EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — El Paso Community College (EPCC) was awarded “Program of the Year” honors at the Texas Education Research Consortium’s Texas Student Leadership Summit.
EPCC sent 20 Tejano Empowerment Network (TEN) students and five committee members to the Summit that was held at the University of Texas at Austin. EPCC has been attending the Summit events since 2013 and this was the college’s first award from the event, according to EPCC.
“On behalf of the Tejano Empowerment Network (TEN) Steering Committee, I can say we feel fortunate to be able to work with like-minded individuals who have the privilege to serve the students in our community at EPCC,” Dr. Jose Pacheco, EPCC professor of biology, said. “Our most powerful tool with TEN is showing students that we care about them, and with encouragement, students ‘discover themselves.’ Students who have gone through TEN have seen value in education and persisted at EPCC, found jobs on campus, received scholarships/fellowships, graduated with certificates and/or degrees, and transferred to 4-year institutions.”
Project TEN is a mentoring program with a curriculum based on five aspects: Leadership, Identity, College and Career Readiness, Health and Wellness and Brotherhood, according to EPCC.
The project is focused on leadership development to increase retention, completion and transfer EPCCC students to four-year institutions, according to EPCC.
According to EPCC, the Summit is a two-day conference that brings over 300 students across Texas to attend sessions on leadership, identity, college and career readiness, health and wellness and brotherhood/sisterhood, with this year’s theme on being “The Courage to Lead”.
The following EPCC TEN Steering committee members attended the 2024 Summit:
Mrs. Elvia Guzman-Jarnagin, senior administrative associate
Mr. Hector Riveroll Jr., Lab Facilities supervisor
Mr. Ivan Iniguez, biology professor
Mr. Robert Moreno, chemistry instructor
Mr. Eduardo Munoz Jr., student technology services manager
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