Texas Border Business
By News and Internal Communications
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – More than 50 graduates from the UTRGV School of Social Work celebrated the completion of their master’s degrees with family and friends during a special drive-throughhooding ceremony on Thursday, April 29, on the Edinburg Campus.
The 2020 and 2021 graduates took part in a hooding ceremony, which is considered an important and symbolic ritual signifying the end of a journey and the beginning of a new one. The ceremony does not replace commencement for the graduates, which will take place May 7-8 for the Class of 2021 and May 13-15 for the Class of 2020. The School of Social Work holds an in-person hooding ceremony every year, however, because of the pandemic Dr. Luis Torres-Hostos, founding dean of the School of Social Work, determined a drive-through ceremony would be the ideal opportunity for graduates to commemorate their achievement with family and friends.
“We wanted to host this ceremony, rather than foregoing it again like last year, to honor our students who have been through a lot in the past year and still stayed true to their course,” said Torres-Hostos, who conducted his first hooding ceremony as dean on Thursday evening. “This is also a way to get us to slowly start shifting our thinking toward coming back together in the fall.”
Graduates and their loved ones drove up in their vehicles to the UTRGV Performing Arts Complex circle drive where the graduate, who was masked per COVID-19 guidelines, stepped out of the vehicle onto the front steps of the complex to have their hood placed over their head by Torres-Hostos or a faculty member who played a major role in their UTRGV journey, all while their family remained in the vehicle and cheered them on. The ceremony was a family affair for Dr. Romeo Escobar, assistant professor in the School of Social Work. The proud father called it “an auspicious moment” when he placed the master’s hood on his daughter, Bianca.
“I am beyond blessed because not only am I graduating, but my dad hooded me so that’s a really big honor for me,” said Bianca. “I have unconditional support from my family and they pushed me along and I was able to get here today. It’s an awesome feeling that I’m finally graduating.”
Bianca is the youngest of four and the third sibling in the family following on the pathway to social work.
“This is very special. I think that she felt that this was a profession for her when she received her undergraduate degree from UTPA,” said Romeo. “She started doing some casework for foster children and then she realized ‘I think I need to go into social work because I enjoy helping families, and I enjoy helping children.’” Also, taking part in the hooding ceremony was Jharezee Guzman from Hidalgo, who was thrilled to be completing this part of her academic career.
“When I first considered going into a two-year program, I felt like time was going to go by so slow, but wow these years flew by,” Guzman said. “It all feels so surreal and I can’t believe I am accomplishing this dream of getting a master’s degree in social work.”
Torres-Hostos said this past year has been a challenge and has shown the important role social workers have in society.
“The economic collapse and health crisis precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the social instability of the past year, have disproportionately impacted some of the most vulnerable people in our society, from the elderly to racial and ethnic minorities,” said Torres-Hostos. “Food insecurity, housing instability, loneliness and isolation, and health and mental health concerns have all increased, making the need for social workers critical. Our graduates stand ready to make an immediate impact in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.”
The UTRGV School of Social Work is the only bachelor’s and master’s degree program in social work south of San Antonio. To learn more about the School of Social Work, visit www.utrgv.edu/socialwork/.
