Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González / Texas Border Business
McALLEN, Texas — Thirty years after Valley Alliance of Mentors for Opportunities and Scholarships (VAMOS) began helping Rio Grande Valley students pursue higher education, former scholarship recipients gathered to celebrate an organization they said did far more than help pay for college. It gave students opportunities that changed careers, strengthened families, and created a new generation committed to giving back.
The anniversary celebration brought together VAMOS alumni, scholars, donors, supporters, and community leaders to recognize three decades of investment in students, along with the board members and volunteers who have sustained the organization.
Richard Cantu, president of the VAMOS Board of Directors, the board, and Alonzo Cantu, President Emeritus, were recognized as part of the leadership behind an organization whose impact was demonstrated throughout the evening through alumni experiences.
The opening speaker, Elizabeth, a VAMOS alumna and principal of the UTRGV-McAllen ISD Collegiate Academy, described the scholarship as an opportunity that changed her life’s direction.
“Because of VAMOS, I was able to break the cycle of poverty and trauma and provide not only a better life for myself, but for my two beautiful children,” she said.
Now in her 25th year in education, she said she has built a career around educating and empowering students and future leaders.
Karla Rodríguez, a member of the VAMOS Class of 2009, also described how an investment in her education continues to benefit others. Rodríguez serves as an elementary reading language arts curriculum coordinator at PSJA ISD.
“The opportunity that was once given to me has helped shape a path that now allows me to create opportunities for others,” Rodríguez said.
Dr. Lauro Tijerina, also a VAMOS Class of 2009 alumnus, thanked current and former board members, donors, and supporters who have contributed their time and resources during the organization’s 30-year history.
“There are a lot of us in this room tonight who are living examples of what your support has made possible,” Tijerina said.
He then introduced Dr. Jose Cruz, a VAMOS Class of 2001 alumnus whose journey took him from Edcouch-Elsa High School to Yale University, where he earned a degree in biomedical engineering, followed by advanced education and a career in medicine and leadership.
Cruz recalled that VAMOS provided something equally important to financial assistance — mentorship and access to people willing to guide a first-generation college student through unfamiliar territory.
He specifically credited Alonzo Cantu and Ismael Rodríguez as two influential figures who helped shape his professional journey. Cruz recalled that when he needed to travel to New Haven, Connecticut, in 2001, Rodríguez helped him navigate something as basic but critical as obtaining a plane ticket.
The experience, Cruz said, demonstrated how mentorship can help close gaps faced by first-generation Hispanic college students who may not have established professional networks.
“Every scholarship changes lives, which in turn transforms communities and families,” Cruz said.
That message became the centerpiece of a video shown during the celebration.
“Here in the Rio Grande Valley, dreams have always been bigger than circumstance,” the video said. “For 30 years, VAMOS has stood beside first-generation students, lighting a path toward opportunity, dignity and a future filled with possibility.”
The presentation told the stories of several VAMOS scholars and alumni, demonstrating how educational opportunity can extend from one student to an entire family.
Julio Treviño turned a first-generation college dream into an engineering degree and career. One of his proudest achievements, according to the presentation, was purchasing his mother her first home, fulfilling a promise he had made when he was young.
Dr. Leonardo Martinez’s journey took him from Edinburg North to UTRGV and McGovern Medical School. The VAMOS mentorship program helped support his education, and he later entered a family medicine residency serving patients.
The video also introduced a younger generation of scholars, including Denzel Mireles, a graduate of PSJA Memorial Early College High School who said he lived in Section 8 housing for 16 years.
“The VAMOS scholarship made it possible for me to attend a university,” Mireles said. His goal, he said, is eventually to establish a company that builds homes for low-income families.
Daniel Cruz, who became a VAMOS scholar in 2020, offered another example of the program’s lasting impact.
“VAMOS has continued to make a difference in my life and has changed it forever,” Cruz said.
The stories also recognized the VAMOS Board of Directors and the leadership that has upheld the organization’s mission for three decades. Richard Cantu leads the board as president, while President Emeritus Alonzo Cantu represents the organization’s long history of investing in Valley students.
The anniversary reflected the work of current and former board members, donors, mentors, volunteers, sponsors, and community partners who have helped turn scholarships into opportunities.
For the alumni who returned to tell their stories, the results could be seen in classrooms, medical practices, universities and communities throughout the Rio Grande Valley.
The video captured the evening’s central message: “Their generosity doesn’t just fund education; it transforms lives.”
Thirty years after VAMOS began investing in Rio Grande Valley students, its alumni are now educators, physicians, dentists, engineers, and professionals who are creating opportunities for another generation.
As Cruz told the audience, VAMOS believed in students like him three decades ago. Today, he said, that belief lives on “in every student who dares to dream big.”
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