Texas Border Business
South Texas College students are making a lasting impact, not only across Texas but beyond, with an award-winning project developed for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a national nonprofit organization that advocates for children who have experienced abuse or neglect and are in the foster care system.
STC’s Board of Trustees proudly recognized the students for their exceptional achievement and their significant contributions to making society better during their last meeting.
Their innovative solution, aimed at improving communication between incarcerated parents and their children in foster care, was recently presented to the Director of Advocacy for CASA in Orange County, California, with representatives from Oregon and Colorado also in attendance.
Over several weeks, students John Haugland, Angel Rodriguez and Daunte Aguilar conducted extensive research, surveys, and interviews to develop a data-driven initiative focused on virtual solutions to help families reconnect, designed a brochure tailored to Texas prisons and ensured a clear understanding of CASA’s mission.
In December 2024, this project placed above all at the highly competitive Association of Applied and Clinical Sociology (AACS) student problem-solving competition, making STC the first two-year institution to win first place at the national event.
