BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Texas Southmost College student Eleazar Hernandez is blazing a trail as a standout in the college’s Respiratory Care Science program, earning recognition for his work at both the regional and statewide levels for his academic and research achievements.
Over the summer, Hernandez learned that he had been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Neil Allen Memorial Grant, awarded by the Respiratory Care Foundation of Texas (RCFT).
“When I found out that I won, I was really astonished,” Hernandez said. “I was proud of the hard work that I put in, and it’s nice to see that somebody else is recognizing the hard work that I’m putting into this field and into my courses.”
Students enrolled in respiratory care programs across Texas with a GPA of 3.0 or higher are eligible to apply for RCFT grants. Hernandez’s application featured a research paper focused on airway diseases. The paper was originally written for one of his courses with Respiratory Care Science Program Director Isidro Ramirez III before refining it to meet the foundation’s submission requirements.
“That’s the beauty of learning, especially with respiratory therapy and with everything that’s evolving nowadays,” said Ramirez. “I think about student success, curriculum building and how to build on those courses that are already there and how to make them interesting. What could these guys do that’s going to benefit them with the work they’re doing?”
Hernandez’s work had already begun attracting attention earlier in the year. In April, he was selected to present a poster on airway diseases at the Texas Society for Respiratory Care South Region South Padre Island Symposium. His project was among the few selected for presentation from more than 20 submissions.
In early August, Hernandez drove more than 500 miles to Grapevine to attend the RCFT Celebration Dinner, where grant recipients were announced.
“Whenever you got the award letter, they just tell you you’re an awardee,” Hernandez said. “They don’t tell you the amount. They were calling names and my name still wasn’t called.”
Eventually, Hernandez heard his name announced and was presented with a $3,500 check—the largest award given at the ceremony.
As a non-traditional student who switched careers before enrolling at TSC, Hernandez said the grant will help him ease the cost of tuition.
“I am not a financial aid recipient,” he said. “It covered about 50 percent of my coursework. It was aid that I wasn’t expecting as I usually pay everything out of pocket. It went a long way in financing my studies.”
While Hernandez appreciates the financial award he received, he said the networking opportunities that arose after being awarded the $3,500 check were the “real prize.”
“Many people that I did not know came up to me, congratulated me and passed me their contact info,” said Hernandez. “Directors from other hospitals from across the United States gave me their contact info and told me, ‘Hey, do you need a mentor? Looking for jobs? Trying to move? Like, here you go.’”
Ramirez said Hernandez’s success reflects his dedication as a student and the strength of TSC’s Respiratory Care Science program.
“I think it’s pretty significant, and it says a lot of this program and about the discipline that we institute into our students here,” Ramirez said. “It says a lot about Eli taking that extra step and following up on my recommendations to go ahead and actually submit that paperwork to the organization.”
Hernandez is the second student from TSC’s Respiratory Care Science program to receive an RCFT grant. The first was Janeth Estrada, a 2024 graduate of the program.
Now in his second year of the program, Hernandez is on track to graduate at the end of the academic year.
His journey highlights the opportunities available to non-traditional students pursuing new career paths at TSC and demonstrates what can happen when determination, hard work, and strong mentorship come together.
