MCALLEN, Texas – South Texas College continued to expand its binational partnerships with the school’s most recent agreement with Saint George Prep School in Matamoros.
In a signing ceremony, STC President Ricardo Solis spoke about the historic nature of the collaboration and college’s ongoing efforts to build more international relationships.
“As you know, at South Texas College, we are very enthusiastic and real excited about this project because we are making history,” said Solis.
Saint George Prep School is the high school component of Colegio San Jorge, which teaches students from preschool through middle school. And, though it is not the first high school in Mexico partnering with STC, it is the first in Matamoros. Through this new concurrent enrollment agreement, Saint George students will be able to take STC courses and earn college credits while in high school.
Jorge Luis Almanza, director of innovation at Colegio San Jorge, and Lina Montoya, academic director of Saint George Prep School, both spoke briefly at the ceremony, expressing their thanks on behalf of their students and reflecting on the impact the agreement will have for them.
“Thank you, Dr. Solis, for your leadership and for being open to Mexican-American students,” said Almanza. “…It’s going to be a very important accomplishment for our students … We want them to think global, but act local, and this is acting locally. So, thinking about getting opportunities across the border means a lot.”
Solis says the college will continue to “change quickly and adapt” to the evolving needs of students and employers, pioneering more endeavors in the future.
“For us, it’s critical to provide – especially in today’s globalization – to provide opportunities that are a big demand for industry,” said Solis. “And, we know now that this whole globalization has created a lot of innovation opportunities.”
He continued, “We have to think of regionalism … This is what companies need that are coming here, especially as a result from the near-shoring that’s taken place. We’re going to be able to cover more. And, this is the beginning. We plan to do this with other institutions along the border, hopefully even all the way up to Nuevo Leon and other states as well.”
Luisa Fernanda Rodriguez, STC global market development coordinator, acted as point person for the agreement. She boasted that 22 students of the class of 50 from Saint George had already signed up for courses. With the college’s other partnerships and collaborations with more than 100 universities, including Universidad Tamaulipeca and Texas A&M University, Rodriguez says the STC will be a huge stepping stone for the students – something that will, ultimately, improve the border.
“If we prepare our students in Mexico, we know they are going to grow and we’re going to have economic mobility in our region,” said Rodriguez. “… We want to have this initiative grow because it’s going to be an impact for our community and our region.”
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