding the moral and ethical reasons for environmentalism, Mengler led the University to become the first in Texas to pledge to be part of the international Laudato Si’ seven-year action plan in November 2021.

“In making this commitment, President Mengler has not only highlighted a focus on environmental sustainability that aligns with our Marianist mission, but he has positioned our University to address the concerns and meet the needs of current and future members of the St. Mary’s community,” said David Turner, Ph.D., Chair of the St. Mary’s Laudato Si’ committee and Professor of Environmental Science.

Jason King, Ph.D., the Beirne Director of the Center for Catholic Studies who joined St. Mary’s in June, said sustainability objectives rooted in Catholicism, resources dedicated to achieving goals in the Marianist traditions and Mengler’s support for the director role inspired him to apply. King was previously the Irene S. Taylor Endowed Chair for Catholic Family Studies and the Director of Core Curriculum at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

“Tom’s gift to St. Mary’s is his own personal Catholic faith and how he allowed that faith to play itself out in his leadership at St. Mary’s,”

The Rev. John Thompson, S.M., Ed.D

“When I was considering the job, I asked people about President Mengler’s leadership at St. Mary’s University,” King said. “Everyone I spoke to said he took the school’s Catholic identity seriously and made St. Mary’s a model for other institutions.”

Strengthening the West Side

The St. Mary’s community is not contained within the campus’ gates. Students armed with paint brushes, rakes and good intentions head out into the city to do works of service for nonprofit organizations. The University also invites residents to run or walk in the StMU 5K for the Neighborhood each fall. A faith-based leadership and service program called the Marianist Leadership Program cultivates and nurtures family spirit while allowing students to focus on faith and leadership.

In 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, the Continuing the Heritage Day of Service celebrated 26 years of service. The event has empowered about 13,500 volunteers to donate time and energy to local nonprofits over the past quarter-century.

Looking to expand support for services in the neighborhood near St. Mary’s, the StMU 5K became a running success, contributing to the health of the community as well as raising funds for those in need.

Since 2017, Holy Rosary Catholic Church, located next to campus, has received $75,000 from funds raised during the event. That money helps the church pay for operational expenses, unexpected repairs and for high school students to attend the Marianist LIFE summer program, a faith formation experience.

The Rev. John Thompson, S.M., Ed.D., the University’s Vice President for Mission, pastored the Holy Rosary congregation for four years prior to joining St. Mary’s.

Seeing opportunities for community outreach, Thompson said Marianist Leadership Program students are offered opportunities to work with the church and, over the years, Holy Rosary has seen an increase in student attendance. Nicolas Romero (B.S. ’20), an alumnus of the Marianist Leadership Program and a former President’s Ambassador, said the organization educates students about servant leadership. Romero added he had a chance to see Mengler’s management style up close as a President’s Ambassador.

Now a mechanical engineer in Cleveland, Romero said he uses what he learned every day — particularly the importance of keeping your word.

“If President Mengler said he was going to do something, he did it,” Romero said.

Thompson said it’s evident Mengler, as a lay leader, uses his strong Catholic faith as a compass when it comes to guiding the University.

“Tom’s gift to St. Mary’s is his own personal Catholic faith and how he allowed that faith to play itself out in his leadership at St. Mary’s,” Thompson said.

by Nathaniel Miller

Todd Hanneken, Ph.D., does not expect students to go out and discuss the history of general councils of the Catholic Church years after taking his Theology courses, but he does hope they remember how to live with respect for others.

As a Professor of Theology, Hanneken knows not all students in his class are Catholics, so he focuses on teaching students of all faiths how to coexist and share ideas peacefully.

Through what he calls principal dialogue, his students learn how to have conversations about complex topics, such as differences in religion, helping them gain skills for future use as servant leaders.

“I don’t expect my students to agree with every idea that is presented,” Hanneken said. “But understanding how and why people think what they think and believe what they believe is going to make them better at building bridges.”

Theology is one of several courses St. Mary’s University students must take as part of the Core Curriculum — a set of courses fostering the body of knowledge, skills and attitudes integral to a St. Mary’s education, which was revamped and put into place in 2021.

The curriculum, focused on educating students to think beyond themselves, is instrumental to giving students a liberal arts education integrated with Catholic and Marianist values. These courses are designed to develop the whole person using skills, such as critical thinking, formal reasoning, intercultural knowledge and the Marianist commitment to working for justice.

These strengths, Hanneken said, can be used across all professions. As St. Mary’s continues to add new programs and new academic spaces, these lessons will continue to serve students throughout their careers.

“It’s easy for college to prepare someone for a task,” Hanneken said. “What St. Mary’s does is give students the flexibility to adapt, to learn new things and to apply what they’ve learned to new situations.”

Extending the educational foundation

Composed of 45 credit hours, the Core Curriculum includes courses ranging from Freshman Composition and Literature, to Philosophy and Mathematics.

As a liberal arts university, St. Mary’s requires these classes to expand a student’s education across topics while preparing them for positions in leadership and lives of service.

The list of classes may look like a hodgepodge of courses outside someone’s desired field of study, but Hanneken said it’s only when students start taking the courses that they understand how they fit into their education.

“You can have a pile of sugar, a pile of flour and a couple of eggs and still not have a cake,” he said. “By mixing these things together, we’re helping students see that when they take a history class, they’re not just checking a box. We’re showing them how to look and understand the past.”

The curriculum also incorporates Catholic Intellectual Tradition. Based on two assumptions, the Catholic Intellectual Tradition teaches that everything — including human reasoning — comes from God. The second is that humans are thinking creatures and can’t help but make sense of the world.

Jason King, Ph.D., the Beirne Director of the Center for Catholic Studies, cites four prominent characteristics of Catholic Intellectual Tradition: faith and reason are compatible; humans are made in the image and likeness of God; humanity is afflicted by sin; and humans are called to love one another.

As a Catholic university, King said it’s easy to see how lessons from the Core Curriculum align with the four characteristics.

“All humans deserve respect,” King said. “Their own agency, their relationships to other humans and their openness to the transcendent are all essential pieces of being human and must be honored.”

“You can have a pile of sugar, a pile of flour and a couple of eggs and still not have a cake. By mixing these things together, we’re helping students see that when they take a history class, they’re not just checking a box. We’re showing them how to look and understand the past.”

Todd Hanneken, Ph.D.

President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D., said Catholic Intellectual Tradition is a great way to see the engagement of the Catholic Church alongside the world and its different cultures over the last 2,000 years.

“What I find most exciting about Catholic Intellectual Tradition is its grounding in truth, goodness, justice and beauty,” Mengler said. “In this light, all searches for truth — whether conducted in a laboratory, a library, an art studio or a chapel — become a search for meaning, purpose and the divine.”

Welcoming new perspectives

When David Turner, Ph.D., talks about a Geology class, most people think about rocks and mentally move on.

The Professor of Environmental Science knew many people coming into this classroom were there to check off a course in their Core Curriculum, get the credit and go on to their next set of classes. There was a time when he did not see many students outside the School of Science, Engineering and Technology.

By taking the time to meet and forge relationships with students and professors outside his course of study, Turner found new ways to incorporate the Marianist mission into his teaching.

For instance, Turner asked Robert O’Connor, Ph.D., Director of The Saint John’s Bible, to discuss how the hand-illustrated Bible was compiled. Bringing in one of the seven volumes to Turner’s course, O’Connor shared insights about project management. Turner never imagined it would be so easy to incorporate Catholic values in his teaching.

“These opportunities to bring the Marianist tradition into a science class and use them in a way that helps link what we do in science more closely with our Marianists — it’s wonderful and welcoming,” Turner said.

During the review process of the Core Curriculum during the 2020-2021 academic year, Turner was in favor of adding the First-Year Experience course for first-year students. The course is designed to not only help incoming freshmen adjust to University life, but also assist them in becoming acquainted with St. Mary’s and its mission. The classes are capped at 18 students, ensuring a more personal experience.

Taught by professors from across the University, Turner uses the topic of environmental science in his First-Year Experience course to ask his students how their major is working to either explain climate change or address it.

In the three years since the First-Year Experience started, Turner said students have engaged more with their professors and each other, helping build a sense of community and giving faculty a chance to teach outside their specialty.

“As faculty, we forget what it’s like to experience our disciplines for the first time,” he said. “And we are also of a different generation from our students. They have new perspectives and ask questions in ways I’ve never thought about before.”

Finding new ways to serve

Since June 2012, physical and educational advancements have changed the campus, setting up opportunities for students to pursue new careers, extending from the University’s mission of servant leadership.

The Unmanned Aerial Systems Laboratory now sits behind the Richter-Math Engineering Center as a space for drone education. A new, three-story building called the Blank Sheppard Innovation Center will open in 2024. It will house laboratories and collaboration spaces for advanced manufacturing, instrumentation, data science and machine learning, as well as the new Nursing Program, pending approval by the Texas Board of Nursing and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

St. Mary’s also offers more degrees than it did when Mengler began in June 2012: a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Accounting and Data Analytics beginning in 2014; a in 2015; a Master of Science in Cyber Security in 2015, which helped the University gain recognition as a National Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the National Security Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; a Master of Arts in Public History in 2017; and an in 2022, to name a few.

Graduate offerings, such as the MBA for Professionals Program started in 2017, offer a flexible curriculum with online options for those looking to take the next steps in their careers.

These changes have not gone unnoticed by alumni.

“The campus has changed so dramatically since I was matriculating there. It’s almost unrecognizable,” said Michael “Mickey” A. Schott (B.B.A. ’68), the Chair of the Presidential Nominating Committee, who also chaired the University’s Board of Trustees from 2018 to 2020. “Campus life, in general, has improved under Tom’s watch.”

Jason Pierce, Ph.D., Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, has been in the position since June 2022, and said he’s been given ample space for innovation under Mengler’s leadership.

Pierce said launching new degree programs, innovating existing spaces and constructing new buildings are instrumental to attracting top-tier professors and recruiting students. But it takes vision and a group of like-minded people to implement those goals.

“One of the things I appreciate about Tom is his willingness to empower those he’s working with to innovate and to move nimbly in response to what we see as opportunities for St. Mary’s to advance its mission,” Pierce said. “The Nursing Program is a great example because it’s a way for us to marshal the effort in response to the nursing shortage.”

“What I find most exciting about Catholic Intellectual Tradition is its grounding in truth, goodness, justice and beauty. In this light, all searches for truth — whether conducted in a laboratory, a library, an art studio or a chapel — become a search for meaning, purpose and the divine.”

Thomas M. Mengler, J.D.

Trustee Emerita Leticia “Leti” Contreras (B.A. ’89), who served as Chair of the Board of Trustees from 2020 to 2022 as the first woman to hold the position, has also been excited about the changes at St. Mary’s.

While not an academic building, Contreras and her husband, Thomas “Tom” Contreras (B.B.A. ’88), were instrumental in changing campus life by funding the Contreras Family Terrace and Student Lounge, along with reopening The Pub at St. Mary’s in 2015. The couple first met as undergraduates at an earlier incarnation of The Pub.

Mengler’s commitment to making St. Mary’s a premier institution, and his affection for San Antonio as a city, has been crucial to his success, Leti Contreras added.

“We could have the greatest facilities in the world, but your faculty and staff in the classrooms teaching are the students’ first impressions,” she said. “We have to ensure that they’re getting what they need to spread the University’s mission, and Tom Mengler has done a great job of making sure they have that.”

by Nathaniel Miller

Verónica Contreras-Shannon, Ph.D., learned she received tenure at St. Mary’s University on June 1, 2012 — the same day Thomas M. Mengler, J.D., started as the University’s president.

The Professor of Biological Sciences said she had a brief conversation with Mengler that day, joking that because his signature was on the paper, he was responsible for her promotion.

“It’s kind of exciting to think about it,” Contreras-Shannon said. “I figured from that moment on I would fly under the radar, and he wouldn’t remember who I was.”

Flying under the radar, though, is something Contreras-Shannon has not done.

Awarded a $2.1 million grant in May from the National Institutes of Health, Contreras-Shannon serves as Director for the Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE). The grant builds the pool of students interested in research careers by exposing them to research in STEM fields.

Through grants like this one and a realigned career services office, the University’s faculty and staff continuously look to improve the college experience, give hands-on learning opportunities and pinpoint a vocation that aligns with students’ passions.

Knowing how important each dollar is to funding programs, Contreras-Shannon said she put herself under a lot of pressure during the application process. However, support from the president’s office and her dean encouraged her to apply for the U-RISE grant opportunity.

“There have been times when I didn’t think I could have done something without knowing President Mengler supported our goals,” Contreras-Shannon said. “Because of that, we were able to go out and find ways to help our students.”

Supporting the process

Since Mengler became president, St. Mary’s has been awarded more than $37 million in grants, according to the Office of Sponsored Projects, Academic Research and Compliance.

In the 2022-2023 91ߣ����Ƶ academic year, faculty across St. Mary’s submitted 33 grant applications with a success rate of 64.5%, far surpassing the University’s average 40% success rate.

Betsy Smith, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science, oversees a five-year grant of more than $2.8 million, which funds improvements to the student experience during the first year of study and implements high-impact practices in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

“There have been times when I didn’t think I could have done something without knowing President Mengler supported our goals. Because of that, we were able to go out and find ways to help our students.”

Verónica Contreras-Shannon, Ph.D.

Having never applied for a grant before, Smith said Mengler was instrumental in helping her craft her application.

By asking detailed questions about how the money would assist students and advance the University’s mission, Mengler’s feedback was focused, respectful and eye-opening, Smith said.

“When I think about what Tom has contributed in terms of the research and the grant experience here at St. Mary’s, it’s providing faculty that space to explore ideas and a chance to try new things,” she said.

Finding the why in your career

Preparing students for their careers extends beyond the classroom.

At the Career and Professional Development Center, revamped in Fall 2021, students receive assistance with career coaching, internship opportunities and résumé tips.

During the 2022-2023 91ߣ����Ƶ academic year, the Center reported more than 700 one-on-one career coaching appointments and more than 300 appointments to build a network between students and alumni.

Stephanie Ward, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Student Success and Vocation, has led the Center since 2021. She aims to help students find opportunities that sync with their life goals.

“Finding a student’s purpose aligns with the Marianist mission of the University,” Ward said. “Our staff is here to educate and equip students to have meaningful lives and purpose in the world and to contribute to the common good.”

In leading the Center, Ward works closely with Mengler and Jason Pierce, Ph.D., Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. When presenting ideas to leadership about the Center’s goals, Ward said Mengler helped her explore all angles. His leadership style, she added, is one of open-mindedness, honesty and trust.

“Tom has shown me that a thoughtful leader is open to the innovative ideas of the people you work with, but is also firm in his or her own beliefs and direction,” Ward said. “What I take away is that good leadership is not always having the answers, but being able to listen and discern if what you’re hearing could be the answer.”

Enabling the leaders of tomorrow

Madeline Emke, of St. Louis, is a senior History major with a double minor in Philosophy and Spanish, who has been interested in attending law school since her freshman year.

Knowing Mengler was dean of a law school before coming to St. Mary’s, Emke walked into his office and requested a meeting. To her surprise, he set one up for later that week and had a 30-minute conversation with her.

That initial interaction was enough for Emke to want to learn more about Mengler’s leadership style and solidified her decision to apply to the President’s Ambassadors. President’s Ambassadors are students who volunteer their time and personable attributes toward serving and promoting St. Mary’s University alongside the Office of the President.

“That meeting made me want to work with President Mengler more so I could try to be the same type of leader,” she said.

Since joining the program in her sophomore year, Emke said working with Mengler and his wife, Mona Mengler, has allowed her to gain proficiency in new areas and be involved in events she may not have attended otherwise.

In stepping out of her comfort zone, Emke also worked on soft skills —communication, time management, adaptability and teamwork — which can be taken with her into her career.

Being able to network with St. Mary’s alumni has helped her become more confident in interacting with new people. Because of this, Emke said she now feels comfortable giving an elevator pitch, which is a quick, persuasive speech lasting about 30 seconds or less.

“Finding a student’s purpose aligns with the Marianist mission of the University. Our staff is here to educate and equip students to have meaningful lives and purpose in the world and to contribute to the common good.”

Stephanie Ward, Ph.D.

These skills helped her obtain an internship at a local law office during her sophomore year. There, Emke learned about different law processes and developed a desire to practice constitutional law.

“St. Mary’s is a home away from home, but it’s the type of home where you can build a network of faith, friends, family and career connections,” she said. “St. Mary’s has given me the support and confidence to do my best.”    

by Nathaniel Miller

You don’t raise $165 million sitting behind a desk.

The success of St. Mary’s University’s largest campaign didn’t happen without logging thousands of miles, shaking hundreds of hands and emphatically sharing a vision about the future of its campus and schools.

President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D., knew what needed to be done when he was hired in 2012 and was willing to roll up his proverbial sleeves to start the silent phase of The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign soon after arriving on campus.

“Tom’s visionary outlook played a crucial role in The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign,” said Joel Lauer, Vice President for University Advancement. “His unwavering commitment to St. Mary’s and to engaging with alumni and friends, be it on campus or nationwide, underscored the significance of his vision and passion. This made all the difference in surpassing our goal in such a momentous fashion.”

The Defining Moment Campaign, the largest and broadest campaign of its kind for St. Mary’s, raised $165 million — $35 million more than the original goal announced at the start of the public phase of the campaign in November 2017.

Charles T. Barrett Jr. (B.B.A. ’62), Trustee Emeritus and Chair of the Board of Trustees from 2012 to 2014, said he and his fellow Trustees initially thought a goal that large was unattainable. However, Mengler, along with his wife, Mona Mengler, were instrumental in surpassing everyone’s expectations.

“There are only a few people who could have accomplished that goal,” Barrett said. “If there’s another, I would like to know, because we’re looking for someone by May.”

Setting a new standard

The Defining Moment Campaign, Lauer said, was the first time a St. Mary’s campaign focused on a campus-wide vision that gave alumni options on what their funds supported.

Lauer said Mengler’s willingness — some might say eagerness — to go out and meet with alumni, faculty and staff made a difference in how the vision was received. Working across campus with each dean and program director, Mengler helped outline goals fitting the University’s mission.

“It’s not just about the million-dollar donors,” Lauer said. “We had nearly 11,500 alumni give to the campaign. And we had almost 2,300 give $1,000 or more. Every donation was important to this campaign.”

