UHV Hosts First Fall Boys Academy
The University of Houston-Victoria (UHV) will host its first fall Boys Academy on Tuesday, October 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Coordinated by the UHV Letting Education Achieve Dreams (LEAD) initiative, Boys Academy is designed to encourage eighth-grade boys in the development of leadership skills, personal talents, positive self-esteem and educational goal-setting.
Approximately 70 boys from seven counties—Aransas, Bee, Colorado, Gonzales, Karnes, Matagorda and Wharton—will participate in the event, which will feature community and business leaders, including Dale Fowler, president of the Victoria Economic Development Corporation; Oscar Ortiz, mayor of Port Arthur; and Omar Rachid, vice president of marketing for Speedy Stop stores. The daylong activities will begin with a welcome from Dr. Deidra Hudson, wife of UHV President Tim Hudson.
“We are pleased to be building upon the success of our annual Girls Academy by offering this opportunity to boys from the surrounding area,” said Deidra Hudson. “They will interact with community leaders from our region who have achieved success through pursuing higher education and who believe in the boys’ potential to do the same.”
After the general assembly, students will participate in group sessions focused on career planning and personal skills, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Dan Jaeckle, professor of English at UHV. Following lunch, the boys will participate in a “True Colors” activity. Presented by Cheryl Shamburger and Gerianne Newman of the Region III Educational Service Center, “True Colors” is designed to build students’ interpersonal skills. Finally, Les Blanchett, an engineer at Dow Chemical Co., will give a science presentation.
The UHV Boys Academy is funded by a grant from the Alcoa Foundation. For more information, contact Rachel Trevino-Garcia in the UHV LEAD office at (361) 570-4146.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
