Texas Border Business
By Joey Gomez
McALLEN, Texas – Long before leading the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement (VIDA), a nonprofit dedicated to helping students achieve their educational goals, Felida Villarreal was simply a high school junior finding her own path through South Texas College’s Dual Credit Programs.
Today, she credits early college experiences at STC, along with the encouragement of college faculty, with shaping a journey defined by perseverance and service.
Serving as VIDA’s president and chief executive officer (CEO), Villarreal said she reflects on her journey from student to community leader, which she hopes proves that while a goal for success may begin in a classroom, it can also be channeled into a lifelong commitment to helping others.
“From the start, STC showed me that education is the door to opportunity,” Villarreal said. “Success is never accomplished alone. It’s an effort of many people, including the professors who believe in you and support you.”
Villarreal began taking dual credit courses while attending Sharyland High School and sought to take as many courses as possible after completing most of her high school requirements. That opportunity allowed her to explore college-level classes before she even graduated.
Graduating high school in 2012, Villarreal said she earned 50 to 60 college credit hours, which provided her with a strong academic foundation. She transferred those credits to the former University of Texas-Pan American, now University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Accounting, inspired by her grandfather.
With the momentum gained from dual credit, Villarreal said she completed her bachelor’s degree by the age of 20 and then entered the workforce as a financial analyst for Telemundo 40 in McAllen.
She went on to earn a master’s degree in Accounting from UTRGV and achieved her goal of becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
“Oftentimes, people think we need to leave the Valley to be successful, and that is far from the truth,” Villarreal said. “I’m a living example that there are so many opportunities here.”
Her goal of a career as a CPA came with the need to give back to the communities she served. She transitioned into the nonprofit sector and eventually a leadership role with VIDA, an organization that works closely with STC and other institutions to support students pursuing higher education and workforce training.
VIDA provides financial assistance, career counseling and essential services like childcare, transportation and job placement. Villarreal said the goal is to not only ensure that students enroll in college but successfully complete their chosen degree tracks.
“Sometimes students take that first step of going back to college, but they face challenges that can prevent them from finishing,” she said. “We work with STC and other colleges and universities to understand those barriers and provide the support they need to succeed.”
For Villarreal, helping students overcome obstacles is personal. It comes from a desire to give back, a reflection of the mentorship she received along the way.
Villarreal recalls one student who lived in her vehicle with two children while attending classes. Through collaboration with community partners, VIDA helped secure transitional housing and resources that enabled the student to complete her associate degree in Nursing.
Stories like this are one of many that Villarreal says motivate her to give back.
“I have been extremely blessed for all the opportunities and support I have had,” she said. “It comes from wanting to give back to a community that has given me so much and to help the next generation of leaders.”