“Tom Mengler didn’t share his vision from his office. He was in the community in front of alumni. That shows Tom’s commitment. He was like waves hitting the shore. It was happening every day.”

Thomas “Tom” Contreras (B.B.A. ’88)

In total, $115 million was raised specifically to fund the University’s college and three schools: $41 million for the School of Science, Engineering and Technology; $32 million for the Greehey School of Business; $22 million for the ; and $20 million for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Money raised during the campaign funded 14 new endowed academic positions, 94 endowed scholarships, $58 million in new scholarships and $13 million for innovative labs and classrooms.

Speaking from experience

Benefiting from scholarships offered at St. Mary’s, international student Paola Canedo said knowing some of her tuition has been covered has helped her both monetarily and mentally.

With scholarships covering more than half of her costs, the Mexico City native is a student in the Greehey School of Business studying Management with a minor in Marketing. Canedo wanted to attend St. Mary’s ever since an admissions counselor met with her family and introduced them to the University.

Working part-time to cover additional expenses, Canedo said that without scholarships, she would have to work longer hours, which would take away from her schoolwork.

“The scholarships give me time to study, be part of the community and find all these internship and networking opportunities,” she said. “If I didn’t have these scholarships, I wouldn’t have been able to come to St. Mary’s.”

Looking toward the future

Thomas “Tom” Contreras (B.B.A. ’88), Chair of the Greehey School of Business portion of The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign, is more than willing to say how much St. Mary’s has given him.

“We have a story we enjoy sharing with others whenever we get the chance to talk about St. Mary’s,” Contreras said. “We tell that story when asking others for support because we want these students to have a memorable experience.”

As an undergraduate, Contreras met his wife, Leticia “Leti” Contreras (B.A. ’89), who would eventually become the first woman to chair the St. Mary’s Board of Trustees. Their two children are also St. Mary’s alumni.

The couple’s donation during the campaign created the Contreras Family Terrace and Student Lounge in the University Center and funded the reopening of The Pub at St. Mary’s. These gifts transformed the heart of campus along with a renovation of Alkek Plaza through a gift from the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation

Tom Contreras said his family’s story is just one of the many Mengler shared to help people see the University as a worthwhile investment.

“Tom Mengler didn’t share his vision from his office,” Tom Contreras said. “He was in the community in front of alumni. That shows Tom’s commitment. He was like waves hitting the shore. It was happening every day.”

The Hon. Mary Anne Bramblett (J.D. ’81), who chaired the St. Mary’s University School of Law’s portion of The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign, attributed her education at the School of Law to her career success. As the first woman elected to a district court in El Paso, Bramblett served as judge of the 41^st District Court from 1989 until 2012.

Along with her husband, Coll Bramblett (J.D. ’80), the two have endowed the Law Success Program’s second-year curriculum.

Mary Anne Bramblett said Mengler has a down-to-earth nature that was crucial to the campaign’s success.

“President Mengler was the right person to bring everyone together to do what St. Mary’s needed to have done,” she said.

by Tom and Mona Mengler

From the very first moments, we have been grateful to this University. The St. Mary’s community, its Board of Trustees and the Marianists took a big risk in offering Tom the role of President. At that time — February 2012 — we understood not much about St. Mary’s University and the Marianist characteristics that have defined St. Mary’s for more than 170 years.

We were newbies to the mission. We had never experienced the Marianist family spirit. The phrase “Marianist charism” had never left our lips; nor for that matter did we understand the term charism. In our new roles,

Tom as President and Mona as Very, Extra-Special Adviser to the President, we lacked the experience of everyone before us — 11 presidents who were Marianist brothers, and Charlie and Abbie Cotrell — each of them steeped in an understanding of St. Mary’s and of all things Marianist. We, in contrast, arrived with a clean slate.

Thank you for your trust in us.

We are grateful for the outpouring of warmth and hospitality extended to us in 2012 and throughout our time. When our St. Mary’s journey began, we didn’t know what to expect. But whatever anxieties we were feeling at the time dissipated almost immediately at the overwhelming welcome we experienced from the Marianists, alumni, faculty, staff and students. That same welcome has touched the hearts, minds and souls of thousands among the St. Mary’s community over the years.

Most of all, we thank all of you who, in your daily efforts, have fostered the formation of faith in our students and prepared them to become leaders for the common good. For more than 170 years, Marianist brothers and lay faculty and staff have gently mentored young men and women to leave St. Mary’s with generous spirits and humble hearts and to view their professional careers as vocational journeys, not simply jobs. It’s little wonder our graduates overachieve in the workplace.

At St. Mary’s, our new graduates move forward and outward, not with the narrow goal of personal gratification, but with the aspiration of a life purposively lived. Thank you for helping form future leaders of faith, respect, integrity and compassion.

For almost 12 years, we have viewed our roles to be stewards of the St. Mary’s mission. Along with promoting a culture of excellence and continuous improvement, we have tried to deepen and enhance St. Mary’s as both Catholic and Marianist. We have sought to foster the belief among alumni and friends that St. Mary’s University is an outstanding institution worthy of their philanthropic investment.

For almost 12 years, we have viewed our roles to be stewards of the St. Mary’s mission. Along with promoting a culture of excellence and continuous improvement, we have tried to deepen and enhance St. Mary’s as both Catholic and Marianist.

Tom and Mona Mengler

Our time at St. Mary’s has been a Defining Moment in our lives. We pledge to assist in passing on to the 14th president this stewardship of the University’s sacred mission. God bless you all.

by Nathaniel Miller

As Thomas M. Mengler, J.D., prepares to retire as the 13th president of St. Mary’s University, those who worked closest with him share their thoughts on the mirthful nature, optimistic outlook and discerning leadership that he brought to the University along with his wife, Mona Mengler.

“Tom and Mona are a great team, and the bonds that they created extend far beyond the walls of the University.”

Leticia “Leti” Contreras (B.A. ’89)

“We’re going to miss Tom’s charm, his constant contact and easy availability. If you ever needed something, he would get it accomplished.”

Charles T. Barrett Jr. (B.B.A. ’62)

“It has been a joy to work with President Mengler because of his great passion for St. Mary’s University; Catholic and Marianist education; care for students, faculty and staff; and service to the Catholic Church.”

The Rev. Oscar Vasquez, S.M.

“Many characteristics come to mind when I think about President Mengler: integrity, justice, compassion, kindness and presence.”

Carolyn Tubbs, Ph.D.

“You can’t compliment Tom without complimenting his wife, Mona. They’ve developed relationships in the local community and have been active in both local and national organizations on behalf of St. Mary’s. They did more than just embrace St. Mary’s; they embraced San Antonio.”

Michael “Mickey” Schott (B.B.A. ’68)

“Tom was steadfast in his determination that the University’s and each school’s strategic plans be connected to our Marianist
mission and Catholic values. His legacy will be felt long after his departure in every corner of the University.”

Patricia Roberts, J.D.

“As a direct recipient of Tom’s leadership and guidance, I have witnessed firsthand the care and stewardship Tom has brought to the presidency. Regardless of the situation, Tom has always provided steady leadership, even in times of significant tumult.”

Aaron Hanna (B.A. ’10, M.P.A. ’11, M.B.A. ’13)

The annual event will begin at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 29, in , where the community will be led in song by carolers in front of the Nativity scene before celebrating and flipping the switch to light the University’s Christmas tree.��

For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Santa will return ho-ho-home to St. Mary’s for pictures. 

At 8 p.m., guests are invited to , where about four inches of machine-made snow will be on the ground to play in during the alumni social.����

The University’s Alumni Association will also collect unwrapped, new or gently used toys from guests to support the St. Mary’s University . ����

As thoughts of turkey and gravy dance in people’s heads, we asked a few St. Mary’s University students about their favorite holiday traditions. Here are some of their responses:

“My favorite holiday tradition is having Thanksgiving at my grandparents’ house with my family.”

Clarissa Cortez, a junior majoring in Exercise and Sports Science from San Antonio

“One of my favorite holiday traditions is making gingerbread houses with my son.”

Damon James, a sophomore majoring in Biochemistry from St. Louis

“My favorite Thanksgiving activity is doing Turkey Trot 5Ks and looking at Christmas lights with my family.”

Isabella Flores, a sophomore majoring in Forensic Science from San Antonio

“I like spending time with my mom’s side of the family.”

Donald Glacin, a junior majoring in International and Global Studies from Cordova, Alaska

“My favorite thing about the holidays is spending time with family and cooking meals. Just having good vibes.”

Miranda Bella, a junior majoring in Forensic Science from Mission

“My favorite tradition is sitting at the dinner table during Thanksgiving and saying what we’re thankful for.”

Archangel Suarez, a junior majoring in Management from San Antonio

“My favorite thing to do during Thanksgiving is travel to New Orleans and cook with my mom.”

Teresa Skidmore, a sophomore majoring in Biochemistry from New Orleans

As a young criminal lawyer in his home state of Querétaro, Mexico, Guillermo “Memo” Peña Contreras had no interest in the priesthood. While discussing religion at work one day, his boss made a joke that Peña Contreras originally brushed off. 

“Maybe someday you’ll be a seminarian,” he’d said. 

Peña Contreras imagined life as a priest would leave him stuck inside a parish in a sedentary life. 

“I said, ‘No, I don’t think so,’” Peña Contreras said.  

Years earlier, his grandmother had the same idea.  

“She told me, ‘If someday you want to be a padrecito, just let me know and I will take you to a priest,’” he said. “I didn’t pay too much attention at the time.” 

While he was practicing law, Peña Contreras was introduced to a Marianist priest who invited him to his chapel, and he realized he’d been closer to his future than he thought. 

“I had been walking in front of the chapel my whole life,” he said. “The Marianist community was on the way to my grandma’s house.” 

In 2015, Peña Contreras joined the choir at the chapel and got to know several of the brothers who lived in Querétaro. He saw the work they were doing to help people within their community — not at all stuck inside the church. 

“It was during Holy Week of 2019 when I decided to join the Marianist brothers,” he said.  

The first step in his was to live with the brothers in Querétaro as a Marianist Aspirant. 

“My main activity was studying religion, but also working with sick people,” he said. “I visited them, prayed with them, brought the Holy Communion to them.” 

The next step in his formation was to move to San Antonio in December 2020. He only knew a few words of English, so the Marianists arranged for him and a fellow Aspirant from South Korea to take English classes at for six months before starting the Intensive English Program at St. Mary’s University.  

After this time, Peña Contreras started his 20 months as a Marianist Novice. The first year was spent at in Dayton, Ohio.  

“This program helped me to have a better relationship with God, with myself and with others,” he said. 

While Peña Contreras enjoyed the work he was doing, his interest in the law was still alive. He felt God was calling him to do something and that his background in the law would help him accomplish it. When the time came to be given a ministry during the second year of his Novitiate, his directors had the perfect assignment. 

“They said, ‘What do you think about going to San Antonio and working in the law school?’ and I was excited,” he said. 

“God put little seeds during my whole life and I didn’t realize until the seeds were ready to bring fruit.”

Guillermo “Memo” Peña Contreras

Peña Contreras returned to San Antonio in August 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ and met his new supervisor, St. Mary’s School of Law Assistant Dean of International Programs Jennifer Stevenson, J.D., who provided him with options to pursue his ministry while using his background in law. 

He first served in the Legal Services Area of the , using his knowledge of the law to offer translation services to individuals with disabilities receiving legal advice. One of the attorneys he met invited him to an eviction court on Thursdays to help translate for the .  

From there, he was invited to work with , assisting those experiencing homelessness to get identification and other important documents they had lost; with the at an event connecting immigrants with services from medical screenings to consultations with attorneys; and with , assisting immigrants with employment.  

“Sometimes they share a bit of their story, so I help in a legal sense but also in a spiritual and human sense,” Peña Contreras said. 

Meanwhile, he joined Stevenson’s Introduction to the American Legal System class, where he met students from around the world.  

“Brother Memo has been a great addition to our campus and community,” Stevenson said. “His passion for the law and social justice is contagious.” 

During a lunch with law students, Stevenson asked Peña Contreras to lead the group in prayer. 

“I said, ‘We are all law students, and we are living in this situation of war and injustice in our world. So, let’s pray for justice and for peace,’” he said. 

In December, Peña Contreras will return to Dayton to continue his formation and prepare to profess his first vows and become a Temporary Professed Marianist. After several years, he can request to take his perpetual vows, which is a permanent commitment to assisting Mary in her mission of bringing Christ to the world. 

Peña Contreras hopes to return to Mexico and continue his ministry there in the future. 

“It’s not that I’m a lawyer or a brother, but how can I use all these gifts and share them with others?” he said. “God put little seeds during my whole life and I didn’t realize until the seeds were ready to bring fruit.” 

Poetry, public relations, knitting and novels about crime and culture — these recently published books from St. Mary’s University alumni and faculty cover a wide variety of fascinating topics. Whether you’re hoping to get lost in an epic drama or expand your mind with educational texts, there’s a St. Mary’s Fall Read waiting for you to crack it open.

91ߣ����Ƶ the faculty section to see books by professors of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Books by faculty of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

by Jayden Mendez 

Alejandra Canamar was excited to attend a job fair for students at St. Mary’s University, but there was one problem: She didn’t have the right clothes. 

A senior Accounting major from Edinburg, Canamar said she had a difficult time acquiring clothes for a professional setting because she was too busy to shop and did not have the funds. 

Thanks to the newly established Rattler Wardrobe at the Greehey School of Business, which loans professional clothing to business students, Canamar said she finally feels prepared to attend professional events. The Business School allows students to borrow clothes and return them cleaned. 

“It was an out-of-the-ordinary idea, but it’s something that, at least for me, was beneficial,” Canamar said. “They even lent me shoes and jewelry. You name it, they have it.” 

A FANGtastic new wardrobe 

Canamar is one of several business students who has used the Rattler Wardrobe, located in Albert B. Alkek Business Building, Room 222. 

Founded by Business School’s Work Study Supervisor Lisa Ann Garcia, the goal of the wardrobe is to create a clothing space for students who don’t have the means of getting business attire. 

Garcia wants students to be able to overcome clothing insecurity and build self-esteem to accomplish their goals. 

“I’m here because I love to help the students and see them grow,” Garcia said. “Anything I can do to help them along their way here in St. Mary’s, or on their career path, that’s the most fulfilling thing for me.” 

Canamar said borrowing clothes was simple. 

“I’m here because I love to help the students and see them grow. Anything I can do to help them along their way here in St. Mary’s, or on their career path, that’s the most fulfilling thing for me.” 

Lisa Ann Garcia

After receiving an email from Garcia announcing the opening of the Rattler Wardrobe, all Canamar had to do was fill out a form, show her student ID, and she was offered entry to the Rattler Wardrobe, where she could look through professional clothes and get help picking out an outfit for her upcoming event. 

“I help students style their outfits, so that way they know what colors match,” Garcia said. “Something that matches their personality or their skin tone, so it fits the person.” 

All clothing is donated, and Garcia said anyone can email her to donate clothing to help students. The Rattler Wardrobe is looking for clean and well-kept business-professional clothing. Women’s clothing is most in need. 

Clothing options for students  

While the Rattler Wardrobe is currently open to business majors, other avenues exist for those looking for clothing assistance. 

Students at the have access to the s Suit Up Station, allowing current students to select gently used suits and professional attire for free. 

Stephanie Ward, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Vocation and Career Services and Professor of Management, who also leads the University’s Career and Professional Development Center, said her office has met with Garcia to work together to bring a similar program to help all St. Mary’s students, regardless of major. 

Ward says that working together to address clothing needs is an extension of the University’s Catholic and Marianist mission. 

“How can we partner and help each other with these initiatives so that we can reach even more students? Those conversations are happening, and I’m excited about how it comes together,” Ward said. 

The Career Center, located in the University Center, will host a clothing drive from Wednesday, Oct. 18, to Jan. 31, 2024. During the drive, the Career Center will accept donations ranging from business casual to business professional. Anyone interested in donating can reach out to Taylor White, the administrative assistant of the Career and Professional Development Center, at twhite14@stmarytx.edu.

With St. Mary’s taking steps to ensure students have what they need, Canamar said she feels confident the clothing services will become popular. 

“I thought it was going to be complicated, but I was very impressed,” she said. “Everything is so organized.” 

If you would like to donate to the Greehey School of Business Rattler Wardrobe, email Lisa Ann Garcia at lgarcia18@stmarytx.edu. 

Academic Search has been accepting nominations and applications for the St. Mary’s President’s position since July 10, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, while actively recruiting qualified candidates. In September, the Nominating Committee reviewed résumés and cover letters from candidates nationwide. The pool was strong and ranged from sitting presidents, provosts, deans and others in top higher education positions. The quality of the candidate pool confirmed St. Mary’s is an attractive institution with a solid academic reputation and Catholic mission.

In early October, the Nominating Committee met with their top candidates over two days and narrowed the pool to finalists. The Executive Committee of the Board approved conducting a “private-representative” process for finalist candidate interviews, which will occur in November off-campus. Candidates will interview with the Presidential Nominating Committee, members of the Board of Trustees and several individuals representing these St. Mary’s community groups — alumni/major donors, faculty, students, administration, staff, Marianists and Marianist Educational Associates.

Recruiting the best and most experienced candidates requires a confidential and transparent process. This approach balances candidate expectations around confidentiality with the need for various community groups to engage with and provide insights about the finalists. The Presidential Nominating Committee will include feedback from the representative groups in its report to the Executive Committee of the Board for review. The Board of Trustees appoints the President.

The search process is moving forward as planned, and we expect to be able to announce the new President’s appointment by the end of 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, with a starting date of June 1, 2024. Again, the early announcement provides time for transitioning the new President into the position before President Tom Mengler retires from the University on May 31, 2024.

Early in the spring semester, we will provide opportunities for everyone in our St. Mary’s family to meet the President-to-be.

Please join us in expressing appreciation to the Presidential Nominating Committee members for their commitment to this important search process.

The St. Mary’s University Greehey School of Business will celebrate 100 years of providing business education in San Antonio and will draw together business and civic leaders with students to share thoughts on the future of work, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence and more.

The event will include in-person keynote lectures, moderated panels and more. The event is free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Those who would like to attend the open events can visit the Business Week Experience webpage for the full schedule.

