TWU Alumni

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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.

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Calling all DFW area alumni for Texas Woman’s University Night with the Frisco RoughRiders! Join us Thursday, August 20 at 7pm. Grab your tickets: https://bit.ly/4wlmmis

If you're planning to catch the meteor shower this week, take a moment to celebrate a Pioneer who once looked even farther.⁠
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Will you be watching the night sky on August 12–13? 👀✨

On this day, August 5, 1943, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were established to fill a need for more pilots during World War II. WASPs combined two groups of women pilots, the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron and Women’s Flying Training Detachment. Following its establishment, the WASPs received over 25,000 applications from women across the country. The women in this unit flew a majority of military aircraft in the Army Air Forces’ arsenal and collectively flew more than 60 million miles.

Despite their historic accomplishment, the WASPs were not recognized for their service or granted full veteran status until 1977 due to the women’s civilian status at the time and political debates about women’s place in the military.

TWU’s library is the official WASP Archive collection in the country. To learn more about the archive, visit https://twu.edu/library/womans-collection/collections/women-airforce-service-pilots-official-archive/.

𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂 𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 ‼️

TWU Volleyball was honored with their 22nd AVCA Team Academic Award! We’re so proud of our Pioneers commitment to excellence in the classroom and on the court!

🗞️: https://twuathletics.com/news/2026/7/23/volleyball-twu-volleyball-honored-with-2026-avca-team-academic-award.aspx

Join the fund with MAHJONG 101! Connect with fellow TWU alumni for a relaxed, social event where beginners will learn the fundamentals of American Mahjong while experienced players help fill tables and enjoy open play. Register here: https://bit.ly/4wxCnSy