Texas Border Business
McAllen, Texas – Former student and alumna Anali Alanis looks back fondly on her experiences at South Texas College, and how the institution changed the trajectory of her life.
Addressing a packed event at the opening of new facilities at STC’s Mid Valley Campus on Thursday morning, Alanis told attendees of her life before and after college.
Born in China, Nuevo Leon in Mexico, Alanis said she came to the United States as a 12-year-old. Growing up, she said she often slept on the floor, and her family home lacked many basic amenities including air conditioning, heat in the winter, and hot water.
Despite her parents’ highest level of education being sixth grade, Anali said she was able to graduate with an Associate of Arts in Business Administration and then a Bachelor’s in Applied Technology (BAT) from STC in 2015. She then received her Master in Public Affairs at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
After obtaining her degree, Anali said she was able to move up in her career. She received a promotion at work and became the first female human resources director for the City of Pharr.
She also serves as the Civil Service Director for Pharr and the president of the Human Resources Consortium in the Valley comprised of all human resources directors in neighboring cities.
“I remember studying in the portable buildings here on campus. That’s where I started,” Anali said. “This morning when I came here and I saw the new buildings, it’s just mind-blowing. It is beautiful here. I think STC is leading the way, and it is amazing to see all the great changes they are doing. I had the opportunity to take online classes and night classes here. This was my place. This is where I would drive from home and I loved it. All the professors here were extremely friendly, and this place is dear to my heart.”
South Texas College’s Mid-Valley Campus celebrated the opening of a newly constructed Health Professions and Sciences Building, library renovations and additional building expansions with a ribbon cutting ceremony, April 26.
Guests in attendance at the ribbon cutting included Weslaco Mayor Pro Tem Gerardo Tafolla, Weslaco City Manager Mike Perez, Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council (LRGVDC) Executive Director Ron Garza, and Weslaco EDC Executive Director Marie McDermott.
The new construction includes the Health Professions and Sciences Building that spans over 77,000 square feet. The Mid-Valley Campus Library was also renovated and expanded. The Student Services Building was expanded to include a new enrollment center that will assist the more than 3,500 students that register for classes at the campus.
The new center is also intended to be a one-stop service center for all services related to the admissions, enrollment, and financial services process.
“Students will now have opportunities that will carry them into the future. We can’t provide for all the life and world experiences they might encounter, but we can give them a good, solid education they can use no matter where they choose to go,” said STC President Dr. Shirley A. Reed. “If we prepare these students well, they are going to do very well out in the world. If they graduate from South Texas College, we know in the future that their children will go to college and everyone will have a better life.”
South Texas College is currently seeing its campus construction projects come to light made possible by the voter-approved $159 million bond passed in 2013. Among its five campuses, South Texas College welcomes the expansion and creation of new facilities designed to serve students for generations to come.
New facilities in Weslaco will enable the college to accommodate its growing student enrollment by providing a “little of everything”, according to campus administrators.
“I have taught at this campus for 18 years, and in the past when I first started, we were teaching in portable buildings. At that time, we had one main building, now we have several facilities that are state-of-the-art,” said Mid-Valley Campus Administrator Daniel Montez. “We always tell people that we have a little bit of everything here at the Mid-Valley campus, and it’s here that we can study nursing and allied health, education, and technical careers.
“We want to show off what we have here because we think it’s something very special not just for the campus but for the whole community of South Texas,” Montez said.