“Generative AI will impact many business functions and industries. According to McKinsey & Company, across business functions and industries, generative AI has the potential to create $7 trillion of economic value annually,” said Rowena Ortiz-Walters, Ph.D., Dean of the Greehey School of Business and Professor of Management. “As the impact of technology, and generative AI specifically, increases students need to and will learn insights from accomplished professionals to participate in the next productivity frontier and to ethically manage the workforce of tomorrow.”

The Business Week Experience events of note that are open to the public include:

Tuesday, Oct. 24

La Quinta Keynote Speaker Series: The Future of Work, the Workforce and Workplaces: The Next Decade and Beyond
Speaker: Amar Maletira, Chief Executive Officer, Rackspace Technology
9:45 to 11 a.m. in the University Center, Conference Room A

Societal Impact Session: The Increasing Importance of Doing Good for the Future Workforce and Workplace
Speaker: Kim Jefferies, President and Chief Executive Officer, Haven for Hope
11:10 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. in the University Center, Conference Room A

Wednesday, Oct. 25

Panel Session: Global Workplaces and Global Workforces: New Considerations
Panelists:
Zach Valdez, Ph.D. (B.S. ’10), Chief of Staff, Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, United States Department of Energy
Gerardo Galván, former North American General Manager, Topo Chico
Armen Babajanian, Chief Executive Officer, World Affairs Council of San Antonio
Jeff Johnson, Ph.D., Professor of International Business (moderator)
9:20 to 10:35 a.m. in the University Center, Conference Room A

Thursday, Oct. 26

General Student Session: Learning to Engage Artificial Intelligence Responsibly
Speaker: Tamilla Triantoro, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Quinnipiac University
11:10 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. in the University Center, Conference Room A
Inclusive Excellence Session: Leveraging Inclusive Excellence to Create a Winning Workplace: The Case of H-E-B
Speaker: Mayerland Harris, Group Vice President of Talent, H-E-B
2 to 3:15 p.m. in the University Center, Conference Room A

The St. Mary’s University recently unveiled a state-of-the-art Golf Performance Center in the Alumni Athletics & Convocation Center.

“It is another great day for Rattler Athletics,” said Executive Director of Athletics Robert Coleman. “Our golf programs will be able to continue building upon the culture that has evolved over the past 20 years. The new Golf Performance Center will continue to allow our programs to train at an elite level year-round while also assisting us in recruiting the best student-athletes, enabling us to compete at the highest level of intercollegiate golf.”

The 800-square-foot space, formerly used for racquetball, was transformed due to a two-plus-year project made possible by the generous gifts from Raymond R. Carvajal, R.Ph.; Edgar R. Dupre Jr. (B.S. ’63); Alex M. Miller (B.A. ’90); and Tony Ruggiero. In addition, longtime supporter Rich Dupre also played a critical role in the funding formation.

“We are so grateful for the generosity of Alex, Rich, Ed, Ray and Tony for their gifts toward this project,” Coleman said. “Their love for the University and the Golf program will positively impact the lives of future student-athletes.”

The performance center features a cutting-edge golf simulator — Foresight Sim-in-a-Box — with a hitting bay that allows the golfers to get in extra work when classes or bad weather might otherwise impede their ability to practice. The performance center is also home to a putting green with four holes. In addition to the golf-specific technology, the project also features new LED lighting and security enhancements.

2023 91ߣ����Ƶ Honorees

Distinguished Law Graduates

The Hon. Marla Cuellar (J.D. ’96), Judge, 275th District Court, Hidalgo County

In January 2019, Cuellar was sworn in as judge of the 275th District Court of Hidalgo County, a court of general jurisdiction. Before her judiciary role, Cuellar had a successful career as a solo practitioner and mediator. She began her legal career as an assistant attorney general for the Texas Attorney General Child Support Division. Cuellar has utilized her tenure on the bench to bring awareness to the need for a mental-health restoration program in Hidalgo County, working in conjunction with the sheriff, district attorney and probation offices. Assisted by the juvenile probation office, she has developed the State’s first diversionary runaway court. Cuellar has participated in the Courts in School Program and presently serves as the chair for the School of Law’s Red Mass Committee. Cuellar is often invited to serve as a motivational speaker for youth and adults. Her passion and commitment is to serve her community, to care for those who cannot advocate for themselves and to help bring positive change to people’s lives.

Robert E. Valdez (B.A. ’76, J.D. ’80), Partner, Valdez and Treviño, PC, San Antonio

At St. Mary’s Law, Valdez excelled in moot court and mock trial competitions. He became a student-instructor of Legal Research and Writing during his second year. Following his clerkship at the Court of Criminal Appeals, Valdez joined the El Paso law firm of Kemp, Smith, Duncan & Hammond. Valdez returned to San Antonio after six years in El Paso to join the firm of Groce, Locke, and Hebdon. There he excelled in defending civil cases all along the Texas border. Since that time, Valdez has been a solo practitioner and, since 2013, a member of the law firm of Valdez & Treviño, PC, practicing throughout South and West Texas.  Valdez has made many lifelong friends along the way and is a frequent lecturer for the State Bar of Texas with expertise in personal injury trial law, insurance law and legal ethics issues. 

Distinguished Young Alumna

Lauren A. Valkenaar (J.D. ’13), Partner, Chasnoff Mungia Valkenaar Pepping & Stribling, San Antonio

Valkenaar is an effective business litigator and has a track record of securing clients’ victories in cases with millions of dollars in dispute. She focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation concerning contractual provisions, breach of fiduciary duties and fraud for clients across many industries, including technology, cybersecurity, real estate, construction, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, financial institutions and transportation. She is experienced in all stages of the litigation process, from pre-suit investigation through motions practice, trial and appellate procedures. Valkenaar has been heavily involved with prosecuting and defending commercial claims across the nation in both state and federal jurisdictions.

Hundreds of runners and walkers of all ages will tie their laces and leash up their pups on Saturday, Oct. 28, for St. Mary’s University’s annual 5K run/walk — the 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ StMU 5K for the Neighborhood.  

Proceeds raised will benefit the University’s next-door neighbor, . The race will be followed by food, music, fun and fellowship. 

“Among my favorite St. Mary’s University moments each year is crossing the starting line and — even better — the finish line of the StMU 5K for the Neighborhood,” University President Tom Mengler said. “Runners, walkers and even dogs wearing 5K bandanas create a feeling of togetherness, a shared commitment to wellness and a sense of purpose that never fails to move me along with hundreds of students, employees, alumni and friends.” 

The StMU 5K encourages all its participants to run with purpose and take part in the University’s ongoing effort to enhance the quality of life through neighborhood revitalization. St. Mary’s strives to be a vital partner in promoting the health and wellness, education and safety of the community surrounding the campus.  

This year, Mengler will join Sean M. Strater (B.B.A. ’11, M.B.A. ’16), president of the St. Mary’s University Alumni Association, as the event’s honorary starters. 

StMU 5K for the Neighborhood 

Who: St. Mary’s University community, local runners and walkers, dogs (spayed/neutered, leashed) 

When: Saturday, Oct. 28, Opening remarks at 4:45 p.m. 5K begins at 5 p.m. 

Where: St. Mary’s University campus. Start/finish at Alkek Plaza. 

Why: Raise funds for Holy Rosary Catholic Church neighborhood outreach programs 

Registration: Pre-register or register on race day at 4 p.m.  

Parking: In front of campus in Lots V and S, or at the back of campus in Lot D. For more info, visit our . 

Amenities: Fun for kids, snacks, beverages and live music. Awards ceremony at 6 p.m.  

Packet Pickup: Bibs, timers and T-shirts may be picked up at these St. Mary’s University campus locations: 

, Room 108 
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 to 7 p.m.  
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 to 7 p.m.  
Thursday, Oct. 26, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 
 
Saturday, Oct. 28, 4 to 5 p.m.

Excelencia in Education, the nation’s premier authority in efforts accelerating Latino student success in higher education, announced today that St. Mary’s University President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D., has chosen to be part of the Presidents for Latino Student Success network.

This important national network is comprised of college and university presidents and chancellors who commit to making their institutions learning environments where Latino students thrive. The institutions in Excelencia’s network are transforming higher education.

Of the thousands of colleges and universities across the country, the more than 150 leaders of the 175 institutions in the network enroll one in four of all Latino students in higher education. More importantly, these institutions account for one in three of all Latino graduates.

Excelencia professionals, the leadership network and their campus teams, actively collaborate to put evidence-based practices and strategic analysis of student data to use supporting and advancing the talents, skills, and contributions of Latino students and the institutions.

“Higher education leaders with skills and vision are fundamental to our country’s strong recovery,” said Sarita Brown, co-founder and president of Excelencia. “Those prepared to engage and intentionally serve Latino students, while serving all their students, will lead the way.”

Excelencia is honored to work with the trendsetting presidents and chancellors who have accepted this challenge. The leaders in the network have made common cause with Excelencia to accelerate Latino student success in higher education.

Through the network, Mengler will collaborate with Excelencia to leverage collective expertise and resources, foster partnerships and amplify current efforts at the national level.

To learn more about the Presidents for Latino Student Success network and leaders across the country affiliated with Excelencia, visit the .

The National Science Foundation has awarded a grant of more than $550,000 to St. Mary’s University, helping fund research on how diabetes affects workforce participation in San Antonio. 

The $553,900 grant will fund the three-year research project, which will continue through August 2026. ��

Associate Professor of Economics Belinda Román, Ph.D., will lead a research team that includes faculty from Biology and Public Health programs at St. Mary’s, and an expert from Pepperdine University in California. The work of the grant will also partner with community organizations, including Bexar County Community Health Collaborative, Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Greater San Antonio and CommuniCare.��

The research will focus on the correlation between people’s well-being, its effect on the economy and the consequences of diabetes on work and earnings. Román will look at Mexican Americans and migrants in San Antonio, populations with some of the highest diabetes rates nationally.  

Román said it’s important to think about how your health and job relate to each other.  

“Your job is so important, and so is your quality of life and health,” Román said. “Yet we don’t look at it that way. We look at health, and we look at employment, but they go together because one depends on the other.”��

“This kind of a project just goes straight to the heart of what St. Mary’s does, which is help the community and get students involved.”

Belinda Román, Ph.D.

Román said her conversations with St. Mary’s students who care for family members with diabetes inspired the concept for the grant, and she incorporated opportunities for students to gain hands-on research experience into the project’s scope. Román hopes this sort of research will not only help the community, but also help students studying Biology, Economics and Public Health to transition into the workforce.��

The study’s results from can then be used to see how communities in San Antonio are affected and what resources might be beneficial.  

“Once we finish the research, we can turn to the City of San Antonio and say, ‘This is how the resources might be better used,’” she said. “This kind of a project just goes straight to the heart of what St. Mary’s does, which is help the community and get students involved.”��

As the metal skeleton of the new Blank Sheppard Innovation Center rises three stories among the pecan trees on the St. Mary’s University campus, anticipation continues to build for the opening of the new building and the launch of the planned Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program that will take up residence on the third floor in 2024.

Gold & Blue magazine sat down with Donna M. Badowski, DNP, Vice Dean of the School of Science, Engineering and Technology, and Founding Director of Nursing, to learn more about her background and get the inside scoop on the planned Nursing Program.

Badowski shares what brought her to her new role and her big plans for the new degree while she manages the process of seeking approval from the Texas Board of Nursing and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

Q: You’ve said that neither of your parents worked in health care, so what drew you to a career in nursing?

A: I was in fifth grade, and we had to dress up as what we wanted to be when we grew up. I had no idea what to dress as, and my father had the Sunday newspaper and said, “You should be a nurse. Look at all these jobs for nurses. It would be a great career.” My mother always wanted to be a nurse but didn’t have the means to go to college. She kind of promoted the idea, too. So, I dressed up as a nurse, and it stuck with me.

Q: Now, 15 years into your career of teaching nursing, you came to St. Mary’s from a position as Associate Director of the RN to MS Nursing Program at DePaul University in Chicago. Did you always aim to be a nursing educator, or were you more interested in the practice of nursing originally?

A: When I was in college, I felt like some faculty could have been kinder and gentler. When I went to school, we had some faculty who made students cry. And I was like, there’s got to be a better way. In the back of my head, I could see myself teaching nursing because there’s a better way than to terrify and traumatize students.

Q: How are you implementing the lessons from your experience into the design of the St. Mary’s Nursing Program?

A: I embrace the approach of being kind and gentle to our students, but I also have to challenge them. I once had a student call me three months after taking my class to tell me, “You were a tough instructor, but I want to thank you. Because now that I’m in clinical education, my faculty are not asking me these challenging questions, and I miss it.”

Q: Since you’re from the Chicago area, what inspired you to work at St. Mary’s?

A: I really liked the mission. I came from a Catholic institution and, even when I worked in health care, I worked in hospitals that had a Catholic affiliation. I hate to use the phrase, “divine intervention,” but something just prompted me to change my cover letter very quickly and update my CV super fast.

Q: As you develop the new program, making decisions on curriculum and textbooks is probably very exciting. Tell me what it’s like to build this program from the ground up.

A: It’s tough, but I love challenges, and it’s exciting. I love to challenge myself both professionally as well as physically. I decided at the age of 50 to do a triathlon and I never knew how to swim. I took swim lessons, but I signed up for the triathlon beforehand because it made me persevere through it. I jumped in and did a half Ironman, and then I decided to also run a marathon.

Q: What lessons do you take from your triathlon and marathon training into your educational approach?

A: I think about that first half Ironman and, knowing that there are people counting on me, that really pushes me through the challenge of it all. Relating to educational challenges, it was a huge accomplishment for me to go to nursing school and pay for it all by myself. I worked part-time, 20 hours a week during the school year, and full-time during the summer at a bank. I can relate to the students here because I’m sure a lot of them are doing the same thing. I just want to be supportive and be a cheerleader, saying you can do this.

Q: The supportive mentality you describe speaks to the family spirit in the University’s Marianist approach to education. Describe what you see as the alignment between the Marianist mission and the Nursing Program as you envision it.

A: Any patient in a hospital is sick. They’re relying on you. They’re at their worst moment, and some of them are among the more vulnerable in our population already. We have to treat them with kindness and compassion and be just and fair. The whole component of faith is so important in nursing because faith breeds hope. We’re working for the common good of all of our patients.

Q: What else do you think will make the St. Mary’s Nursing Program distinctive?

A: I’m trying to focus on the mental health, psychosocial component of health. A lot of nursing programs have mental health later in the curriculum. I have it as one of the first clinical experiences students will have because it’s not just a specialty in nursing education. Every patient whom nurses encounter has a mental health, psychosocial component. And it impacts their physiological health. I want to address that component first so they can treat their patients holistically. Another big push that I’m trying to instill in this program is that of adaptation and change — ensuring that we equip students with the skills needed to assist patients with health behavior change.

Q: What’s an example of a skill that would help future nurses guide their patients toward behavior changes?

A: Motivational interviewing skills is a patient-centered communication technique that involves really hearing the patient’s perspective and trying to understand their beliefs and values. It’s not a way of convincing but of working with the patient to assist them with the changes they have to make to help them get better, stay healthy or prevent disease. That’s primary care.

by Jennifer R. Lloyd (M.B.A. ’16)

What’s round, made of copper and nickel, worth 25 cents and has a St. Mary’s University connection?

The answer: The new Jovita Idár quarter issued by the .

Idár was a Mexican American woman born in Laredo in 1885 who became a journalist, activist, teacher and suffragist, according to the Mint. She fought against separatist ideologies and worked to build a better future for Mexican Americans and women.

The coin — the ninth in the line of American Women Quarters — was revealed on Sept. 15 in San Antonio. Idár’s family, including St. Mary’s employee Rose Ann Martinez, joined in celebrating the momentous occasion.

Martinez, who began working at the University about three years ago as an accounts payable technician, said she found inspiration in the new quarter featuring her great-great-aunt.

“I have grandchildren, and I want them and future generations to know the history behind that quarter,” Martinez said.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month history

The quarter will be recognized at a St. Mary’s University event culminating Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations, called Noche de Cultura, from 3 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 11, in the Quad.

“A teacher, journalist, political activist, feminist and humanitarian, Jovita Idár is a giant of Mexican American history whose life represented a deep commitment to democratic values and the common good,” said Gerald E. Poyo, Ph.D., the O’Connor Chair for the History of Hispanic Texas and the Southwest and Professor of History. “This national recognition affirms and celebrates Idár and her many accomplishments, but also represents the strengths of American diversity and the many who have struggled to make the United States a more welcoming place for all.”

Unaware that the quarter was in the works until a couple of weeks before its release, Martinez talked with her mother, who was a child when Idár died in 1946. Martinez said her mother remembered sitting with Idár and hearing her deep, raspy voice as the two wrote a story together on black paper using chalk.

Martinez said elevating Idár’s legacy to the level of being depicted on a quarter alongside America’s other significant historical figures meant a great deal to her family.

“I know Jovita didn’t do everything she did for a quarter,” Martinez said. “I know she didn’t do this to be recognized. But she did this because it was in her. She felt those were her rights. … And she wanted to give us more rights.”

by Michelle Mondo

Education centered around service and perseverance is important to brothers Kai and Aidan Solonka. Their first experiences with Marianist education came as they each entered Central Catholic High School.

Kai Solonka first, as the oldest, then Aidan Solonka two years later.

When it came time to choose a college, they said St. Mary’s University stood out as a way to continue that kind of education.

“The Marianist ideal in education is about perseverance and a duty that education — and knowing what to do and what not to do in certain situations — is the most important thing as opposed to just memorizing facts,” Kai Solonka said.

Born and raised in San Antonio, it was their grandmother’s and mother’s wish that they continue their family tradition of Catholic education. Both attended the school with the help of the , formerly known as the Marianist Urban Student Program (MUSP), which offers financial aid and other support to incoming freshmen at Central Catholic.

“The Marianist ideal in education is about perseverance and a duty that education — and knowing what to do and what not to do in certain situations — is the most important thing as opposed to just memorizing facts.”

Kai Solonka

Kai Solonka, a senior Philosophy major, plans to go to graduate school to become a licensed professional counselor and then get a Ph.D. in Philosophy. His goal is to focus on post-traumatic stress disorder, trauma and the intersection of free will. He is publishing a paper through the McNair Scholars Program, titled “Neuropenitentiary: The Mind’s Tragic Autonomic Sacrifice of Free Will in the Battle Against Trauma.”

Kai Solonka, who originally thought he would study business, was inspired by professors in the Department of Philosophy to pursue his unique focus, including Associate Professor of Philosophy Andrew Brei, Ph.D.

