RGV LEAD - Rio Grande Valley Linking Economic and Academic Development

🎉 We are thrilled and honored to have been a part of the remarkable 2023 RGV Economic Summit, brought to life by Rio Grande Valley Partnership and City of Edinburg-Government. All the speakers were truly exceptional in their delivery, inspiring everyone present. A true highlight was witnessing Office of the Governor Greg Abbott signing of the Rio Grande Valley Alliance Compact alongside 21 regional mayors and three county judges. This historic moment solidified our collective dedication to investing in the region's burgeoning economy and exceptional workforce, ensuring a radiant future for South Texas.

We also wish to thank our RGV Lead board members who joined in attendance, Maricela "Mari" De León "President", Esmeralda Adame"Vice President", Ysmael Fonseca, Viviana Espinosa, Francisco Almaraz, and Ruben Quintero from Rio Bank. The anticipation for the path that lies ahead for Texas is nothing short of exhilarating for all of us!

Mark your calendars and join us for our 3rd Annual "Shooting for Success" S***t Shoot!

If you're passionate about supporting economic and academic growth in the Rio Grande region, consider becoming a sponsor for this impactful event. Your contribution makes a difference! For sponsorship details, contact us at (956) 405-3091 or [email protected]

Spread the word, and be part of a day filled with community, camaraderie, and shooting for success 🎉🎯🤝

🎉Celebrating a Successful First School Day🎉

Congratulations to all the amazing students, dedicated teachers, hardworking administration, and supportive parents on completing the first day of the 2023-2024 school year!

As the new academic journey begins, we’re filled with excitement and anticipation for the wonderful experiences and learning ahead. Let this first day set the tone for a year filled with growth, knowledge, and unforgettable memories.🌟

Making Education Count with Texas Southmost College!

We are thrilled to be able to give back to our local community colleges which will provide scholarships that will shape a brighter region. Our fundraisers, like the upcoming 3rd Annual "Shooting for Success" S***t Shoot on November 10th, make this possible.

Sponsorship opportunities are OPEN! 🎉
Join us in creating an impact.
To contribute and help us give back, please contact us at (956) 405-3091 or email us [email protected].
Let's build a better future together!

Our Scorpion Classic golf tournament is coming up in October, and RGV Lead has donated $5,000 to be our lunch sponsor! Thank you, RGV LEAD - Rio Grande Valley Linking Economic and Academic Development, for helping deserving students achieve their dreams through educational scholarships. 🙏🏻🎓🦂

Individuals and organizations interested in becoming a sponsor and participating in the tournament can visit tsc.edu/classic.

We are thrilled to commend the educator externs who participated in this enlightening initiative, gaining valuable insights into economic development, corporate finance, and a plethora of other essential areas.

At RGV Lead, we are immensely grateful to have assisted Workforce Solutions and Workforce Solutions Cameron to support this fantastic program. The commitment to empowering educators and providing them with enriching experiences is truly commendable.

Once again, a heartfelt thank you to Noble Texas Builders and Rene Capistran, President, CEO of Noble Texas Builders for creating this impactful Externship opportunity, contributing to the growth and development of our educators, and ultimately benefiting our community and beyond!

We are deeply honored and elated to receive this Resolution from the Texas House of Representatives, extending their heartfelt congratulations on Rio Grande Valley Linking Economic and Development's (RGV LEAD) momentous 30th anniversary! 🎉

As we celebrate this remarkable milestone, we wish to acknowledge our extraordinary founder, Patricia G. Bubb. Her unwavering dedication, visionary leadership, and boundless passion have been the guiding light that set RGV LEAD on its transformative path.

In this moment of celebration, we also wish to express our deep appreciation to our current leadership team. Their unwavering dedication and steadfast commitment to our cause have propelled us forward, allowing us to continue making a profound impact on the lives of students and communities alike.

Here's to 30 years of growth, impact, and progress - a journey made possible by the collective dedication of our founder, current leadership, stakeholders, and all those who have been part of RGV LEAD's remarkable journey. 📜🎊

We are thrilled to share that our 2023 board retreat at El Dorado Sporting Clays was a resounding success! 🎉
We extend our sincere gratitude to all the leadership members who actively participated and contributed their expertise, dedication, and passion. Your presence and engagement made this retreat truly meaningful. To those who couldn’t join us, you were missed, and we hope to have you with us in future endeavors.

A heartfelt thank you goes to Maricela De Leon, RGV Lead President, for orchestrating this insightful board retreat that truly amped us up and encouraged us to strive for excellence.

A special appreciation goes to Hervin Antonio-Hidalgo for facilitating our meeting with his thought-provoking discussions. His expertise and guidance helped us gain new perspectives and valuable takeaways. 👏🏼

We also want to express our heartfelt appreciation to El Buffalo for catering our event with their exceptional culinary delights. 🍽️

Thank You, Young Entrepreneurs 2023 Partners!

Thank You, Young Entrepreneurs 2023 Partners Leslie Guerrero July 17, 2023 Thank You, Young Entrepreneurs 2023 Partners! Again, thank you to our continued partners

Thank You, 2023 Educator Externship Cohort 1 Partners!

