Texas Woman's University

A large work on the side of J&E Express Auto Service in her Dallas neighborhood of Oak Cliff, the mural created by Issy Martinez ’25 was unveiled during a community celebration. Contributors and organizers hope it spurs the creation of a new mural district in the area.

Through her former professor and fellow Oak Cliff native Giovanni Valderas, Martinez conceptualized and began working on the design process for her piece, just a month after she graduated.

“This mural district was spurred by me having my oil changed,” Valderas said. “Jerry owns the autoshop and he saw that I did murals and he asked if he could pay me to do a mural on the building. Other shops want murals too — so I thought could we establish a mural district that’s a tourist destination, stimulate economic activity and learn about the neighborhood and highlight the very much working-class community.”

Jerry Figueroa’s one request of the work? To feature the Virgin Mary in a hardworking community. Martinez spent days driving around her childhood neighborhood and reflected on the businesses that shaped her adolescence: flowers being sold on the street, a paleta man, a barber shop. The paleta man’s push cart also reads “somos el sueńo americano,” which translates to “we are the American dream.”

Visually, the bright colors of the more than a dozen community members depicted in the mural contrast the darkness of the background on the building, with Mary looking out for each member. There’s bright red and orange florals, monarch butterflies and a low rider.

“I hope that they’ll take away ‘Wow, that’s us and she really represented us,’ and they talk about this being a resistance mural because people wanted to get rid of us,” Martinez said. “I want to change the mindset because you can create beautiful things and bring people together through art.”

The mural also represents TWU’s commitment to and engagement in the area. Funding for the project started with a $600 grant from the TWU School of Art and Design, and Valderas was able to spur additional funding to support the massive project.

From internships to volunteering, our Pioneers made the most of their summer adventures. 🥰🥰

Texas Woman's University and Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas launched a strategic partnership that creates expanded admissions, scholarship and college readiness opportunities for Gold Award Girl Scouts.
TWU and Girl Scouts leaders celebrated the partnership during Thursday’s signing ceremony at TWU's Brackenridge Hall Auditorium. The agreement establishes a framework for ongoing collaboration between the two organizations while strengthening the pipeline of future women leaders through education, leadership and service.

"As Texas Woman's University celebrates its 125th anniversary, this partnership reflects our longstanding commitment to recognizing leadership and expanding educational opportunity for women," said Dr. Carine Feyten, chancellor and president of Texas Woman's University. "Gold Award Girl Scouts have already demonstrated the perseverance, initiative and service that define exceptional leaders. We are proud to recognize those accomplishments and help these young women continue their leadership journey at Texas Woman's."

Through the partnership, eligible Gold Award Girl Scouts will receive admission consideration after completing their junior year of high school, subject to university admission requirements. Additional benefits include merit scholarship opportunities for qualifying students, admission application fee waivers, dedicated admissions counseling, financial aid guidance and college readiness programming. Eligible students also may qualify for TWU's Zero Tuition Guarantee.

"Leadership begins long before a young woman arrives on a college campus," said Jennifer K. Bartkowski, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. "Through Girl Scouts, girls develop the courage, confidence and character to lead, and Texas Woman's University will help them build on that foundation through higher education. Together, we're building the leadership pipeline for Texas."

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest achievement in Girl Scouting and recognizes girls who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through sustainable projects that create lasting community impact. Under the partnership, Gold Award recipients will have expanded access to admissions support and educational resources designed to help them successfully transition to college.

Every camper at Camp Abilities Texas has a coach by their side.

That one-on-one partnership is the foundation of the weeklong camp hosted by TWU. This summer, 25 young athletes who are blind, visually impaired or deafblind were paired with coaches, many of whom are TWU adapted physical education graduate students or alumni. Together, they worked through individualized instruction in a variety of sports, with the modifications each athlete needed to succeed.

From swimming and tandem biking to gymnastics, rock climbing and goalball, Camp Abilities Texas gives campers the opportunity to try new activities while providing future adapted physical education professionals with valuable hands on experience.

Texas Woman’s researcher Dr. Heather Roberts has received a second major award aimed at improving care and outcomes for individuals with cerebral palsy.

The $285,000 award comes from the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award Program, an initiative of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Roberts, an associate director and associate professor in the School of Occupational Therapy, is partnering with Dr. Angela Shierk, an occupational therapist and senior clinical scientist from Scottish Rite for Children, to work on the project.

The award supports the launch of the Cerebral Palsy – Training in Research, Assessment and Intervention Network (CP-TRAIN). CP-TRAIN will work alongside people with cerebral palsy, their families, therapists, clinicians and researchers to create foundational modules and a therapist certification pathway. This work will culminate in a prioritized agenda for comparative clinical effectiveness research.

“It was exciting,” Roberts said of the award. “This is just so near and dear to Angela and I's hearts. We have been working with kiddos with cp and their families for over two decades and knowing that it's not only just important to us, but it's also important on a national scale.”

Enjoying a beautiful campus walk. 💖💖

Every camper at Camp Abilities Texas has a coach by their side.

That one-on-one partnership is the foundation of the weeklong camp hosted by Texas Woman's University. This summer, 25 young athletes who are blind, visually impaired or deafblind were paired with coaches, many of whom are TWU adapted physical education graduate students or alumni. Together, they worked through individualized instruction in a variety of sports, with the modifications each athlete needed to succeed.

From swimming and tandem biking to gymnastics, rock climbing and goalball, Camp Abilities Texas gives campers the opportunity to try new activities while providing future adapted physical education professionals with valuable hands on experience.

Every TWU student needs a place to unplug. What's your space?