Columbia Alumni Association of San Antonio

I am humbled to share with you that I (Simon G. Salas) received the 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award from .SIPA last week. I'm honored that a fabulous friend and colleague, Mozelle Thompson ’76CC, IF ’79, ’81LAW presented the award. As a ’79CC, MPA ’83, ’83LAW graduate, the recognition was due to my career in public service, nonprofit leadership, and education administration. I accepted this award on behalf of my classmates and colleagues, past and current whose persistence and creativity shaped my career and fostered the impact we've made. Mozelle's introduction at the Award Luncheon at Low Library before the gathering of 250 alumnae from across the country and internationally, is linked below. At minute 24, Mozelle gives a snapshot of what we've accomplished thanks to the foundation and opportunities I've been given, through education, mentors, and my closest friends:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aai38jC7VrE. I also had the opportunity to speak about the world that non profits live in today, highlighting my work at Good Samaritan Community Services.

From San Antonio's Westside to Morningside Heights in New York City has been more than a journey. It's been an education and a life. Thank you everyone to the many ways in which you give back to your community. To view a gallery of the photos and read more on the event, visit https://www.sipa.columbia.edu/news/sipa-alumni-gather-day-discussions-and-celebrations.

Saturday, July 19, 2025 - 2:30 - 4:30pm CDT
15th Annual Ivy Plus Student Send Off

Get ready to kick off the new school year with the 15th Annual Ivy Plus Student Send Off, a fun-filled event to connect with fellow students.

This event is Co-Hosted by Columbia Alumni from San Antonio and the surrounding region. Join us at cafécollege for a fun-filled event celebrating our students heading off to the Ivy League and other prestigious universities. This is your chance to mingle with fellow students and alumni before embarking on your new academic journey. Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity to connect with the Ivy Plus.

cafécollege
131 El Paso Street San Antonio, TX 78204

Register at the link below!@

15th Annual Ivy Plus Student Send Off Get ready to kick off the new school year with the 15th Annual Ivy Plus Student Send Off, a fun-filled event to connect with fellow students

RSVP to [email protected]

On Saturday July 27th, we are co-hosting the 13th Annual Ivy Plus Sendoff from 2-4 PM at Cafe College. Current students and alumni are welcome to join us and meet students entering Columbia in the fall. Register at this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ivy-plus-san-antonio-summer-sendoff-tickets-943639129037?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Thank you,
Simon

Message from MIT Alums in San Antonio via Columbia Alumni Association of San Antonio
From: Kristina Mistry
Sent: Dec 11, 2023 11:06 AM
Hi Everyone,

We decided to offer two glass blowing holiday parties to our members this year- one in Austin and one in San Antonio. The San Antonio event is not meeting its minimum number of attendees. We have 3 people (including me) registered and need at least 3 more to have the event- ideally another 6. Would you please consider opening the event up to your alums? We are going to keep the registration open until Wednesday. I’ve done glass blowing at Caliente before and really enjoyed it; I think that you may as well.

Thanks so much,

-Kristina
210-573-7676
Holiday Party - Glass Blowing at Caliente Hot Glass
alumcommunity.mit.edu

Next Saturday is the 12th Annual Ivy Plus Sendoff from 2-4:30PM at Cafe College. Current Columbia Students and Alumni are welcome to join us to meet students entering school in the Fall. Register at the link below.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/12th-annual-ivy-plus-student-sendoff-tickets-669150716807

Thank you.
Simon

12th Annual Ivy Plus Student Sendoff This is a social gathering for students, and their parents, who will be attending selective colleges in the Fall.

You are invited to join Ivy Plus alumni from area clubs on Thursday evening, October 20th for a fall happy hour at The Cove. It is a great opportunity to network, meet up with old friends and make some new ones, plus there is live music! There are about 60 Texas brewed beers to choose from, great food, and live music by Mainstream Jazz Trio! Alumni are responsible for purchasing their own beverages and/or small bites. There is no charge to attend the happy hour, but your RSVP is always appreciated. Guests and families are welcome. For planning purposes, please take a minute and RSVP to Stephanie Garza at [email protected]. Please include the name of the school you attended. We hope you will drop in at The Cove on the 20th.

SEAS and other interested Alumni,

You are invited to a reception this Thursday evening hosted by Columbia's Department of Biomedical Engineering. Details below. Hope to see you there!

We recently held our Ninth Annual Holiday Potluck gathering on December 22nd. The event was hosted by Victoria and Jorge Herrera (CC'01) and held at the home of Cecilia and Frank Herrera. We had a great number of first-time attendees including recent and long-time alumni. We also had alumni of the law school attending from Puerto Rico.

Schools represented included Columbia College, Barnard College, School of Library Service, Fu Foundation School of Engineering, Columbia Journalism School, Columbia School of the Arts, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, Teacher's College, Columbia Law School, Columbia School of Social Work and the School of Professional Studies.

Also attending was our newest Alum to be, Diego Ampudia, an early decision candidate. Many thanks to everyone for the great conversation and the food everyone prepared to share.

We recently hosted the 21st Annual Columbia University Student Sendoff for the Class of '23 for students attending Barnard College and Columbia College. Many thanks to Martha and Fernando Lopez for hosting our event at their home. Students attending included Catalina Lopez, Barnard '22, and several entering Columbia College in the fall including Audrey Nicholson '23, Michael Sepulveda '23, Criztian Jepson '23 and Andrew Pruske '23.

Others attending the event included family of incoming students and alumni of Barnard College, Columbia College, Columbia School of Journalism, Columbia Law School, Columbia Film - School of the Arts, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Physicians and Surgeons, School of International and Public Affairs and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering. Great conversation and camaraderie. No one wanted to leave. Congratulations Class of '23. Thank you for letting us get you started on your journey. Good luck this semester!

We co-hosted the 8th Annual Ivy Plus Summer Sendoff at Cafe College. We had a great turnout from alumni and incoming students from Barnard, Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, George Washington, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn and Yale. Thanks to HEB for sponsoring our event and to our fellow schools for encouraging alumni and student participation. The advice shared with parents and students was invaluable. Until next year!