Texas Border Business
By Amanda Sotelo
South Texas College Board of Trustee Chair Rose Benavidez was recently recognized as a trailblazer for her leadership and service throughout the Rio Grande Valley and beyond, by the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas Rio Grande Valley chapter with a Hispanic Women Making History Award.
Benavidez, who was recently inaugurated as the chair of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Board of Directors, making her the first Latina to hold this distinguished position in the organization’s more than 50-year history, was one of eight local women leaders who received this recognition.
“I was shocked. This was unexpected, but so appreciated,” said Benavidez. “For me, this validates the work that we all do collectively, as women and as members of this community, so I’m really excited to share this with a great group of women.”
The Starr County native has served as an STC Board of Trustee since 2009 and is also the first female president of the Starr County Industrial Foundation.
She has been instrumental in the expansion of innovative programming including dual credit, early college high schools and industry-driven baccalaureate degrees that have created a cost-saving, college-going culture in the region.
“Congratulations to our very own Rose Benavidez for this distinguished award and all her recent achievements. Her work is monumental in shaping and impacting not only our college, but also our region,” said STC President Ricardo J. Solis, Ph.D. “Her tireless efforts to champion higher education and her advocacy is invaluable.”
Cristina Solis Wilson, chair of the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas Rio Grande Valley chapter said Benavidez is paving the way for other women and based on the scoring rubric to select this year’s award recipients, her score was overwhelmingly high and evidence of her impact in the community.
“It’s always so difficult selecting only eight award recipients, there are so many talented and successful women in our region who all deserve to be recognized,” said Wilson. “Ms. Benavidez demonstrates leadership, perseverance and is, by definition, a trailblazer. Every woman we select is influential and shows younger generations that anything is possible; that si se puede.”
Benavidez, in her thank you remarks, amid receiving her award, credited the many women who have played an influential role in her journey and in her success.
“I won’t tell the story of how growing up a Hispanic woman typically results in a dichotomy of well-intended advice, about being the only woman at the table or about my relentless struggles for equality, because we all know those stories all too well,” she said. “But I will express my gratitude to the women who have offered me their hands for guidance, the women who have let me stand on their shoulders to allow me to reach higher and to the women who have carried me on their backs when I felt weary and thought I couldn’t possibly go on. These women I am indebted to and whose voices remind me to inspire support and that their history is our history.”
Benavidez, during her tenure as an STC trustee and member of ACCT, has successfully participated in advocating for increased federal funds for higher education, alignment of skills training with meaningful wage employment and the promotion of student success locally and across the United States, Canada, Europe and Pacific Islands.
She leads by example through her volunteerism and service to numerous local, regional, state and national nonprofit and civic organizations and charities.
For her work, Benavidez has also been recognized with countless other awards such as the “State of Texas Women of Distinction Award” from the Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC), a Woman of Distinction award by the Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and has been inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Walk of Fame.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a platform that allows me to do amazing work for individuals that sometimes need a voice and may not have this opportunity. I want to be sure that there are opportunities available to everyone, and that getting there is easier for every generation that follows,” said Benavidez. “But for me, in a life that is filled with firsts, this is about making sure I’m not the last.”
