Members of the UTSA Women's Choir will travel to the Island of Syros, Greece, July 4-18 to take part in the International Festival of the Aegean.  During the Festival they will develop and hosta Woman's Chorus Gala, rehearsed and conducted by Associate Professor in the Department of Music, Gary L. Mabry. Also, 20 of the women from the group will provide the soprano-alto portion of the chorus to a production of Verdi's opera Il Trovatore as a part of the festival.  Congratulations ladies on this very exciting opportunity!

Dr. Sara DeTurk (Communication) had her article selected as the 2012 ECA (Eastern Communication Association) Article of the year: 

• DeTurk, S. (2011). Allies in Action: The Communicative Experiences of People Who Challenge Social Injustice on Behalf of Others." Communication Quarterly 59(5), 569-590.

She also had two other articles published last year: 

• DeTurk, S. (2011). "I need to know": Conditions that encourage and constrain intercultural dialogue. Journal of Intergroup Relations, 35 (1), 37-60.
• DeTurk, S. (2011). Critical andragogy and communication activism: Approaches, tensions, and lessons learned. Communication Teacher, 25 (1), 48-60.

Below are some notable COLFA students who will be graduating this month. We are proud of all of our graduates and send our best wishes for your future pursuits! 

• Magda Garcia, Melissa Murata-Gomez, and Jason Trevino, all UTSA MA in English graduates will be attending internationally recognized Ph.D. programs, respectively University of California at Santa Barbara, State University of New York-Albany, and University of California-Berkeley.
   
• Carolina Canizales is a communication major and a dreamer.  She came to the US at age 10 with her mother - but illegally.  Her older sister did not go to college to make it possible for Carolina to go.  She initially went to St. Mary's but could not afford to stay there, so transferred to UTSA as a sophomore.  She is graduating with a perfect 4.0 and is working on a photojournalism piece on undocumented workers with Professor John Philip Santos.  
   
• John Lira is a non-traditional student who came to UTSA after serving two tours of duty in Iraq with the U.S. Marines and after completing an Associate's degree at San Antonio College.  He will earn a BA in political science with a minor in global analysis.  He has been doing research on drug cartels in Mexico because he would like to work in US intelligence and national security.  Last summer, he was invited to attend the very selective Public Policy International Affairs Summer Institute at Princeton University and, last fall, he interned at the National Defense University in DC as an Archer Fellow.  He is currently waiting to hear about a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Fellowship for next year, so he can intern in Congress, and he will be applying to graduate programs in international relations (and recently interviewed with a recruiter from the Harvard Kennedy School).
   
• Vasiliki Kiageri is an international student from Greece.  In Greece, you get one shot at college - when you are graduating from high school - and Vallie didn't take it.  She realized a couple of years later, however, that she would like to go to college to become a psychologist, but the only avenue open to her was to go abroad.  Her aunt and uncle had recently moved to San Antonio, so they helped her to come to UTSA.  She is graduating with a BA in psychology with highest honors and has written two honors theses - one with Dr. Ephrem Fernandez and one with Dr. Stella Lopez.  She presented the first at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society.  She has applied to the MS program in experimental psychology at UTSA to continue her education.
   
• The following COLFA students have been accepted into the UT-System Archer Fellowship Program for 2012-13:  Daniel Crotty (American Studies/English); Adriana Hernandez (political science);  Jamie Johnson (geography); Autumn Lansford (political science/French); Emily Nasir (political science); Charles "Birk" Wilkinson (political science). The Bill Archer Fellowship was established by The University of Texas System in conjunction with Former U.S. Representative Bill Archer as a way to bring highly motivated and accomplished students to Washington, D.C. to participate in varied internships and take part in classes focusing on policy, economics, and persuasion. 

DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY

EXHIBITION: Spontaneous Generation    ARTIST: Jessica Battes

EXHIBITION: Intentional Stranger    ARTIST: Megan Harrison

EXHIBITION DATES: May 3 - 20, 2012

OPENING RECEPTION: Thurs., May 3, 6-9pm (also May 4, 6-9pm)

LOCATION:UTSA Satellite Space