“Kai is an intensively creative thinker and a natural collaborator whose perspective on the world will serve him — and others — very well,” Brei said.

Sophomore Aidan Solonka hopes to get his bachelor’s degree in Criminology with a minor in Psychology. His goal is to become a criminal profiler. Knowing his brother was attending St. Mary’s helped him make the decision to attend. After getting involved in the service-based group Guardian Angels at Central Catholic, Aidan Solonka realized that St. Mary’s would be a university that allowed him to continue his tradition of service.

Both brothers, through the Marianist Excel Program, were part of the National Hispanic Institute, a youth organization focused on public policy that held events at St. Mary’s.

“I felt at home going there because of my experience at Central,” Aidan Solonka said. “When I found out about the Marianist Leadership Program at St. Mary’s, which was so close to the Excel Program, I wanted to continue that kind of education and lifestyle. Being of service to other people is really important to me.”

The Marianist Leadership Program, or MLP, is a faith-based leadership and community service program. Aidan Solonka is also on the Student Leadership Team.

In the time Amy Arismendez, Program Director of the Marianist Leadership Program and Student Initiatives, has worked with Aidan Solonka she has seen his capacity for service shine through his actions.

“Aidan is a true servant leader and someone willing to help whenever and however he can, not just in our program but in his classes and with his fellow peers,” Arismendez said. “Anytime a fellow MLP student needs help or encouragement, Aidan steps up and becomes present. I’m excited to see how Aidan will continue to grow as a student and deepen his faith life and leadership here at the University.”

As the brothers continue their journey from university life and into the workforce, they both are grateful for how their education has prepared them.

“St. Mary’s is an excellent place to do research on yourself,” Kai Solonka said. “You have the opportunity to sit down and really digest who you are and what your potential is in different fields. It’s all about attaching knowledge to your own sense of duty.”

St. Mary’s University is just one spot away from the top ranking in the West region in the Best Value Schools rankings by , which today released the 2024 edition of its annual Best Colleges guide.

“Which colleges and universities offer students the best value? The calculation used here takes into account a school’s academic quality, as indicated by its 2024 U.S. News Best Colleges ranking, and the 2022-2023 91ߣ����Ƶ net cost of attendance for an out-of-state student who received the average level of need-based financial aid,” stated the U.S. News description of the ranking. “The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal.”

In addition to ranking No. 2 in the West region in the Best Value Schools, St. Mary’s also tied for the No. 14 spot out of 120 regional universities in the West for academic quality.

The University has been included in the list of top-tier regional universities for 30 consecutive years. Students are drawn to the personalized attention St. Mary’s is able to deliver through its small class sizes and low student-to-faculty ratio of 11 to 1.

Forbes also recently named St. Mary’s University to its . St. Mary’s landed 23rd in Texas. The Forbes list “recognizes the top U.S. colleges that have demonstrated impressive graduation rates, high graduate salaries and great outcomes for low-income students.”

More rankings: Social mobility, veterans, law

U.S. News introduced a ranking for Top Performers on Social Mobility in 2019 to evaluate which schools best serve underrepresented students. This measurement evaluates how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants. Students receiving these grants typically come from households with family incomes of less than $50,000 annually, according to the methodology.

St. Mary’s ranked No. 20 in the West for social mobility among regional universities. St. Mary’s also ranked first in San Antonio in this analysis for the fifth year in a row.

This year, St. Mary’s also ranked top in San Antonio and rose to the No. 8 spot in the West among the Best Colleges for Veterans. The ranking includes schools that take part in federal initiatives to aid veterans and active-duty service members in funding their education. St. Mary’s University is a Yellow Ribbon School.

For the third year in a row, the St. Mary’s University School of Law Advocacy Programs ranked in the top 20 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report — moving up to tie for the No. 14 spot in the 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ Best Graduate School Rankings released in March. 

In July, U.S. News & World Report named the St. Mary’s University School of Law to its short list of racially and ethnically diverse law schools.

The list included 23 law schools from across the U.S. and its territories. Students identifying with minority racial and ethnic backgrounds composed nearly 55% of the J.D. student body at St. Mary’s Law in 2022. Of the 760 students, 48% identified as Hispanic.

U.S. News also ranked the University’s undergraduate Engineering programs.

Find out more about St. Mary’s University’s top rankings on the rankings webpage.

Five individuals and one team that have paved the way for future generations, set the standard of excellence at St. Mary’s University and risen to the top of their respective sports will be inducted into the St. Mary’s 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 9.

The induction ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. on Nov. 9 on campus at Bill Greehey Arena. Tickets for the event are available for $75 per adult.

The class includes the first inductee for Women’s Golf in Jillian Wyne (B.B.A ’03), while the 1988-1989 Men’s Basketball team becomes the second team to join the Hall. The group also includes Softball’s Elizabeth Beyer (B.B.A. ’05), Kevin Kotzur (B.A. ’12) from Men’s Basketball and Carl O’Neal (B.S. ’13) from Baseball. Long-time coach and administrator Charlie Migl (B.A. ’78) completes the prestigious class.

More about the inductees:

Elizabeth Beyer (B.B.A. ’05), Softball

Beyer earned two All-American honors in her two seasons (2004-2005) with the Rattlers, finishing second all-time in home runs with 40. Beyer belted 24 homers in 2005, which was the record at the time, and is still tied for the all-time mark in both St. Mary’s and Heartland Conference history. Her 67 RBI in 2005 are tied for second in school history and fourth in league history. She was named to the Heartland Conference 20th Anniversary Softball Team after being named Co-Player of the Year in 2004. In two years, she batted .401 with 40 home runs, 132 RBI, 23 doubles, 105 runs scored and a .801 slugging percentage.

Kevin Kotzur (B.A. ’12), Men’s Basketball

Kotzur, a four-time (2010-2013) All-Region selection and the Rattlers’ lone member of the 2,000 points/1,000 rebounds club finished his career with 2,004 points (third best in school history) and a school record 1,039 rebounds. He was a Second-Team All-American as a senior when he also earned South Central Region Player of the Year honors, as well as being chosen for the NABC DII College All-Star Game and to the NABC Allstate Good Works Team for his volunteer efforts off the court. Kotzur was also named to the South Central All-Region Second Team in his first three years. He finished his career with the school career field goal percentage (66.2%) and blocked shots (112) records, second in field goals made (854) and third in free throws made (296). During his time on the hardwood, the Rattlers earned two NCAA Regional appearances, with a Round of 16 showing in 2013.

Charlie Migl (B.A. ’78), Baseball, Baseball Coach

In his 35 years as the head Baseball coach, Migl finished fourth all-time in NCAA Division II history 1,246 victories. Migl had 33 winning seasons in those 35 years, with the club becoming NCAA Division II national champions in 2001. Migl’s teams won 15 conference titles, and appeared in seven NCAA Regionals and three NAIA World Series. Migl’s 1,246 wins also rank 30th all-time, regardless of division. He was inducted into the Heartland Conference Hall of Fame in the league’s final year of existence and earned 14 conference coach of the year awards — seven in the Heartland Conference, five in the Heart of Texas Conference and two in the Big State Conference. He also earned National Coach of the Year honors in both 2001 and 2012. Migl was a four-year letter-winner at St. Mary’s in Baseball while earning his Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education in 1978. After two years as a teacher at Harlandale High School, Migl was hired in 1982 as Assistant Baseball Coach and took over the reins five seasons later, spending 35 seasons at the helm of the Baseball program. In addition, Migl also spent time working with the Men’s and Women’s Tennis and Men’s Soccer programs while he was an Assistant Baseball Coach.

Carl O’Neal (B.S. ’13), Baseball

The two-time All-American was one of the most decorated Rattlers to ever play baseball, earning ABCA D-II National Pitcher of the Year honors in 2012 following a season in which he went 14-0 on the mound and led the Rattlers to the College World Series. O’Neal went 27-2 on the rubber over his final two seasons, en route to winning 39 career games — the second-most wins in Rattler history with a 39-6 career mark. A two-time Regional Pitcher of the Year in 2012 and 2013, O’Neal was also named a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2013. For his career, he posted a 2.46 ERA (fourth-best in school history) over 340.1 innings pitched (also fourth in school history), while earning a program-record 55 starts on the hill. He pitched 18 complete games, struck out 284 batters and limited opponents to a .209 batting average. His 14 wins in 2012 represented the second-most in a single season for the Rattlers, earning five shutouts that season.

Jillian Wyne (B.B.A. ’03), Women’s Golf

Wyne was a two-time WGCA All-American in 2002 and 2003, helping kick off a new sport at St. Mary’s with a bang. As a senior in 2002-2003, Wyne won seven tournaments, still the most in a single season in school history, and her 11 tournament victories are the career standard, more than doubling the next Rattler on the list. Her career scoring average of 79.61 stood as the record for four years and remains in the top 10 today. She ended her junior season ranked 12th in the nation and was No. 3 as a senior, helping lead the team to a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championship. She won the NCAA Regionals with a three-round total of 233 as a senior after finishing second in the same competition as a junior. Wyne was also an All-American Scholar in 2002 and a member of the Heartland Conference 20th Anniversary Team.

1988-1989 Men’s Basketball Team

Players: Joe Baker (B.A. ’92), Medric Boddie (CL ’92), Matt Cernosek (B.B.A. ’92), Gary Durbon (B.A. ’92), Everette Henderson (B.A. ’91), Sam Hines (B.A. ’93), Anthony Houston (B.A. ’90), Zachary Lawson (CL ’89), Carlos Love (CL ’90), Omonuwa Obaseki (CL ’92), Steve O’Keefe (B.A. ’91), Warren Schulz (B.B.A. ’90), Steve Smith (CL ’90), Warren Smith (CL ’91), Ronald Thomas (B.A. ’91), Adrian Wright (B.A. ’91); Managers: Lejon Allen, Don Brennan (B.B.A ’90, J.D. ’93), Steve Ludyen (B.A. ’90), Jorge Vasquez

Coaching Staff: Buddy Meyer (B.A. ’65), Jim Zeleznak (B.A. ’79), Steve Sylestine, Dr. Jesse DeLee

The 1988-1989 Men’s Basketball team won the NAIA National Championship with a 28-5 record. Head Coach Buddy Meyer was named the National Coach of the Year and Anthony Houston was an All-American for the team that won its final 12 games of the season and went 9-1 in Heart of Texas Conference play. Both Houston and Zach Larson were All-NAIA District IV selections, while Rusty Thomas joined them on the All-Heart of Texas Conference team. The Rattlers defeated East Central in the Championship game, 61-58.

The St. Mary’s University School of Law, the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the Catholic Lawyers’ Guild will gather the San Antonio legal community to celebrate the at San Fernando Cathedral on Thursday, Oct. 5.

The annual event upholds the centuries-old tradition that marks the fall start of the judicial year.

“We gather at Red Mass to rededicate ourselves to the rule of law, justice and peace,” said , Dean of the School of Law and Charles E. Cantú Distinguished Professor of Law. “We pray for wisdom and compassion to guide us in our work, and we stand united in our commitment to uphold these ideals.”

At 5:45 p.m., judges and legal organizations will have a procession carrying bright red banners through Main Plaza to the Cathedral at 115 Main Plaza. The Mass will begin at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.

The Most Rev. Gustavo García-Siller, M.Sp.S., Archibishop of San Antonio, will be the principal celebrant and homilist. Javier F. Oliva (M.S. ’87, J.D. ’90) will provide welcome remarks.

“We gather at Red Mass to rededicate ourselves to the rule of law, justice and peace.”

Patricia E. Roberts, J.D.

The Mass will also be livestreamed via and , and broadcast on Spectrum Cable Channel 15 by Catholic Television.

“When I think of the significance of the Red Mass to our community, I am reminded of Psalm 85, which states, ‘Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss,’” said the Rev. John Thompson, S.M., Ed.D., St. Mary’s Vice President for Mission. “When we gather in faith, we look to God who is just and merciful. For people involved in the exercise of law in our city, this should be the model for all deliberations and interactions — kindness, truth, justice and peace. When we celebrate the Eucharist, that is, in fact, what comes together. When we leave Red Mass, we should be more kind, more truthful, more just and more at peace. May God’s word ring true in our hearing this day.”

The Red Mass tradition dates to 1245 in Europe when the bench and bar attended the Mass together at the beginning of each judicial session. The name references both the crimson robes worn by judges and the red vestments worn by priests in honor of the Holy Spirit. Legal communities across the country celebrate Red Mass to request God’s blessings and guidance on the administration of justice.

The St. Mary’s Law and the Catholic Lawyers’ Guild of San Antonio revived the tradition 71 years ago and continue to organize the annual event with the Archdiocese and representatives from San Antonio legal organizations, the judiciary and the State Legislature.

Of Red Mass, Oliva said, “We pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to ignite our minds and hearts to go forth and serve all of God’s people.”

“All assembled renew their commitment to seek the truth and promote justice for the common good,” Oliva said.

by Jayden Mendez  &�Բ�����;

Benjamin “Josh” Doty, Ph.D., said he has been an anime fan since he first stumbled upon an episode of Dragon Ball as a child. &�Բ�����;

From that moment, Doty said he would wake up before his parents and turn on the living room television to watch this new show that had captured his attention.  &�Բ�����;

“It was a cartoon unlike any I’d ever seen before,” Doty said. “And here I am now 30 years later.” &�Բ�����;

Now the Chair of the Department of English Literature and Language and an Associate Professor of English, Literature and Language at St. Mary’s University, Doty has found a kindred anime fan in Associate Professor of Philosophy Eric Chelstrom, Ph.D.  

The two will have the opportunity to share their passion for the medium with the public while linking it to their work in the classrooms. &�Բ�����;

Bringing St. Mary’s to San Japan &�Բ�����;

The two professors will present a panel entitled “Anime at St. Mary’s University” at , the largest anime and gaming convention in the South Texas region, taking place at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center from Friday, Sept. 1, through Sunday, Sept. 3.  &�Բ�����;

Scheduled at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2, the two professors will promote how they incorporate anime and manga into their curriculum while also introducing St. Mary’s to a diverse group of people who also share a love for Japanese cartoons. &�Բ�����;

Anime is animation, while manga are comics and graphic novels, both of which originated in Japan. ��

Their goal is to show how seriously St. Mary’s takes the art and culture surrounding anime. Doty and Chelstrom intend to illustrate how much viewers can learn from their favorite shows, such as pondering philosophical questions or looking deeper into the meanings of characters and scenes.  &�Բ�����;

“St. Mary’s is a place where, if you are more artistically or culturally inclined, if you’re someone who just loves reading manga to death, you can come here and find professors who will sit down and take you seriously,” Doty said.  &�Բ�����;

Chelstrom said that he hopes to use the panel not only to talk about philosophy in anime, but also to show that, as a professor, he is no different from any other anime fan. &�Բ�����;

“We can meet you where you’re at, and we share interests with you,” Chelstrom said. “Professors are not these alien creatures.” &�Բ�����;

Adding graphic appeal to English and Philosophy studies &�Բ�����;

Doty said in the last few years, he has seen more students show an interest in the genre. Both Doty and Chelstrom plan to give students new ways to review titles, from the manga series Blue Exorcist to the anime film Howl’s Moving Castle, while learning.  &�Բ�����;

In their classes, the two professors are using anime that is approachable to both fans and newcomers. Chelstrom said he hopes to have students bring in their own clips for discussion in class. &�Բ�����;

In Spring 2024, Doty will teach English 2381, Introduction to Fantasy, which will include Japanese media and how it is viewed through a Western lens. Meanwhile, Chelstrom has already begun integrating readings and themes from Japanese literature into his First-Year Experience classes.  &�Բ�����;

“St. Mary’s is a place where, if you are more artistically or culturally inclined, if you’re someone who just loves reading manga to death, you can come here and find professors who will sit down and take you seriously.”   &�Բ�����;

Benjamin “Josh” Doty, Ph.D.

“It’s an alternative sort of daily assignment that allows students to show the clip and then give some kind of analysis of how they think it relates to what we’ve done in the reading,” Chelstrom said. &�Բ�����;

Doty said he hopes to find ways to show current and newer fans of anime, both on campus and at the convention that he and Chelstrom are more than just professors; they are professors who are anime fans.  &�Բ�����;

They aspire to take St. Mary’s students to Japan to continue studying this unique approach to storytelling.  &�Բ�����;

“I hope people see we are, in fact, two normal guys who have families and we’re not just twisting our mustaches,” Doty said. “We’re here because we take our educational mission seriously.” 

by Samantha Mendoza

Andrew Tague (B.B.A. ’23) decided to take a chance on Texas. After graduating from St. Mary’s High School in his hometown of St. Louis, he wanted to continue exploring how a Marianist education could nurture his growth as a servant leader. That led him, of course, to St. Mary’s University.

“I always joke that I couldn’t get enough of St. Mary’s,” Tague said. “But really, the family spirit of a Marianist education is what called me back.”

Although Tague found himself in unfamiliar territory, thousands of miles away from friends and family, he wasted no time finding familiarity and building community in his new St. Mary’s home.

Propelled by a desire to build upon his Marianist values, he joined the Marianist Leadership Program — a faith-based leadership and service program centered around faith and community — during his first semester on campus.

Through the program, Tague helped plan retreats, coordinate campus-wide service projects and, ultimately, better understand himself, his faith and his life path.

“The Marianist Leadership Program was the first building block that started the foundation of who I am today,” Tague said. “It gave me the opportunity to start living out my vocation. I realized that it was time to be me.”

A self-described extrovert, Tague found himself by getting involved in just about anything that allowed him to serve and build fellowship with others, including as a summer orientation leader for incoming students and a President’s Ambassador. His philosophy for success? Just say yes.

“Saying yes to opportunities stretched me thin at times,” Tague said. “But I think that’s what helped me really thrive at St. Mary’s: saying yes and getting involved.”

It’s this attitude that, ultimately, helped Tague secure a full-time job almost an entire year before his graduation and earn the President’s Award for academic excellence and transformative leadership at St. Mary’s.

“The Marianist Leadership Program was the first building block that started the foundation of who I am today. It gave me the opportunity to start living out my vocation. I realized that it was time to be me.”

Andrew Tague (B.B.A. ’23)

As a Finance and Risk Management major, Tague became an officer in the academic fraternity for students studying insurance, risk management and actuary science — called Gamma Iota Sigma — as well as joining as an inaugural member of the Contreras Leader in Risk Program.

