Eloy Garza issues a ‘Call to Action’

MCALLEN, Texas – Eloy Garza is founder and CEO of Career Bridge and a lecturer in marketing at UT-Rio Grande Valley’s Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship.

Speaking at a forum titled “Classrooms to Commerce: The Economic Power of Education in the Rio Grande Valley,” Garza issued a “call to action” to area employers: please give students the opportunity of meaningful work experience.

The forum, held at the Embassy Suites, was hosted by the Institute for Leadership in Capital Projects (I-LinCP), with ERO as the title sponsor.

“What would happen if every one of our students across this region had the opportunity to gain real hands-on experience, working with real businesses, solving real problems, really getting their hands dirty, putting the skills and the techniques, the practices that they’re learning in the classroom directly into practice in the real world?” Garza asked. “How would that impact the kids and how would that impact the community?”

Garza is an executive board member of RGV Lead, a group that works with regional school districts and local industries to strengthen the career pathways and study programs offered to students. Its goal is to increase the percentage of students engaged in high-quality, work-based learning by connecting classroom learning to the workplace to help students prepare for future careers.

“We want to be your partners, educational institutions. We want to be your partner in linking your teachers and students with business and industry. Business and industry, we want to be your partners to help you connect with teachers and students in the classroom,” said Garza, referring to RGV Lead’s work.

“We want to align education and workforce needs. We want to empower and prepare our students ages 16 to 24… to align them to opportunities and prepare them for career success.”

Garza pointed out that when he worked for Pharr-San Juan Alamo ISD, he developed the first high school student-led marketing agency in the country. “Out of Las Milpas, and it was a bunch of ragtag kids that wanted to show the world what they’d got.”

He said the students had great success in helping mom and pop shops in the community with their marketing needs. “What does that do to a group of students?” Garza said, referring to the confidence and experience the students gained.

At UTRGV, Garza said his program has helped 600 students engage with over 140 companies in the community to develop comprehensive marketing plans. “Those are the kind of things that are creative and innovative, that we can start doing now that lead to further opportunities, internships, apprenticeships, capstone projects, mentorships.”

Editor’s Note: Here is a video recording of Eloy Garza’s remarks at the Classrooms to Commerce forum:

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