Brothers attend UHV, serve on Student Senate
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| Erik Garino |
University of Houston-Victoria students and brothers Erik and Archie Garino have a lot more in common than just their parents.
They’re both members of the UHV Student Senate, have the same major, work in Victoria hospitals and look remarkably alike.
“Sometimes people think my brother is me or that I’m Archie,” said Erik, a UHV senior. “They get confused because we look alike, but we’re not twins. I’m a year older.”
They have similar interests in student government and both serve on the UHV Student Senate. Erik is Student Senate president this school year while Archie, a UHV junior, is a senator at-large.
“I got involved in the Student Senate because of Erik,” Archie said. “He had already served one term and mentioned there was a seat available for senator at-large. I thought joining the Senate would give me new leadership experience.”
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| Archie Garino |
Erik said he enjoys serving on the Senate with his brother.
“It’s great. We both have a passion for volunteering and mentoring, and we want to start a nonprofit organization in the future,” he said. The siblings would like their organization to help fight poverty and hunger in Third World countries.
When the brothers are not serving on the Senate together or planning their nonprofit foundation, they share a major and a few classes.
“I’m a psychology major,” Archie said. “Erik is a triple major in applied arts and sciences, biology and psychology, so we do have some classes together.”
Both brothers agreed that even though they spend a lot of time together, they rarely get tired of each other. Instead, they’re more like good friends who joke around a lot. Even their career choices seem to be leading them down similar paths.
“My brother and I are both in the medical field,” Erik said. “I’m graduating with a Registered Nurse degree this semester from Victoria College, and my brother just graduated as an RN last year.”
Both of them already have found careers in hospitals. Archie is an RN at Detar Hospital, while Erik works in the emergency room at Citizens Medical Center.
Erik hopes to attend medical school after he graduates from UHV, while Archie would like to become a physician’s assistant.
The UHV Outstanding Student is an online feature highlighting the exceptional students who attend the University of Houston-Victoria. To nominate a student, contact UHV Communications Manager Paula Cobler or call 361-570-4350.
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.
