Students from Texas A&M’s McAllen Higher Education Center assist colonia residents

WESLACO, Texas – Adela Arellano, administrative coordinator for Texas A&M University’s Colonias Program, has spoken about a unique partnership with public health students at Texas A&M’s Higher Education Center in McAllen.

Last weekend the students participated in a cleanup and landscaping program at the La Piñata Colonia in Donna. This weekend the students will be hosting a mental health awareness fair at Alamo Community Resource Center in Little Mexico.

“We are collaborating with the public health students at Texas A&M Higher Education Center in McAllen, and they are really interested. They want to know exactly what it is like to live in a colonia,” Arellano said. “The students that went to La Piñata were very excited about assisting the colonia residents and cleaning up their areas. It was a very successful event.”

Looking forward to the next part of the program, Arellano said: “Our next event is a health fair at the Alamo Community Center. We are very proud to work with the students and it is very rewarding to see that they are out there wanting to help.”

Arellano made her comments at the latest “Cluster Meeting” hosted by the AltaCair Foundation. The meeting, which was held at the offices of the Rio Grande Valley Partnership in Weslaco, brought together many nonprofits that work in the Rio Grande Valley’s colonias.

Caly Fernandez of Puentes de Cristo said the cleanup and landscaping exercise at La Piñata was a great success.

“That was a wonderful project, to have all the students out there, cleaning up the community, doing the landscaping,” Fernandez said. “Hidalgo County Commissioner David Fuentes brought some big dumpsters and they soon filled up. They had to come back for more trash.”

Asked about this weekend’s mental health awareness event, Fernandez said: “Just to de-stigmatize mental health services, is so important.”

The students at the McAllen Higher Education Center are taking a Project Management in Public Health course. They are participating with Texas A&M University’s Colonias Program to get “real world” experience in the Valley’s colonias, said Dr. Krystal Flores-Chavez, instructional assistant professor at the Texas A&M University Higher Education Center at McAllen.

Flores-Chavez was awarded a $5,000 High Impact Teaching Grant for the Project Management in Public Health course, giving each team $2,500 to develop their project.

“Students who have completed the course in the past have secured internships, fellowships and job opportunities from their participation in this service-learning opportunity,” Flores-Chavez said. “My hope is that students leave the course feeling proud of their accomplishments, confident in their ability to network, and well-equipped to pursue career opportunities in the field of public health.”

Arellano, of Texas A&M University’s Colonias Program, said it has been a rewarding experience to work with the students from the Higher Education Center at McAllen.

“It has given us the opportunity to work as a team and provide insight into the work that the Colonias Program does,” Arellano said. “We hope that the information we and the other nonprofit organizations share at the events will help empower community members if and when they need the resources.”

Arellano said this weekend’s mental health event will include free services from local clinics and nonprofit organizations and a mental health-themed game of loteria (Bingo) with prizes.

Participating organizations include Nuestra Clinica Del Valle, South Texas Health Systems Clinics, South Texas Health Systems Behavioral, South Texas Research Institute, HOPE Family Health Center, Mujeres Unidas/Women Together, Puentes De Cristo and the Texas A&M Colonias Program.

Editor’s Note: Click here for more information about the mental health awareness fair. 

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