Mario Vicencio grew up with the dream of becoming a law enforcement officer and following in his parent’s footsteps.

Today, thanks to the Criminal Justice Institute at Texas Southmost College, the 25-year-old has begun his career as a police officer with the Combes Police Department.

Mario Vicencio graduated from Texas Southmost College’s Criminal Justice Institute and is now working a police officer with the Combes Police Department.

For over two years, Texas Southmost College has been working on developing Open Educational Resource (OER) courses that have already translated to cost savings for students and dual enrollment partners.

Open Educational Resources as defined by TSC Associate Vice President of Academic Success Angelica Fuentes are teaching, learning, or research resources that are in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits the free use, adaptation, and redistribution of the resource by any person.

Since the initiation of Open Educational Resources (OER) courses at Texas Southmost College in fall 2019, the percentage of sections designated as OER has increased from 3.7% to 50% over a two-year period.

The service-learning experience for Texas Southmost College Architecture students has, over the last 12 years, fostered social responsibility, cultivated creativity and collaborative efforts between the college and various nonprofit organizations, businesses and municipalities across the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

“The TSC Architecture program exhibits an exceptional level of collaboration and partnerships aimed at prompting regional and local community development and leadership,” said Murad Abusalim, Ph.D., dean for the TSC Division of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). “Each experience gives our students extensive knowledge about urban challenges that our communities and towns face.”

Prior to COVID-19, TSC Architecture students gather to discuss plans and presentations for their service-learning housing project.

When Sandra Tovar’s son was in middle school, they began discussing the advantages of taking dual credit courses at Harlingen High School South.

As director of Guidance and Counseling at the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District, she has advised hundreds of families on how they can save both time and money if their child is ready to tackle college-level courses while still in high school.

From fall 2017 through fall 2020, Lower Rio Grande Valley students have enrolled in 137,004 semester credit hours. Courses are offered at their high school or on the TSC campus.

With more than four decades in higher education, Texas Southmost College Board Vice Chairman Tony Zavaleta has worked on many fronts to improve the quality of life for the Rio Grande Valley community.

From teaching to providing college leadership to engaging in lifelong research and public service, he has made positive changes to better serve the community, as well as the students of TSC, his alma mater.

Tony Zavaleta was elected to the TSC Board of Trustees in 2016, serving four years as a board member, Secretary, Treasurer and, most recently, Vice Chairman. He is also a distinguished educator with more than four decades in higher education.