Through the mentorship of Professor of Finance David Sommer, Ph.D., who is the Charles E. Cheever Chair of Risk Management, and the support of the St. Mary’s Career and Professional Development Center, Tague completed and excelled at a 10-week internship with The Hartford insurance company. His performance led to a full-time job offer as an underwriter upon graduation.

“Andrew is a servant leader, brilliant student and well-rounded young man,” said Violeta Díaz, Ph.D., Associate Dean of the Greehey School of Business and Associate Professor of Finance. “He lives out the Marianist values every day, and I have no doubt he’ll be able to achieve all of his professional endeavors.”

Now three months into his first full-time job, there are a few pieces of St. Mary’s University Tague still carries with him. The first? The vintage T-shirt shop, called Tague’s Treasures, he started while he was a student. Many of his carefully selected clothing pieces can even be seen in his new office.

Tague started the business as a fun side hustle: a way to connect with other students while promoting sustainability and raising awareness about the ramifications of fast fashion. Two years later, the shop remains so popular with students that he returned as an alumni business featured at Rattler Market, a campus and local vendor event held outside the University Center in August.

But there’s one other piece of St. Mary’s memorabilia you’ll never see Tague without, whether in his office or at the thrift shop.

“I wear my class ring every day,” Tague said. “I am who I am today because of this ring. Because at St. Mary’s, you can be you. And you can say yes to that.”

by Leticia Romero

For United States Air Force veteran Ashleigh Wempe (M.B.A. ’18), mosaic knitting and pattern designing started as a way to pass the time after transitioning out of the military and while working through the MBA program at St. Mary’s University.

Rather than focusing primarily on selling her creations, Wempe designs the knitting patterns, which she called “recipes,” for people to create a variety of their own knit pieces. 

A visit to immerses you in bold and bright, intricate motifs in the form of a complex colorwork product, like blankets, rugs or — what she’s best known for — shawls.  

After being approached by a UK-based publishing company, David & Charles LTD, Wempe spent 18 months compiling a book full of her fun and colorful patterns, accessible to both beginners and advanced knitters. In June 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, Wempe’s book, , was published. 

“It was a really fun, crazy experience,” Wempe said about the process of writing a book, working full time at USAA, moving from San Antonio to Rochester, Minnesota, and being a mother of two young daughters. “There wasn’t enough time in the day to do it all, but somehow, it all came together in the end.” 

Mosaic of a lifetime

The pattern of Wempe’s life has been a bit of a mosaic itself.  

Wempe joined the Air Force in 2011 and served for seven years, as an intelligence officer, separating from the military in 2017 as a captain. She had a master’s degree in National Security Studies with an emphasis on the Western Hemisphere from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Despite her training in areas focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean, the military sent her to South Korea. 

It was there Wempe helped to lead a team of more than 50 Airmen on an intelligence operations floor, providing warnings and conducting intelligence, aircraft surveillance and reconnaissance operations in support of maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula.

“It’s kind of like your traditional spy airplane that people talk about,” Wempe said. “The aircraft monitors what North Korea is doing, and I helped manage the operations floor.” 

On a visit to San Antonio, she met her now-husband Ryan Wempe (M.B.A. ’16), who was serving in the U.S. Army at the time. While they were deployed separately — her to South Korea and he to Afghanistan — they eventually ended up in San Antonio and got married in St. Mary’s University’s Assumption Chapel, where Ryan was a graduate student. The Rev. Jim Tobin, S.M., the Greehey School of Business Chaplain, officiated the wedding. 

“It was really fun to get to know Father Jim,” Ashleigh Wempe said. “He invited us to go meet all of the Marianist brothers at the house they have on campus, right around Christmas time. We got to hang out with them, and I brought my oldest daughter. She was the highlight.” 

Ashleigh Wempe had a few other confidential job responsibilities as a cyber operations officer at Joint Base San Antonio — Lackland and, later, at the National Security Agency in Texas before following her husband into the MBA program at St. Mary’s in 2018.  

Now, as a civilian, Ashleigh Wempe credits the connections she made at St. Mary’s in her cohort for helping to land a job as a process engineer for USAA.  

“We try to help leadership make data-driven decisions instead of gut decisions,” Ashleigh Wempe said.

Knitting down to business  

When she’s not at work, she’s creating patterns and teaching her six-week course, Shawl Design Unraveled, where knitters interested in becoming designers can learn directly from her.  

“I take them from the ideation phase of coming up with a knitting pattern idea, sketching it out, to picking up the yarn and doing all of the math required to create the shape,” she said. 

She has her students start with a shawl because shawls tend to be simple shapes. Ashleigh Wempe then walks them through how to write the pattern, get it tested, edited and, ultimately, published.  

“It’s a six-week journey to get your first pattern published,” said Ashleigh Wempe, who will offer her in September, virtually and asynchronously. 

Ashleigh Wempe said her work in knitting and her career each embrace the ability to pivot and try new things. 

“Honestly, that’s what life is about: trying something new. It takes a little bit of guts and gumption to go for it,” Ashleigh Wempe said. “If you’re not risking anything, then there’s no reward. Life’s too short to do things that you’re not interested in.” 

by Brian Magloyoan (B.A. ’15)

Combining his Computer Science studies at St. Mary’s University with his passion for baseball, Cayden Garcia made a splash with the Appalachian League, one of the longest-running baseball leagues in the history of professional baseball.

Named as the data coordinator for the Elizabethton River Riders, Garcia served as the technology liaison, tasked with managing in-game video operations and the technology needed for data capture.

“His internship this summer is where he’s getting a chance to use some of his computer science skills,” said Arthur Hanna, Ph.D., St. Mary’s Professor of Computer Science, and Graduate Program Director of Computer Science and Computer Information Systems. “It puts what he’s been doing in the computer science classes in a real-world perspective.”

Utilizing his computer science skills to write programs that measure data, Garcia gathered key information that assists with player development.

“I’ve written a few programs,” said Garcia, who is also minoring in Mathematics. “It makes sharing data with the guys pretty easy because I can whip up a program in six hours and show them what they need to see.”

Garcia, who is from San Antonio, credits his experience at St. Mary’s for preparing him for the opportunity to work with professionals from the Appalachian League and Major League Baseball.

“It helped with getting the internship in the first place,” he said. “The reason why they put me on projects with those guys is because of school.”

Hanna, his advisor, acknowledged Garcia’s work ethic as one of the reasons for his success.

“He’s very sincere and industrious,” Hanna said. “Those people make the best students because they know what they want and they are willing to work for it.”

“Computer Science professors, I haven’t had a bad one yet,” Garcia said. “All of them have been extremely helpful. They want the best for their students.”

“The biggest thing at St. Mary’s is the relationships you get to build with your professors,” he added. “Especially being in my major, having them there, ready to help out, it’s a big deal.”

Prior to arriving at St. Mary’s in 2021, Garcia recalls how collegiate baseball wasn’t in his plans.

“Honestly, I wasn’t even planning on playing college baseball,” said Garcia who graduated from Johnson High School. “It wasn’t until St. Mary’s called me for a visit. It was the only school to call me to play baseball.”

“Looking back at it now,” he added. “It was probably the best decision I’ve made so far.”

“The biggest thing at St. Mary’s is the relationships you get to build with your professors. Especially being in my major, having them there, ready to help out, it’s a big deal.”

Cayden Garcia

After the outfielder suited up for the team for two seasons, Garcia transitioned to the coaching staff for the 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ season, serving as an assistant recruiting coordinator and head of player development.

“He was one of the more valuable assets we had on our staff last year,” Assistant Baseball Coach said. “There were nights we would stay late before a road trip and go through film. Then I’d come back the next day and see that he’d ended up sleeping on the couch in the locker room.”

“There are late nights and early mornings,” Garcia said. “It’s a grind, but I’m the type of person who needs to be busy.”

Set to graduate in Spring 2024, Garcia hopes to one day work for a Major League Baseball franchise.

“Cayden is going to be a great representative of St. Mary’s when he leaves here,” Cavazos said. “He might develop some software that changes the game of baseball, or he might go into coaching.”

“I see no reason for him not to get to where he wants to go,” Hanna added. “He knows where he’s going and what he needs to do to get there.”

The American Bar Association has ranked the St. Mary’s University School of Law as fourth in the nation in the 2022-2023 91ߣ����Ƶ ABA Competitions Championship.

The St. Mary’s Law National Team prepares students to become practice-ready advocates through training and competitions against other teams nationwide.

“The ABA has created this award to recognize law schools that go above and beyond to help prepare their students for practice,” said Erica M. Zepeda, program manager for the ABA, in an email notifying St. Mary’s of its ranking. “Success in these competitions illustrates your school’s commitment to providing a well-rounded curriculum and preparing students to become highly skilled lawyers. We are proud that the ABA competitions are an important part of the hands-on learning experiences available to your students.”

The rankings were based on participation, hosting and awards earned in the competitions focusing on arbitration, negotiation, client counseling and mediation, as well as the National Appellate Advocacy Competition.

“The ABA ranking is extremely difficult because it is an annual ranking based on performance,” said , St. Mary’s Law Assistant Dean for Advocacy Programs and Hardy Service Professor of Law. “For the past four years, we have shown consistency in our performance by being ranked in the top 15 five times. The ABA looks at all facets of preparing students for the practice of law, ensuring competitions and rankings for dispute resolution, trial and appeals. You must do well in all areas to receive a high ranking.”

The National Team brought home five national championships during 2022-2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, in addition to four regional titles and one state championship. With the 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ-2024 academic year just beginning, St. Mary’s students have already won the State Moot Court Competition hosted by the Texas Young Lawyers Association and the E. Earle Zehmer National Moot Court Competition.

St. Mary’s University students, faculty, staff and alumni will volunteer across San Antonio on Saturday, Aug. 19, for Continuing the Heritage — the biannual event during which the St. Mary’s community serves at partnering nonprofits throughout San Antonio.

The day of service happens at the beginning of each semester. It brings together volunteers for projects, such as assembling picnic tables for schools, assisting with clean up and organization at nearby schools and nonprofits, weeding and planting in community gardens, and helping with litter pickup and painting over graffiti at parks. The event will draw about 450 volunteers.

Volunteers will meet at the St. Mary’s University at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 19, for an opening ceremony, which includes breakfast and prayer. From 9 a.m. until noon, volunteers will serve at sites.

Service Sites

St. PJ’s Children’s Home at 919 Mission Road — Student volunteers will be helping with campus beatification and organizing the resources center.
Graffiti Wipe Out (City of San Antonio) at 1450 Mira Vista — Volunteers will be helping paint over graffiti at the drainage channel at Gilbert Garza Park.
Ascension DePaul Services at 7607 Somerset Road — Volunteers will help prepare a new classroom. They will assist with cleaning the classroom and organizing the closets.
San Antonio Food Bank at 5200 Historic Old Hwy 90 — Volunteers will distribute food to the community through a drive-thru distribution model. Volunteers will also be responsible for bagging and sorting products.

Since 1997, 13,468 volunteers have offered more than 54,410 hours to organizations that provide much-needed services throughout the area.

To continue St. Mary’s University’s dedicated pursuit of fostering meaningful dialogue for our community’s well-being, the St. Mary’s Center for Catholic Studies will present a panel discussion on Finding Common Ground for the Common Good: Immigration Reform on Tuesday, Aug. 15.

This panel discussion will unite seasoned public servants and experts with extensive experience in tackling a range of challenges — including those linked to immigration — and working with others to serve the common good. The discussion is free and open to the public. It will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, in the .

The event will be moderated by St. Mary’s President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D. It will feature the Hon. Nelson Wolff (B.B.A. ’66, J.D. ’66), the retired Bexar County judge who is now a St. Mary’s University Distinguished Service Professor.

“This discussion will offer our community a chance to reflect on one of society’s most challenging current issues, immigration reform,” Wolff said. “We can find common ground to help our community improve its approach to immigration. Each one of us can make our situation better by working together.”

Additional panelists include:

Tony Gonzales, U.S. Congressman (TX-23)
Sister Norma Pimentel (M.A. ’89), Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley
Erica B. Schommer, J.D., St. Mary’s Clinical Professor of Law and Englehardt Research Fellow

The speakers serve as exemplars for finding common ground with people who differ in their opinions or perspectives. The community is invited to glean insights from these experts about the obstacles and possibilities of immigration reform.

Those traveling to campus can park in or . For directions, visit the campus map. 

More about the panelists

The Hon. Nelson Wolff, J.D., is a retired Bexar County judge and Democratic politician from San Antonio. He represented Bexar County in the Texas House of Representatives from 1971 to 1973 and the Texas Senate from 1973 to 1975. Wolff served on the San Antonio City Council from 1987 to 1991 and then as mayor of San Antonio from 1991 to 1995. He served as Bexar County judge from 2001 until 2022. In January, Wolff was appointed as University Distinguished Service Professor at St. Mary’s University. He earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from St. Mary’s.

Tony Gonzales, U.S. Congressman (TX-23), oversees 800 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, the largest stretch of the border territory of any Congressional district. Any decisions made regarding immigration and border security directly impact the communities in his district. Gonzales is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. He has 20 years of military experience and holds a master’s degree in International Relations from American Public University, and is a Ph.D. candidate in International Development at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Norma Pimentel is a Sister with the Missionaries of Jesus. As Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, she oversees the charitable arm of the Diocese of Brownsville, providing oversight of the different ministries and services in the areas of the Rio Grande Valley. In recognition of her advocacy for migrants and humanitarian work along the US-Mexico border, Pimentel has received the Catholic Charities USA Martin Luther King, Jr. “Keep the Dream Alive” Award, Rio Grande Valley’s “Citizen of the Year,” TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and is the recipient of the University of Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, which is among the highest honors for an American Catholic. She earned a master’s in Theology at St. Mary’s. Read more on Pimentel in Gold & Blue Magazine.

, St. Mary’s Clinical Professor of Law and Englehardt Research Fellow, leads the School of Law’s Immigration and Human Rights Clinic. Before joining St. Mary’s, Schommer was in private practice where she focused on detained removal defense and federal court litigation. She began her career working on the U.S.-Mexico border at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc., where she represented many survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking and directed the Legal Orientation Program at the Willacy County Regional Detention Center in Raymondville.

For the second-straight season, the men’s sports at St. Mary’s University have won the ultimate award in the Lone Star Conference, winning the 10th annual Lone Star Conference Academic Excellence Awards presented by Balfour on Monday.

St. Mary’s earned the men’s honor for the second consecutive year, while Texas Woman’s University in Denton captured its conference-best sixth women’s award as the athletic departments with the highest collective team GPA for the 2022-2023 91ߣ����Ƶ academic year. The Rattlers and Pioneers will each receive a cash reward and custom trophy.

“We’re thrilled to recognize both St. Mary’s University and Texas Woman’s University for their outstanding academic achievement this past year,” LSC Commissioner Jay Poerner said. “Thank you to Balfour for its continued support of this prestigious award.”

The Rattlers also won the individual sport academic championships for 2022-2023 91ߣ����Ƶ in and . The Women’s Golf team had the highest team GPA at 3.926, which is also the top GPA in the history of the league’s academic excellence awards. Earlier this year the team won the Academic National Championship, presented by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA). The Baseball team recorded a 3.456 GPA to lead all the league’s baseball squads.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of our entire athletic program for the amazing work our student-athletes accomplished during the 2022-2023 91ߣ����Ƶ season in the classroom,” Executive Director of Athletics Robert Coleman said. “To win the LSC Balfour Academic Excellence Award for the second-straight year on the men’s side after winning the award on the women’s side in 2020 goes to show the effort our student-athletes put into being competitive not only on the field of play but in the classroom as well. It really is about both academics and athletics at St. Mary’s.”

The award winners were determined by a point system, with points distributed according to finish by sport in those that the LSC sponsors after a conference-wide comparison of team GPAs. The member institution with the highest team GPA in each sport was named the sport’s Academic Champion and earned five points toward the overall award. Each sport’s runner-up picked up four points and third-place three points toward the overall award. Any program with a Team GPA of 2.00 and above earned one point. Points for each member institution were totaled by gender and then divided by that institution’s number of counter programs in that gender to arrive at the comparison value.

The Rattlers have now won at least one of the LSC Balfour Academic Excellence Awards in three of the four years St. Mary’s has been in the Lone Star Conference, winning the women’s award in 2020 and the men’s award in 2022 and 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.

By Jennifer R. Lloyd (M.B.A. ’16) 

St. Mary’s University may be on the cusp of launching a new Nursing program, but the oldest Catholic university in the Southwest has long prepared students on their journey to nursing careers. 

Enrique Salinas, a first-generation student originally from Eagle Pass, earned his Bachelor of Arts in Biology from St. Mary’s in 2019. After participating in undergraduate research opportunities and shadowing a medical doctor, a single day spent shadowing a nurse made all the difference in his career decision. 

“I loved nursing. I felt it was my calling,” Salinas said. “Through nursing, I felt like I could help people.” 

“Through nursing, I felt like I could help people.”

Enrique Salinas (B.A. ’19)

After graduating, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from another university in San Antonio. Salinas is now halfway through earning his master’s in Nursing while working as a pediatric surgical nurse at CHRISTUS Children’s Hospital. 

At home at St. Mary’s 

Because no one in his family had earned a bachelor’s degree, Salinas felt his parents were on the journey of discovering higher education along with him, especially since neither had a background in his future major, Biology, nor Nursing. 

But from the moment he stepped onto campus for a visit with his mother and sister, he knew he’d found his home — something his mom could tell just by how he looked on campus. Though his father was initially concerned about the price tag, St. Mary’s provided the most generous financial aid of any school to which he’d applied. 

“The deciding factor for me was the feel of the community and the fact that the classes were smaller in size,” said Salinas, touting the University’s student-faculty ratio of 11 to 1. 

Once on campus, he became involved in faith-based activities and research. He took part in the Marianist Leadership Program, which provides students with educational and experiential opportunities focused on faith and leadership, and Rattler Awakening, a retreat that invites students to explore their faith lives in the context of a caring community. He even became an Admission tour guide. 

Through a St. Mary’s undergraduate research program, Salinas also studied the relationship between HIV and specific proteins in mice with a microbiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. 

Discovering nursing 

During his senior year at St. Mary’s, the medical doctor Salinas was shadowing asked him to spend the day shadowing a nurse to get a feel for that career too. 

“When I shadowed that nurse, I really got the opportunity to know the patient,” Salinas said. “You’re building that connection. Even if it’s for a day, I got to know who I’m taking care of.” 

Nursing is something that has enabled Salinas to pay forward the medical care he received as a baby when a doctor paid for surgery to his ears that his family could not afford. 

Flash forward to his work at CHRISTUS Children’s Hospital. Salinas said he’s fallen in love with pediatric nursing. 

“I have so much fun working with the kiddos,” he said. “They are sick, but they at least try to make the best of it.” 

By earning his master’s degree, Salinas hopes someday to become a clinical director or clinical instructor to educate future nurses. Predictions show Texas will need 50,000 more nurses by 2033, including 10,000 new nurses in Central and South Texas, according to the Texas Department of Health Services. 

“In nursing, you are always learning,” he said. “You are never going to stop learning.” 

Salinas said students who enroll in the St. Mary’s Nursing program, once it is approved by the Texas Board of Nursing and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), will benefit from an open-door policy with their professors. 

“One of the best things about St. Mary’s is that the professors really care about you,” he said. 

by Nathaniel Miller­

Rebeca Thompson and Gabrielle Tyler live 2,100 miles apart and more than 1,200 miles from the St. Mary’s University School of Law. But that does not stop them from attending classes with the San Antonio-based institution — or from becoming fast friends.

Aaron Chapman lives in Vail, Arizona, and works with a law firm specializing in representing children as they make their way through the adoption system. After work, he goes home to his wife and five kids.

Natalie Kuo, of Austin, was looking for a part-time law program with the flexibility to work without relocating and a university that has a welcoming community.

Scattered across Texas and the United States, these students are part of the inaugural cohort of the School of Law’s . Announced in Fall 2021, the part-time program was the nation’s first fully online J.D. offering to be accredited by the American Bar Association.

As the first to navigate this four-year program, many of the students were searching for a way to make a law degree more attainable, unaware a fully online program existed until they found St. Mary’s Law.

Some just wanted a part-time program. Others already knew of St. Mary’s through family or word of mouth. Some applied on a whim.

“Among the Texas Capitol crowd, most people either went to the University of Texas or St. Mary’s, and St. Mary’s has a great reputation,” said Katie Carmichael of Austin.

Much like getting into any law program, each student application enters a competitive pool. Of the 797 applications for the inaugural class, only 27 earned a seat — an acceptance rate of 9%. This online cohort is called Section O, a name they embrace proudly.

Already, many students have expressed gratitude for getting the chance to pursue a law degree. Though interactions with each other and faculty are primarily virtual, those in Section O said they have never felt like they’ve been treated differently than on-campus J.D. students.

“I feel like I don’t just attend St. Mary’s University. I feel like I’m a student at St. Mary’s University,” Thompson said. “And I am proud of it.”

Juggling act

When Aaron Chapman was 18, he already knew he would one day want to adopt children.

As a 9-year-old, he and his brother were officially adopted by their stepfather, and Chapman was always amazed when his stepfather referred to them as his own children.

That compassion encouraged Chapman to consider adoption as well. Now, he and his wife have five children — four adopted.

“They’re mine. It doesn’t matter what their blood says,” Chapman said. “Blood might be thicker than water, but it’s not thicker than love.”

It’s that love of seeing children successfully navigate the foster care system that drove Chapman to law school with the desire to become an attorney who advocates for children’s rights. He used the tribulations of his family’s latest adoption process as extra motivation.

“My primary focus is going to be what’s most important for children and their psychological development versus what’s important for the parents,” Chapman said.

Initially looking to apply to a university in Arizona, Chapman’s research led him to information about the St. Mary’s Online J.D. program while researching schools that offered a part-time or hybrid program. He wondered how different the program would be from his undergraduate studies at Western Governors University, an online, competency-based university.

“I was able to pay attention in class, but I was also there to support my son. It’s allowed me the flexibility to be a present father and also a student.”

Aaron Chapman

What he found was an experience similar to any other classroom. Classes are via Zoom but begin promptly. Students can schedule times to meet virtually with professors during office hours or at another convenient time.

Professors post recorded lectures online to help students review lessons or catch up on what they missed, especially if they get caught in traffic on the way home from work or are dealing with a sick family member.

Chapman said there have been times when St. Mary’s Law professors have answered emails late into the evening.

“They know we have children, work and everything else,” he said. “They adjusted schedules to keep answering emails because we’re doing class work at night. We don’t always have other options.”

To teach in the Online J.D. Program, School of Law faculty must be certified through a six-week pedagogy course and complete periodic continuing education.

, Associate Dean for Strategic Partnerships and Innovative Programs and Ernest W. Clemens Professor of Law, said building an online course can be challenging to blend asynchronous and synchronous learning. However, he added, faculty have enjoyed many benefits of teaching online courses.

“After designing the classes, many professors enjoy the smaller classes we have for the online students and the freedom to conduct class from anywhere,” Marks said.

Helena Hernandez Fisher, originally from Laredo, now lives in San Antonio. Though she takes courses online, she enjoys coming to campus when she can. She said juggling a full-time program would not have been possible with her full-time job as a Senior Grant Development Manager at the University of Texas at San Antonio and raising her 5-year-old son.

Hernandez Fisher said faculty have been accommodating of the situations in students’ personal lives. When her son had a karate test to move up in his belt rankings, Hernandez Fisher was sure she would have to miss it because of class. However, her professor told her to go to the event because the lecture would be recorded.

“The professors are experts in their field. They’ve worked for amazing companies. And this is a golden opportunity for us because they’re here to teach us,” Hernandez Fisher said. “These are not C-string coaches. This is the A-Team. And they’re not leaving anything on the table.”

Chapman stressed online classes are not easier because they are virtual. Students must prioritize studying and time management. But flexible schedules have allowed him to be present at events, such as his son’s first track meet.

“I was able to pay attention in class, but I was also there to support my son,” Chapman said. “It’s allowed me the flexibility to be a present father and also a student.”

Friends in virtual places

Rebeca Thompson and Gabrielle Tyler talk as if they’ve been lifelong companions.

Thompson, of Lake Worth, Florida, and Tyler, of Casper, Wyoming, never met before their on-campus orientation at St. Mary’s Law in 2022. Striking up a conversation on the ride to campus from the hotel, the two found shared experiences: husbands who served as youth pastors, motherhood and a return to their education as nontraditional students.

Since that short ride and bonding throughout the first year of classes, the two are planning to get together — along with their husbands — when they come to campus for a professional development weekend during the Fall 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ semester.

Even during semester breaks, the two make it a point to stay in contact.

“We talk almost every single day,” Tyler said. “During our last break, Rebeca FaceTimed just to say she wanted to see me. It’s hard to make new friends, especially as an adult with children.”

Meeting online for class has been a unique experience. Most on-campus students go to their classroom and sit in the same seat and next to the same people. In comparison, online students mostly see each other on screen.

To build camaraderie, students have found ways to make different connections in place of face-to-face interactions. Many open their virtual rooms for study groups on weekends or will log in to chat before or after class.

The cohort also communicates on GroupMe — a mobile messaging board. Used chiefly for school, the students have also made it a point to make the message board a place for sharing life updates and pictures of children and pets. Students stuck in traffic after work, or someone with a sick family member can leave a message for the group to share with the professor during that evening’s class.

“In my opinion, the online cohort is much closer knit than an in-person cohort because we have this online connection that makes it easier for us to share information,” Thompson said.

Section O also uses the message board to participate in on-campus events when its members cannot all visit in person. For instance, in October 2022, Carmichael led the cohort in collecting donations to purchase candy for the School of Law’s Boo Bash, which provides Halloween candy to local kids. Carmichael said the group had a 100% participation rate and raised just under $1,800.

Sending the money to Grayson Russell, of Castroville, the section purchased enough candy to load his Jeep Grand Cherokee.

“That was a big point of pride for us because it showed everybody that we might not physically be on campus, but we’re here,” Carmichael said.

Connection to campus

During spring semesters, all first-year J.D. students participate in the .

Russell, needing a partner, teamed up with Austin Halvorson, who happens to live in Austin, for the competition despite neither knowing anything about arguing a trial case.

Halvorson is employed with the Gober Group and works with the Texas Legislature and lawmakers. Russell, a space avionics engineer at Southwest Research Institute now works on computers for satellites, but grew up around attorneys. His father graduated from the School of Law in 1986.

When COVID-19 started, Russell realized how much he missed talking with people. Growing up and watching people ask his father for advice, Russell recognized a type of leadership that can make a lasting impact.

“I like that aspect of being the person someone comes to for questions,” Russell said. “It’s why I went into engineering. But being a lawyer is a little bit more down to Earth.”

The duo did not expect to advance far in the moot court competition but found themselves growing more confident with each victory. Before they knew it, they were both on campus for the finals in March — winning first place from judges comprised of the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals justices.

After each round, professors and judges would give the duo pointers on how to improve. The most shocking thing, Halvorson said, was when they first headed into the Law Courtroom and received words of encouragement from on-campus J.D. students in other cohorts.

“They had never seen us before, and they were just really welcoming,” Halvorson said.

Russell added that winning the competition was one of those moments that made law school feel real.

“It gave me the validation that ‘Oh, this is law school,’” Russell said. “That was the final turn for me, saying I can go from engineering to being a lawyer.”

While the teammates found a connection to the campus through competition, some students find their connections through interactions with smaller groups.

Having attended private colleges with small teacher-to-student ratios in the past, Natalie Kuo said she enjoyed building relationships with her instructors and classmates instead of sitting in a large classroom.

Living and working in Austin, Kuo has tried to be part of the larger campus community when she can. In April, she attended the event, Gavels and Gowns, also affectionately known as “law prom,” with a friend in the program and attended the s banquet. She plans to start writing for the Law Journal this fall. 

As a paralegal at Groom Law Firm, Kuo said finding a sense of community can make the challenge of adapting to a new location easier. As someone who was challenged by frequent moves, Kuo said being able to find fun and friends makes challenges feel smaller, even in law school.

Early in her college career, she worked as a DJ in Santa Cruz, California, playing music from the 1990s on a show called All That and a Bag of Chips. Listeners knew her on the air by the name “Status Kuo.”

Though her DJ days are behind her, and she’s not required to participate in extracurricular activities in the online program, Kuo said she wants to do something to continue building her sense of community with the campus by helping grow organizations for online students.

She also said she hopes Section O will continue building stronger personal connections as they progress through the program.

“Forming the camaraderie in the cohort has been essential,” she said. “All the people in Section O sense we’re doing this together. We’re all going to make it across the finish line together.”

by Leticia Romero

Law school can feel like one hurdle after another.

First, prospective students study and take the LSAT to get accepted into law school. Next comes the challenge of succeeding in law school by juggling studying, exams and everyday life. Finally, there’s the ever-dreaded bar exam — a six-hour, two-day ordeal that requires months of full-time studying to prepare. This last leg of the journey can be isolating for many.

(J.D. ’13), Assistant Dean for Law Success, said the St. Mary’s University School of Law saw a need to extend support to students beyond graduation. In true Marianist charism form, this extra helping hand comes in the form of the Raise the Bar program.

“I see as part of the family spirit, and that doesn’t end just because somebody walked across the stage,” Cavanaugh said. “It’s about taking this next very challenging leap with them and making sure that they feel supported as they go through it.”

The Raise the Bar program, a supplement to a commercial bar prep program, is offered to all School of Law graduates. Once enrolled, the only requirement is that students maintain standards, such as meeting with coaches a certain number of times and staying within a certain percentage of completion of the commercial course.

Along with the commercial course training, graduates can access three full-time faculty members as coaches, all of whom are bar specialists who receive training throughout the year and teach bar prep for credit courses.

The School of Law has also trained bar fellows — usually recent graduates who participated in Raise the Bar, some of whom have done bar coaching before or provided support. They work one-on-one with smaller groups than the full-time coaches. All Raise the Bar coaches are personally invested in students’ success on the bar exam and work individually with students to identify and overcome their weaknesses. They help create individual study schedules, manage stress and anxiety, explain test day strategies and improve overall performance on the bar’s multiple choice and essay sections.

“When I studied for the bar, my coach offered immense support and encouragement that undoubtedly contributed to my success.”

Zachary Olvera (J.D. ’21)

These measures, beyond the commercial bar prep, are what Zachary Olvera (J.D. ’21) said helped him pass the bar on his first attempt and why he was thrilled to help pay it forward.

“When I studied for the bar, my coach offered immense support and encouragement that undoubtedly contributed to my success,” Olvera said.

Along with training sessions, weekly check-ins, and daily access to coaches, graduates who participate in Raise the Bar also enjoy wellness support, like massage chairs, snacks and various meals throughout their exam preparations. Much of the program has been supported through donations, such as a $10,000 grant from the Harbourview Foundation.

Cavanaugh said consistent participation is the key to success.

“Generally, for people who stay engaged with Raise the Bar all throughout the cycle, they usually pass at a 5% to 10% higher rate,” he said.

by Nathaniel Miller

On a Thursday morning in May in a law office in downtown San Antonio, Roy Barrera Jr. (B.A. ’72, J.D. ’75) greeted people, happily introducing them to a sharply dressed man standing beside him.

This man, Barrera continued, is his father, 96-year-old Roy Barrera Sr. (J.D. ’51), and he’s coming back to the office to assist on an upcoming case.

Proudly, the son compares his father’s willingness to return to work to that of a famous National League Football quarterback who retired only to return and play the following season.

“He’s the Tom Brady of lawyering,” Roy Barrera Jr. said. “He really is the GOAT (greatest of all time).”

Both men, along with nearly a dozen other family members, have obtained either an undergraduate degree, a law degree or both from St. Mary’s University. Graduates from the include Roy Barrera’s Sr.’s other son, Robert J. “Bobby” Barrera (B.A. ’80, J.D. ’84), his nephew, Gilbert C. Barrera Jr. (B.A. ’77, J.D. ’88), Stephen A. Barrera (J.D. ’82), Stephen C. Barrera (J.D. ’05) and Robert E. Arellano (J.D. ’10).

Barrera Sr., a San Antonio native, graduated from what is now Fox Tech High School and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in the Philippines and Korea.

While overseas, Barrera was thrown from a truck and lost his left ring finger when his high school ring snagged on a nail. Losing a finger meant he could no longer play the clarinet in the Army band.

“So that was basically the end of my military career,” Barrera Sr. said.

Upon his return, Barrera Sr. planned to become a mechanic. However, his mother convinced him to use his GI Bill to attend law school because he “loved to talk.”

While a law student, Barrera Sr. worked with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office as an investigator, working alongside Pat Maloney, J.D., until 1951, when he became an assistant district attorney upon passing the bar exam.

In 1957, Barrera Sr. and Anthony Nicholas, J.D., then an assistant criminal district attorney, left to open their practice, Nicholas & Barrera. Their partnership celebrated 50 years together in 2007. Though Nicholas died in 2011, his name is still on the downtown building where the Barrera family continues to work.

That same year, Barrera Sr. argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Alcorta v. Texas. The Court ruled Alvaro Alcorta was denied due process because the prosecution’s main witness withheld crucial information during the trial. Barrera, an assistant district attorney during the initial trial, argued the case for the state at the request of Bexar County District Attorney Hubert Green.

“The Supreme Court was just another case where you get to argue before judges. Even to this day, I enjoy the atmosphere and environment of the courtroom.”

Roy Barrera Sr.

“I have always been rather confident about what I can do, and what I like to do is argue cases,” Barrera Sr. said.“The Supreme Court was just another case where you get to argue before judges. Even to this day, I enjoy the atmosphere and environment of the courtroom.”

Barrera Sr. was approached by Texas Gov. John Connally in 1968 to serve as secretary of state, making him the first Hispanic man to hold the position.

Barrera Jr. said while he watched his father work in the courtroom most of his life, there was no pressure for him or his siblings to become attorneys. The love of the law, he said, is what led him down the same path.

“He used to tell us, ‘You need to follow your heart and do what makes you happy,’” Barrera Jr. said.

Barrera Sr. founded an endowed scholarship for the School of Law in 2008 to provide “assistance to a Hispanic student who has excelled in the area of criminal law and who exhibits need.” Following his father’s lead, Barrera Jr. also established an endowed scholarship for law students in 2009.

“My siblings and I were blessed to have a father whose career could finance our education 100%,” Barrera Jr. said. “Many young, deserving students who aspire to practice law don’t have the same advantages my father provided to us, and I felt it was incumbent on me to contribute.”   

by Nathaniel Miller

When Carter Casteel (J.D. ’85), then a 39-year-old public school teacher, told her father she intended to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer, he asked what kind of attorney she wanted to be.

“A good one,” she quipped.

Now the founder of a New Braunfels law firm, Casteel works alongside her daughter and granddaughter — all graduates of the St. Mary’s University School of Law — while awaiting a fourth family member to complete her studies.

With three generations having walked the halls of the , Casteel said she wouldn’t have entrusted their law education to just anywhere.

“The school has definitely taken care of us,” Casteel said.

A native of Monahans, Casteel moved to Austin in 1961, obtaining her bachelor’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin and then her master’s degree at what would later be called Texas State University in San Marcos. While at UT, She met and married Thomas Casteel and had two children, Cheryl and Barron.

In 1972, the family moved to New Braunfels, and Carter Casteel was encouraged to pursue her dream of law school while she was teaching at Canyon High School. Starting her legal studies in 1982, Carter Casteel not only became an attorney, but also was elected the first female county judge of Comal County in 1990. Later, she served two terms in the Texas House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007.

“St. Mary’s gave me the opportunity to maintain my family in New Braunfels and pursue my dream,” she said.

While not initially lured by law school, Cheryl Casteel (J.D. ’04) first became a certified public accountant and then the chief financial officer for New Braunfels Utilities.

Working with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and the Lower Colorado River Authority, she became interested in learning how laws shape her community and earned her law degree.

“I loved everything about my time at St. Mary’s,” Cheryl Casteel said. “I made amazing, lifelong friends and found this whole new family.”

Morrigan Land (J.D. ’20), Cheryl Casteel’s daughter, fell for the law at age 8, when she drew a picture of herself as a judge.

“I loved everything about my time at St. Mary’s. I made amazing, lifelong friends and found this whole new family”

Cheryl Casteel (J.D. ’04)

In high school, Land brought her interest in criminal law to an internship with the Comal County District Attorney’s Office before attending Texas A&M University and working in Washington, D.C., for then-U.S. Representative Lamar Smith.

Once she started attending classes at St. Mary’s Law, Land was named co-captain of the National Trial Team and served as vice president of the Student Bar Association.

“I loved law school,” she said. “I looked forward to going to class. I looked forward to competitions. I looked forward to training, and the community was just great.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Morrigan Land and her sister, Catherine Land quarantined and recovered together after contracting the virus. Watching Morrigan Land study for the bar exam, Catherine Land’s interest in attending law school grew.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Baylor University and working as a producer for National Geographic Wild’s Walking with Giraffes, Catherine Land, now a third-year J.D. student, said she never felt pressured to go to law school.

“I feel lucky that my grandmother, my mom and my sister have always made it clear that I’m going to write my own story,” she said.

South Texas Distinguished Professor of Law , was in his first year of teaching at St. Mary’s when he had Carter Casteel in class. He has since taught every family member at some point in their legal studies. “Nothing is a stronger vote of confidence in a university than for a family, time after time, to entrust its very able members to the care of that university,” Johnson said.

by Leticia Romero

Puerto Rico, known for its vibrant culture and history, decadent cuisine, and majestic beaches and mountains, is a tourist destination for some. But for Carlos Chévere-Lugo, J.D. (LL.M. ’17, LL.M. ’18), the U.S. territory is home.

As a teenager, Chévere-Lugo graduated from Colegío San José, a Marianist high school in San Juan. The teachings made such an impact on him that he sought further Catholic institutions.

After earning his law degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico, he applied to the . He was thrilled to learn that it was both a Catholic and Marianist University.

“It was the best decision I ever made because St. Mary’s Law was like an extension of my family, far, far away,” Chévere-Lugo said. “These Catholic and Marianist values have been taught in my family, so it’s very easy to relate.”

Territorial law

Chévere-Lugo reflected fondly on living in San Antonio for the two years it took him to complete two — in and .

The LL.M. program at St. Mary’s consists of 24 credit hours that can be completed on-campus, fully online, or through a combination of courses and in-person externships.

A newly launched educates those who intend to or currently practice law in the territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa. Additionally, St. Mary’s offers a Master of Jurisprudence, or M.Jur., for nonlawyers with a new Territorial Law concentration.

“I’m so grateful because we have an opportunity to create a consciousness not only about the territory of Puerto Rico, but also about the other territories in the nation,” Chévere-Lugo said.

Building bridges

With a law practice in Puerto Rico, Chévere-Lugo mostly creates corporate and labor regulation manuals for clients. Chévere-Lugo aspires to teach and works with other attorneys in the Bar Association of Puerto Rico to facilitate community awareness and an understanding of basic inherent human rights, such as the right to adequate housing.

He has continued to help St. Mary’s build bridges in the territory. In March, Chévere-Lugo hosted St. Mary’s Law Dean , and Assistant Dean of International Programs , in Puerto Rico for a brainstorming collaboration with Puerto Rican universities, other law school deans and the Puerto Rico Bar Association.

“It was the best decision I ever made because St. Mary’s Law was like an extension of my family, far, far away.”

Carlos Chévere-Lugo, J.D. (LL.M. ’17, LL.M. ’18)

St. Mary’s 91ߣ����Ƶing Assistant Professor of Law , a Puerto Rico native, also joined Chévere-Lugo at the Law & Society Association Annual Meeting in San Juan in June. Together, they continue to promote the St. Mary’s Law LL.M. program’s Territorial Law concentration and find other points of collaboration.

“We’re hoping to explore everything worth exploring in territorial law, continue to bring awareness to the issues that arise in territorial law and bring it more into the law school curriculum,” Vendrell-Polanco said.   

by Leticia Romero

You can trace Professor of Law ’s interest in public health back to his early days researching organic foods. Now, he dedicates his career to academic research and learning.

“During the SARS epidemic in 2003, I was concerned about my parents’ and friends’ health and safety,” said Liu, LL.M., J.S.D. “I did extensive research and completed my first book, Chinese Law on SARS. Since then, I have been writing on public health law and regulations, including drug and food safety and pandemic-related issues.”

A professor at St. Mary’s University School of Law since 2007 and the Katherine A. Ryan Chair for Global and International Law, Liu began his legal education in China before meeting School of Law Professor , J.D., LL.M., LL.D., in 1998.

Johnson, then a Fulbright Scholar at Renmin University in Beijing, met Liu, then a visiting scholar at Renmin. Johnson introduced Liu to St. Mary’s, where Johnson had been teaching since the ’80s.

Johnson encouraged Liu to continue his education at Lund University in Sweden. In the early 2000s, Liu came to the United States, earning his J.S.D. from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis in 2005.

Where our food comes from

In the early 2000s, Liu began focusing more on epidemic-related drug safety, accessibility and food-related regulatory law — topics he’d later research. He said his findings at the time were enlightening yet disappointing.

“With the development of globalization, it’s difficult to find the origin of our food,” Liu said. “It’s very likely the shrimp you just purchased from a large chain grocery retailer were imported from another country. Unfortunately, how those shrimp are regulated is entirely unknown.”

This research fascinated Liu, inspiring him to learn more about pharmaceuticals and the source of the ingredients of drugs. He also noted the challenges of the Food and Drug Administration — limited budget and staff, and intense political scrutiny as a regulatory agency.

“I tell students that’s what food regulation is about. From a comparative view, they can understand the law.”

Chenglin Liu

“You pay $5 for a pound of shrimp, and you entertain your guests,” Liu said. “You and your guests are all happy and oblivious to the fact that excessive antibiotics may have been used in the farming process. It is understandable that the public doesn’t fully appreciate the value of government regulation, especially when this would, ultimately, increase the cost for both grocers and consumers.”

Liu enjoys sharing this research with students, saying the comparison of law to real-life scenarios, such as food regulation, makes the understanding more in-depth.

“I tell students that’s what food regulation is about,” Liu said. “From a comparative view, they can understand the law.”

Epidemic-related license sharing

In the article, Liu wrote about intellectual property rights and the challenges of developing countries to access medicines and technologies previously protected under the General Agreement of Trade and Tariffs.

Liu’s expertise led him to be featured in the media and to author four books and about 20 publications. His latest article, , landed in the New York University Journal of Legislation and Public Policy.

He explored how Pfizer Inc. shared its patent of Paxlovid, an antiviral COVID-19 pill, with 95 low- and middle-income countries. Pfizer made the decision to share the patent for little to no fee to provide the countries with access to potentially life-saving medicine under a voluntary licensing agreement with the international public health group Medicines Patent Pool. “By doing this, Pfizer was able to strike a balance of making sure its patent was well protected while ensuring the patented product would not end up in the countries that were ineligible for the relief,” Liu said.

by Nathaniel Miller

Kaylie Morgan (J.D. ’23) and third-year J.D. student Caitlyn Collins both aspire to be criminal defense attorneys with the dream of bringing effective legal counsel to those in need.

Unfortunately, not everyone receives effective, or even good, counsel. As part of the at the St. Mary’s University School of Law, eight students worked during Spring 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit to seek justice for a group of female clients they believe failed to get appropriate representation from an unethical attorney.

“These women never received their right to effective counsel,” Morgan said. “It’s their fundamental right, and they were entitled to a fair trial.”

In 2018, the attorney was convicted on six counts of human trafficking and coercing his clients to have sex with him and was sentenced to 80 years in prison. The number of women he is accused of abusing numbers in the hundreds.

In April, the law students had their first writ application granted, making one client eligible for a new trial.

Getting people to come forward is the challenging part, Collins said. Many victims do not want to relive the trauma they’ve experienced, and many more cannot be found or will not return messages.

“This has been a mix of emotions, criminal justice and criminal defense,” Collins said. “I know it’s been hard for a lot of people, but we’re hoping to help correct something terrible that was done to them.”

St. Mary’s Clinical Professor of Law (B.A. ’87, J.D. ’91) said empathy is an important skill for those aspiring to practice criminal law, alongside writing and verbal skills. “Everybody in life needs help,” she said. “To put yourself in someone else’s shoes helps make you a better attorney.” 

The St. Mary’s University presidential search officially launched and opened for nominations on July 10, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ. National ads have been posted, and outreach to some 2,000 higher education leaders is underway.

You are invited to share the����with your colleagues and submit nominations for qualified candidates to Academic��Search.

Please send the nominee’s name, contact information and a brief sentence about them to StMarysTXPresident@academicsearch.org. Consultants Scott Flanagan, Ed.D., and Katherine Haley, Ph.D., will invite them to apply. The source of the nomination will remain confidential — nominees will not know who nominated them.

The Presidential Nominating Committee will begin reviewing résumés and conducting preliminary rounds of interviews early in the fall semester. Finalist interviews will likely occur in November. Candidates will interview with the Presidential Nominating Committee, members of the Board of Trustees and several individuals representing these St. Mary’s community groups — alumni/major donors, faculty, students, administration/professional staff and Marianists.

The search process is moving forward as planned, and we expect to be able to announce the new president’s appointment by the end of 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, with a starting date of June 1, 2024. The early announcement provides time for transitioning the new president into the position before President Mengler retires from the University on May 31, 2024. 

by Michelle Mondo

Layla Dickerson went from being an elementary student who had to sit in the hallway because she kept acting out to a rising sophomore at St. Mary’s University who helped advocate for the new B.B.A. in Business and Law.

“I’m proof it doesn’t matter where you start; you decide where you finish,” Dickerson said. “Teachers in my past didn’t even want anything to do with me, and now I’m introducing a new major!”

The new major, a collaboration between the St. Mary’s University Greehey School of Business and the School of Law, is enrolling its first students in the Fall 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ semester. The major is unique among San Antonio’s universities.

“Often, students major in disciplines, such as Political Science or Criminal Justice, when they have an interest in law or going to law school,” said Rowena Ortiz-Walters, Ph.D., Greehey School of Business Dean and Professor of Management. “Up to now, they have not had other options. The new Business and Law major affords an exciting pathway for students to engage with legal matters exploring different disciplines than they traditionally have.” 

Dickerson said she believes the new major has “unmatched potential” for future J.D. students who want to practice in fields related to business.

After she first heard that the major was being considered, Dickerson rushed to Ortiz-Walter’s office and asked if she could submit a short video about how much the course of study would help her as a student who wanted a career in real estate law.

She had one night to get it done. She wrote her notes on her phone and enlisted her 10-year-old sister for help.

“I recorded it in my bathroom,” she said. “My little sister Lela was on my floor lying down, and I poked her leg with my foot so she would scroll my phone down so I could read my notes. It was a team effort.”

Ortiz-Walters said Dickerson’s commitment to the University’s new major is inspiring.

“In the true Marianist spirit, Layla has already volunteered to help new incoming Business and Law majors by serving as a mentor through the GSB Advantage Mentor Program,” Ortiz-Walters said. “Since she has completed her first year, she knows first-hand the value of having someone give you a hand. She thrives from helping others succeed.”

Dickerson credits her own mentors at the University with helping her navigate the college experience as a first-generation student, especially as one for whom schooling was not always a positive one. Growing up in Chicago, she was often getting into trouble. If her parents were getting called to the school, it was because teachers had something bad to say, she shared.

Everything changed about 10 years ago when her mom got a new job in San Antonio. Dickerson was homeschooled and thrived in the new environment. She knew she wanted to go into real estate like her grandfather, who was a mentor of hers, but she also wanted to expand into real estate law. After her grandfather died, Dickerson made a promise to herself and him that she would graduate law school. She also wanted to be a good example for her younger sisters.

“I’m proof it doesn’t matter where you start; you decide where you finish.”

Layla Dickerson

She decided to apply to St. Mary’s after her mom heard an ad about it on the radio. She found out she was accepted on her father’s birthday. From her first day, Dickerson immersed herself in legal studies as well as Business School. She is now a mentor for other students.

“From my very first interaction with her this past fall, she radiated enthusiasm for St. Mary’s University,” said Vice President and Dean of Students Tim Bessler, Ed.D. “She joined the Office of Community Engagement as a student team member and, because of her thoughtfulness, inquisitive nature and hard work, immediately made positive contributions to projects and the team.”

Dickerson is also in the Pre-Law Program and has joined Registered Student Organizations for legal studies. She was recently able to shadow someone in the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office who handles misdemeanors. She also picked up tips from a legal writing class taught by Associate Service Professor of Law , J.D.

Dickerson can barely contain her excitement about starting the new major in the fall. She sees nothing but opportunities in her future.

“I was the kid who was always in trouble at school, and now I’m the student who professors like, and they want to talk to my parents to tell them positive things,” she said. “Your life can change. Anything is possible.”

by Michelle Mondo

Emmanuel Sanchez (B.A. ’22) believes in the power of civil servants to improve their communities.

The combined-degree Political Science and Public Administration student has seen the impacts first-hand during internships in his hometown of Brownsville, with the during the Spring 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ semester, and his current internship assisting with project management at the (GAO).

“At the White House Photo Office, you’re documenting history. Photography can also play an important role in maintaining international relationships,” said Sanchez, adding that if a foreign dignitary visits the White House, the Photo Office would capture and provide photos to them. “This experience taught me the importance of building relationships between countries and sharing the story of the presidential administration.”

Seeking a supportive education

Sanchez decided to attend St. Mary’s University because of the “holistic approach” to education and focus on community. He continued into the St. Mary’s Master of Public Administration program after completing his bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

“There is a focus on being stewards of public service and making sure that aspect is part of the education,” he said. “Because it is a Hispanic-Serving Institution, it wasn’t a big culture shock.”

As a first-generation student, Sanchez appreciated the support he received in navigating the university experience. He points to the TRiO Student Support Services program, which helped him land the internship in Washington, D.C. His internship at the White House was his first time living outside of Texas.

Marcy LeBossiere, who oversees the TRiO grant at St. Mary’s, hired Sanchez as an administrative assistant. She said he embodies the University’s Marianist tradition through his passion for serving others.

“He is very social-justice-minded and works daily to support underrepresented populations,” LeBossiere said.

Understanding public administration

One issue close to the graduate student’s heart is immigration. Sanchez’s father lives in Mexico as he navigates the immigration system to try and gain residency, while his mother and brother remain in Brownsville. Because of this experience, Sanchez first thought he wanted to focus on immigration law. It also led him to champion the creation of a Mexican American Studies minor at St. Mary’s.

But when he first took a public administration course, he realized he found his purpose.  

“I’m a true believer that if local government has more intention, the quality of life for everyone could really skyrocket,” Sanchez said. “That’s what studying public administration prepares you for.”

Monica Cruz, Ph.D., a 91ߣ����Ƶing Assistant Professor in the Master of Public Administration program, has taught Sanchez in two classes.

“Emmanuel has a deep commitment to public service for the common good,” Cruz said. “The breadth of his experiences at St. Mary’s and the depth of his character will continue to shape his future as a servant leader.”

“I’m a true believer that if local government has more intention, the quality of life for everyone could really skyrocket. That’s what studying public administration prepares you for.”

Emmanuel Sanchez

Sanchez is unsure where the future will take him once he earns his Master of Public Administration in Spring 2024, but he wants to bring his experience back to the Rio Grande Valley.

“So many kids leave the Valley because they think there’s nothing there for them, but it takes us coming back to make our community better,” Sanchez said. “My end goal is to get back to my community and give back there.”

The IBC Foundation has awarded St. Mary’s University a four-year gift totaling $1 million for start-up costs associated with the University’s planned Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, including constructing the new IBC Foundation Nursing Wing.

The Nursing program will be housed on the third floor of the state-of-the-art, 30,000-square-foot Blank Sheppard Innovation Center, which is under construction and slated for completion in 2024.

The Nursing major is expected to begin enrolling students in Fall 2024, pending approval by the Texas Board of Nursing and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

“Through this generous gift, the IBC Foundation will make possible many life-changing educational moments for St. Mary’s University students,” said President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D. “Students learning in this new wing will benefit from in-depth training — replicating real-life health care scenarios — which they will rely on throughout their nursing careers. At St. Mary’s, we believe this IBC Foundation gift will literally save lives.”

“Through this generous gift, the IBC Foundation will make possible many life-changing educational moments for St. Mary’s University students.”

President Thomas M. Mengler, J.D.

The 10,000-foot IBC Foundation Nursing Wing will include a flexible lab space, a seven-bed clinical skills lab, four simulation suites and faculty offices.

“Education is the cornerstone of progress. We know our contribution to the St. Mary’s University Nursing program will provide the foundation upon which dreams take flight. Each investment we make to education not only nurtures minds but also shapes a brighter future for generations to come. This new nursing facility will fortify our critical need for more health care providers,” said Dennis E. Nixon, IBC Foundation President. “At IBC, we live by our mantra of doing more for projects that channel resources into education, that empower individuals with knowledge, equip them with skills, and ignite a chain reaction of transformative change through our support.”

The IBC Foundation gift will help fund:

Construction of the Nursing wing, as well as IT and audio-visual infrastructure
Medical mannikins and other reality-enhancing technology and equipment
Additional equipment, furniture and start-up supplies for the program

Graduates of the Nursing program will help to close the critical gap in the regional health care system. Predictions show that Texas will need 50,000 more nurses by 2033, including 10,000 new nurses in Central and South Texas, according to the Texas Department of Health Services.

“The generosity of the IBC Foundation has enabled St. Mary’s University with the exceptional opportunity to launch a Nursing program in a space specifically designed for this specialized study,” said Donna M. Badowski, DNP, Vice Dean and Founding Director of Nursing. “We are all beyond grateful for this life-changing gift.”

The St. Mary’s University School of Law’s faculty do more than teach — they also work and share their expertise in specific fields in publications. Between May 2022 and April 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, many faculty members published articles, papers and even podcasts. Below is a list of some of their published works.

Books:

, wrote The Lawyer’s Conscience: A History of American Lawyer Ethics, University of Kansas Press, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.
, wrote Expert Report Rules and the Daubert Trilogy, National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Aspen Publishing, Third Edition, 2022.
, and , wrote Texas Practice Series: Consumer Rights and Remedies, Third Edition, 2021; and Texas Practice Series: Consumer Law Handbook.

, and , wrote Studies in American Tort Law, Seventh Edition, 2022; and Teaching Torts: A Teacher’s Guide to the Law of Torts, Seventh Edition, 2022.
Vincent Johnson, J.D., LL.M., LL.D., wrote A Student’s Guide to the Law of Torts, Seventh Edition, 2022.
, wrote Texas Criminal Law: Cases and Materials, Second Edition, 2022.
Ramona Lampley, J.D., and Edward M. Imwinkelried, J.D., wrote Federal Evidence Tactics, Matthew Bender Elite Products, Second Edition, 2022.
, and Rafael Longoria wrote “Informality in South Texas: Understanding the Evolution of Colonias in El Cenizo and Rio Bravo” for Informality and the City — Theories, Actions, Interventions, Springer Cham, 2022.
, and Cheryl Taylor, J.D., wrote Human Trafficking, Second Edition, Carolina Academic Press, 2022.
, wrote How Not to be a Terrible Teacher (And Maybe a Good One), Carolina Academic Press, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.
, wrote The Marriage Nullity Process in the Reform of Pope Francis with Special Reference to the Processus Brevoir, Outskirts Press, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.
, wrote Christian Doctrines, Imprimatur Press, 2022.

Articles:

Michael Ariens, J.D., LL.M., wrote , Kansas Law Review, 2022; , Journal of the Legal Profession. 2022; , Hofstra Law Review, 2022; and , St. Mary’s Law Journal, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.
, wrote , Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review, 2022.
Vincent Johnson, J.D., LL.M., LL.D., wrote , St. Mary’s Law Journal, 2022; and , St. Mary’s Journal on Legal Malpractice and Ethics, 2022.
Emilio Longoria, J.D., wrote , South Texas Law Review, 2022.
, wrote , The Scholar, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.
, wrote , The Washington and Lee Law Review, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.
Dorie Klein, J.D, wrote , Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.
Chenglin Liu, LL.M., J.S.D., wrote , Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.
, wrote , Pepperdine Law Review, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.
, wrote , St. Mary’s Law Journal, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.
Bill Piatt, J.D., wrote , Howard Human and Civil Rights Law Review, 2022; and , American Indian Law Review, 2022.
, wrote , Ohio State Business Law Journal, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.

Op-Ed:

Mike Ariens, J.D., LL.M, wrote for the San Antonio Express-News, published May 17, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ.
Vincent Johnson, J.D., LL.M., LL.D, wrote , published June 17, 2022; and , published July 1, 2022, both for the San Antonio Express-News.
Al Kauffman, J.D., wrote , published July 1, 2022; , published Oct. 19, 2022; and , Published March 15, 203, all for the San Antonio Express-News.
Alexandra Klein, J.D., along with Brandon Hasbouck, J.D., wrote , for The Nation, published Oct. 11, 2022.
Emilio Longoria, J.D., wrote , published May 13, 2022; and Moses Rose’s Hideout may be worth $17 million, published March 30, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, both for the San Antonio Express-News.
, wrote , published July 10, 2022; and, published Jan. 20, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ, both for the San Antonio Express-News.

White Papers:

A.J. Bellido De Luna, J.D., contributed to One Memorable Cross Examination Lesson in the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, May 2022.

Podcasts:

, hosts Aspen Leading Edge, Aspen Publishing.

The Rattlers have finished fourth in the prestigious race each of the last two seasons. Women’s Golf becomes the second team at St. Mary’s to earn Academic National Champions, joining the 2008-2009 Men’s Golf team.

“This is a tremendous honor for the Women’s Golf team,” said Executive Director of Athletics Robert Coleman. “And it is a reflection of our student-athletes’ commitment on the course and in the classroom. Their hard work embodies the excellence we aspire for as an Athletics program – which is to create a student-athlete experience modeled in the Marianist spirit and distinguished by academic achievement, personal development, integrity and nationally competitive athletic teams.”

The 2022-2023 91ߣ����Ƶ Women’s Golf team is comprised of senior Estelle Beck (Lakeway, Texas), junior Maria Ferrer (Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico), sophomore Libby Kilbride (Sheffield, England), sophomore Orla O’Leary (Galashiels, Scotland), senior Rebecca Reed (Midland, Texas), sophomore Madalyn Trevino (San Antonio) and senior Jordyn Wray (San Antonio). The seven golfers combined for a 3.925 GPA for the 2022-2023 91ߣ����Ƶ academic year.

“The Rattler Women’s Golf team has shown incredible resolve in achieving both academic and athletic excellence,” said Thomas M. Mengler, J.D., President of St. Mary’s University. “Each of these women has made themselves and their University proud. They have exhibited the hallmarks of Rattler Athletics’ mission-focused performance, grounded in our Marianist ideals, and provided an example for all student-athletes to follow.”

Earlier this month, five members of the team were named to the WGCA All-Scholar team, which requires achieving an overall cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher, remaining on the team’s roster through the conclusion of the season and competing in at least 50% of the team’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds. Beck, Kilbride, Reed, Trevino, and Wray earned the honor. It is the third award for Beck, Reed, and Wray, the second for Trevino and the first for Kilbride.

“The Rattler Women’s Golf team has shown incredible resolve in achieving both academic and athletic excellence.”

Thomas M. Mengler, J.D.

On the links, the Rattlers advanced to the medal match play semifinals at the Lone Star Conference Championship, finishing third and advanced to their seventh-straight NCAA Regional, where they finished sixth overall.

St. Mary’s is the only Lone Star Conference team to place in the top 20 in the award, and they rank third among teams in all three divisions of the NCAA, trailing only Marshall and Denver from Division I.

named the St. Mary’s University to its short list of racially and ethnically diverse law schools.

The list included 23 law schools from across the U.S. and its territories. Students identifying with minority racial and ethnic backgrounds composed nearly 55% of the J.D. student body at St. Mary’s Law in 2022. Of the 760 students, 48% identified as Hispanic.

The need for law schools to graduate attorneys of all backgrounds continues to be a topic of national conversation. A 2020 report from the American Bar Association determined that “Nearly all people of color are underrepresented in the legal profession compared with their presence in the U.S. population.” Only 5% of all lawyers are Hispanic, up only 1% from a decade earlier, according to the report.

“It is the variety of our identities, experiences and viewpoints that create the family tapestry of St. Mary’s Law, where all are welcomed and celebrated,” said , Dean and Charles E. Cantú Distinguished Professor of Law.

St. Mary’s Law is home to a student-led law journal called the and hosts an annual event supporting Latinas in law.

The Lawtina Network Summit was founded by St. Mary’s Law alumna Brianna Chapa (J.D. ’23) during her third year of law school.

The second annual , cohosted by the law school and the Lawtina Network registered student organization, will take place on campus on Friday, Oct. 6, and Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ. The event celebrates Latinas at all stages of their legal career — from pre-law to practice. The summit will include informational sessions, relationship-building activities, and networking opportunities for pre-law and Latina lawyers. This event is open to all Latinas in law and non-Latina allies who support their success.

Click the button below to read more about St. Mary’s Law’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

The U.S. Department of Education requires 3,600 colleges and universities nationwide to use this tool to share information with the National Student Clearinghouse which provides this data to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) on the schools’ behalf. Shared information includes personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth.

It is not clear what effect, if any, this has had on the data we are required to share with the NSC. This was not a local data breach — our systems remain unaffected — and the NSC continues to investigate the extent of the data breach.

We continue to monitor the situation and are prepared to swiftly address any concerns that may arise. We are committed to assessing any potential ramifications for St. Mary’s students and alumni who may be affected, and we will continue to gather information as this situation develops and provide relevant updates.

While it has been reported that other third-party systems may have been affected by the MOVEit breach, at this time we have not yet been notified that our data was included.

For additional information or updates, visit the .

If you have questions, please email inquiries@studentclearinghouse.org.

St. Mary’s University has created a collaborative major for undergraduate students interested in the intersection of business and law, unique among San Antonio’s universities.

The has just begun enrolling its first students for the Fall 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ semester, appealing to those who want to be leaders of new and evolving professions that require a broad business education and an understanding of the legal environment.

This innovative program is a collaboration between the University’s Greehey School of Business and the , giving students the unique opportunity to take between five and 15 credit hours of School of Law courses for undergraduate credit taught by law faculty.

“We live and work in uncertain times,” said Rowena Ortiz-Walters, Ph.D., Dean of the Greehey School of Business and Professor of Management. “Through the B.B.A. in Business and Law’s interdisciplinary foundation, the program will prepare students with the in-depth knowledge necessary to lead in a complex and ambiguous world.”

“Through the B.B.A. in Business and Law’s interdisciplinary foundation, the program will prepare students with the in-depth knowledge necessary to lead in a complex and ambiguous world.”

Rowena Ortiz-Walters, Ph.D.

The B.B.A. in Business and Law major will prepare business students for a broad spectrum of professional careers and graduate programs for which an understanding of business and legal topics — such as human resources, risk management, compliance and real estate —��is essential.��

“I am 100% interested in the program,” said Layla Dickerson, a St. Mary’s University freshman in the Greehey School of Business. “The major will open the door for numerous opportunities for those of us who want to pursue business and law.”

“The major will open the door for numerous opportunities for those of us who want to pursue business and law.”

Layla Dickerson

Operating in an ever-expanding environment of federal, state and administrative regulations, organizations have a significant interest in recruiting and retaining employees who are familiar with a variety of legal topics, including corporate formation and formalities, contract law, commercial paper, legal procedure, payroll and employment law, entrepreneurship, products liability, business communication, personal injury, compliance, identity theft, corporate intelligence, negotiation and insider trading, as well as the corresponding tax consequences of each.

“If you had two of these graduates, I would hire them right now,” said Paul Hensley, senior vice president of finance and CFO at HOLT CAT and Chair of the Greehey School of Business Advisory Council of Executives.

UNAM, the largest law school in Mexico, has agreed to student and faculty exchanges, the chance for St. Mary’s Law students to study abroad in Mexico and easier access for UNAM graduates to attend the at St. Mary’s.��

“As the southernmost law school in Texas, it is critical we train our students to understand the laws of our closest neighbor — Mexico — and to understand how to do business across our shared border,” said , J.D., St. Mary’s School of Law Dean and Charles E. Cantú Distinguished Professor of Law. “Our Immigration and Human Rights Clinic also looks south to identify ways to protect the human rights of our neighbors who cross the border. Further collaboration between our two institutions will help build cross-cultural collaboration and understanding, which are essential for today’s global economy.”��

Cooperation between the two universities has already begun, with the UNAM office in San Antonio hosting a lecture for St. Mary’s LL.M. students in Spring 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ. The event included a discussion by former Mexico Attorney General Jorge Madrazo Cuéllar of U.S. and Mexican constitutional law.  

Roberts and , J.D., St. Mary’s Law’s Assistant Dean for International Programs, traveled to UNAM’s campus in Mexico City in March, where Stevenson gave a lecture on U.S. legal writing and analysis. , J.D., St. Mary’s Clinical Professor of Law, also gave a virtual lecture to UNAM students on U.S. consumer protection law. ��

The accrediting body has announced that it has extended its global accreditation in business to the St. Mary’s University Greehey School of Business. For more than a century, AACSB accreditation has been synonymous with the highest standards in business education. ��

“AACSB congratulates each institution on their achievement,” said Stephanie M. Bryant, global executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB, in a statement. “Every AACSB-accredited school has demonstrated a focus on excellence in all areas, including teaching, research, curricula development and student learning. The intense peer-review process exemplifies their commitment to quality business education.” 

Since 1923, the Greehey School of Business has provided future leaders with an excellent business education grounded in faith, values and service. 

“At the Greehey School of Business, we work hard every day to transform the lives of our students and empower them to change the world for the better,” said Rowena Ortiz-Walters, Ph.D., Dean of the Greehey School of Business and Professor of Management. “The Business School’s AACSB accreditation attests to our dedication to ensuring a business education that prepares graduates to be ethical, highly skilled, professional, globally aware and in-demand by many of the world’s most successful companies.” 

The Greehey School of Business is home to seven undergraduate programs, five minors and the fully online MBA for Professionals program.  

“The Business School’s AACSB accreditation attests to our dedication to ensuring a business education that prepares graduates to be ethical, highly skilled, professional, globally aware and in-demand by many of the world’s most successful companies.”

Rowena Ortiz-Walters, Ph.D.

According to AACSB, achieving reaccreditation is a multiyear process, during which schools focus on developing and implementing mission-centered innovations, measurable impact and purposeful engagement to align with AACSB’s accreditation standards. These standards require the highest levels of excellence in areas relating to strategic management and innovation; student, faculty and staff as active participants; learning and teaching; and academic and professional engagement.��

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard last week, St. Mary’s University issued two statements to the media: one concerning our undergraduate program and the other concerning our law school. In both, we indicated that (1) race or ethnic origin has not been a metric in our admission review processes; (2) the Supreme Court’s ruling, therefore, will have no bearing on the University’s ability to recruit, enroll and graduate students of all backgrounds and experiences; and (3) St. Mary’s remains dedicated to utilizing holistic admission review processes that seek, as our mission statement expresses, to recruit “leaders for the common good.”

In the long history of St. Mary’s University, our Catholic Marianist identity has promoted respect and care for the dignity of everyone in our community, with a family spirit in which all are invited to the Marianist table. We remain committed to our Catholic Marianist ideals of fostering the formation of faith among our students so that they become positive forces in their communities.

If you’ve been on campus at the St. Mary’s University School of Law in the last three years, you’ve likely heard the name or been in the gravitational pull of Cody Huffman (J.D. ’23). Huffman commands the room with his 6-foot-6-inch frame, kind eyes and soft smile.

Just weeks before crossing the stage at the School of Law Commencement in May, he was overwhelmed with emotion, having learned that his mother, Monica Melissa Patterson, who is in prison, would be able to watch his law school graduation via livestream.

Patterson is serving a life sentence for a capital murder case that Huffman maintains is a wrongful conviction.

School of Law Dean Patricia Roberts, J.D., advocated for Huffman’s mom to view his graduation via livestream by contacting the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, a request they approved.

“To see her do that for me was a big win,” said Huffman, who is from San Juan in the Rio Grande Valley. “I don’t care who gets what award. I don’t care if I never get another recognition. This is the winning in law school that beats everything.”

Huffman started law school mid-pandemic in Fall 2020 and has made his mom’s case the driving force behind his time in law school.

“I don’t think I initially chose St. Mary’s. St. Mary’s chose me,” Huffman said. “When I applied to different schools, I was, you know, gay, Latino, mother is incarcerated — I’m like the poster child for social justice. St. Mary’s was the school that saw that and said, ‘Okay, we’re gonna take a chance on you.’”

Initially, Huffman said he had no intention of getting involved with the campus community.

“I was like, I’m just gonna put my nose to the ground, do what I have to do get in and out of here,” Huffman said. “However, I’ve never been that person. I had to take matters into my own hands to shed light on things that people don’t necessarily think about all the time. And part of that is a Wrongful Convictions Project.”

Wrongful convictions work

Huffman is the co-founder and coordinator of the Wrongful Conviction Series, an event series of the Pro Bono Program, held in collaboration with registered student organizations and other community organizations. Throughout the year, the series create awareness about wrongful convictions through events on campus. For example, on a warm day in Fall 2022, students from the Wrongful Convictions project simulated a prison cell in the middle of the Law Courtyard to help students understand the dangerous temperatures in some Texas prisons. The temperature inside the mock cell reached over 95 degrees, only a fraction of how hot it can get during Texas summers.

“Where he goes, others will follow — and fortunately for all of us, Cody goes in the direction of expanding justice.”

Greg Zlotnick, J.D.

Overseeing this event was , who serves as 91ߣ����Ƶing Clinical Assistant Professor and Supervising Attorney for the Housing Rights Project at St. Mary’s Law. Zlotnick said only Huffman could have him unloading and constructing a mock prison cell outside of the on a Tuesday.

“Such is Cody’s magnetism in service of justice,” Zlotnick said. “For if there are few people who could get me to lift plywood panels under a rising sun, there are even fewer students I have worked with at St. Mary’s Law who so deeply embody our school’s commitment to service, justice and peace as Cody Huffman. His commitment to the common good and equal justice under the law make him an exemplar of our school’s charism.”

Off campus, Huffman’s social justice work continued. Huffman and his classmate, Karen Muñoz (J.D. ’22), both from the Rio Grande Valley, had been familiar with the case of Melissa Lucio, a Valley native who had been convicted of murder. The case garnered national attention through the Hulu documentary, The State of Texas vs. Melissa, which contended she had been wrongfully convicted.

Huffman and Muñoz attended a rally in support of staying Lucio’s execution, which led to them becoming community outreach leaders for the Death Penalty Action Group, which opposes execution.

Huffman said a defining moment in his academic career came when he learned that Lucio had earned a stay of execution.

“A big part of that was knowing that your voice matters, regardless of whatever aspect you’re in,” Huffman said. “I wasn’t on a legal team. I wasn’t a family member. Even if it wasn’t in the courtroom, it still meant something.”

St. Mary’s pride

Huffman had a decorated J.D. student career. His awards included the St. Mary’s University School of Law Dean’s Award, Pro Bono Public Service Certificate, Marianist Service to Community Award, as well as receiving a Hispanic Law Alumni Association Bar grant; and the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association scholarship.

While earning his J.D., Huffman took his campus involvement even further, working as a student attorney in the Criminal Justice Clinic, staff writer for The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Race and Social Justice, Vol. 25, community outreach chair for the Hispanic Law Student Association and member of the National Dispute Resolution Team.

Pending his bar passage, Huffman plans to work with criminal defense attorney Dayna L. Jones (J.D. ’07). Huffman said his love for St. Mary’s runs deep, with plans to become an active alumnus and possibly a professor someday.

Zlotnick said Cody is bound for leadership in the bar and in our state.

“Where he goes, others will follow — and fortunately for all of us, Cody goes in the direction of expanding justice,” Zlotnick said.

St. Mary’s University has been named a for the 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ-2024 academic year, marking its commitment to providing a high-quality undergraduate education that focuses on hands-on learning, strong student-teacher relationships, vibrant campus life and successful outcomes.

For 2023 91ߣ����Ƶ-2024, St. Mary’s was also recognized as a College of Distinction for Career Development and Military Support, as well as for its Business, Education and Engineering programs.

Colleges of Distinction’s selection process comprises a sequence of in-depth research and detailed interviews with the schools, accepting only those that adhere to the four distinctions: engaged students, great teaching, vibrant community and successful outcomes. As a College of Distinction, St. Mary’s has shown excellence in these areas, providing its students with a well-rounded, practical education that prepares them for successful careers and lives.