Thank You, 2023 Educator Externship Cohort 1 Partners July 14, 2023 Thank You, 2023 Educator Externship Cohort 1 Partners! We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to

This past week we have had the pleasure of placing our educators in the workforce. However, just recently we presented our entrepreneurship challenge winners with their checks.
Thank you once again to our continued partners Rio Grande Valley Partnership, Texas Gas Service, UTRGV Center for Innovation and Commercialization - CIC, and Career Bridge.
Thank you to Cantu Construction and ERO for providing the prize money for our students.
1st Place- $1500- R&J Pharmaceuticals from Simon Rivera Early College Highschool- Brownsville Independent School District
2nd Place- $1000- Chaka Sauce from Weslaco East High School- Weslaco ISD
3rd Place- $750- TwinScapes Park Renovation from Homer Hanna Early College Highschool- Brownsville Independent School District

This week we have had the pleasure of placing our educators in the workforce. However, just recently we presented our entrepreneurship challenge winners with their checks.

Thank you once again to our continued partners Rio Grande Valley Partnership, Texas Gas Service, UTRGV Center for Innovation and Commercialization - CIC, and Career Bridge.

Thank you to Cantu Construction and ERO for providing the prize money for our students.

1st Place- $1500- R&J Pharmaceuticals from Simon Rivera Early College Highschool- Brownsville Independent School District

2nd Place- $1000- Chaka Sauce from Weslaco East High School- Weslaco ISD

3rd Place- $750- TwinScapes Park Renovation from Homer Hanna Early College Highschool- Brownsville Independent School District

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to Workforce Solutions, Workforce Solutions Cameron, and Region One Education Service Center for making the 2023 Educator Externship Cohort 1 an absolutely phenomenal event!
A big thank you also goes out to McAllen ISD, Roma ISD, Mercedes Schools, Vanguard Academy, and La Villa ISD for participating. This program has been instrumental in engaging educators and providing them with valuable experiences focused on exploring the skillsets needed for occupations in Hidalgo County, as well as equipping them with practical methods to incorporate these skills into their classroom curriculum.
Lastly, we extend our appreciation to the Farmers Insurance - Raul Conde Jr., McAllen Housing Authority, McAllen Careers Institute, City of Palmview, Rio Grande Regional Hospital, Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension-CED Hidalgo County, FHI LLC, Frito Lay North America, and La Union del Pueblo Entero - LUPE who graciously participated in the externship program. Your commitment to providing educators with real-world insights and hands-on experiences in your respective industries is truly commendable. Thank you for opening your doors and sharing your expertise, contributing to the success of the program and the growth of our educators.
Together, we are empowering our educators to shape the future and prepare students for success in the dynamic world of work. Thank you all for your dedication and support!

2023 RGV LEAD Ambassador Graduates posted to RGV LEAD website.
https://rgvlead.org/latest-news/
May 2023

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RGV Lead would like to wish y'all a safe and fun-filled Independence Day!
🇺🇸We will be out of the office on July 4th but will be back on July 5th🇺🇸

We want to thank every single person who contributed to making the Young Entrepreneurs of the RGV Challenge Day amazing! We continue to have great success due to our leadership partners! RGV Partnership Texas Gas Service UTRGV Center for Innovation and Commercialization - CIC Cantu Construction ERO & Career Bridge

Thank you to our judges who took some time out of their day for this event: Barbara Jean Garza- Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center (CEO), Ernest Espinoza- Children's Bereavement Center-RGV (Executive Director) and Asael Saavedra- City of Primera (commissioner).

Thank you to our keynote speaker Dalinda Gonzalez Alcantar - Boys and Girls Club of McAllen CEO and entrepreneur.

Congratulations to the winners:

1st place to R&J Pharmaceuticals from Rivera Early College High School - Brownsville Independent School District. $1500

2nd place to Chaka Sauce from Weslaco East High School - Weslaco ISD $1000

3rd place to TwinScapes Park Renovation from Hanna Early College High School - Brownsville Independent School District $750

Let's also congratulate every single student who participated and we hope to see you again next year

SAVE THE DATE!

RGV LEAD is excited to announce its 3rd Annual Shooting for Success S***t Shoot. This will be held on November 10, 2023, at El Dorado Sporting Clays just north of Edinburg.

Over the past 2 years, RGV LEAD has successfully brought in funding to increase our college scholarships and donations to local post-secondary partners. As an organization, we have gone from donating $5,000 in scholarships to just about $50,000.

Will you help us continue providing students with opportunities to further their education this year? Cant get a team together? No worries, there are other opportunities for sponsorships.

For more information, contact our office at 956-405-3091 or reach out to Luis, our Executive Director at [email protected]

Learn about the RGV LEAD A•L•A Program.

Academic Leadership Alliance (A•L•A) In 2003, the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, Region One Education Service Center, RGV LEAD, and school districts introduced a new initiative to provide students with experiences in business and industry that deliver learning opportunities outside the traditional classroom. These experience...

A•L•A is starting soon!

A-L-A Summer Educator Externship Events

Congratulations to the 2023 Graduates! 👩🏽‍🎓👨🏼‍🎓

If you graduated this year from high school, college, or technical college, then this scholarship opportunity is for you!

As a family owned business, we love to see families celebrating together 🫶🏽 so here’s how to enter ⬇️

Direct message us a graduation picture, along with a small paragraph, of who supported you the most through your learning journey. Deadline is 10:00 a.m. on June 12th, 2023.

That’s it!

We will be picking the top 3 pictures/messages that touched our hearts the most.

Once the top 3 winners are announced it will be up to the public to decide who will win based on how many likes the post gets. The post with the most likes will win our Salsa El Gallo scholarship! 🥳

*likes will be combined from both facebook and instagram*

Good luck to all our 2023 graduates, if you know a graduate make sure to send this to them! ☺️



H-E-B RGV LEAD - Rio Grande Valley Linking Economic and Academic Development RGV Hispanic Chamber

*Scholarship giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram or Facebook*

We at RGV LEAD are so thankful for all the lives we get to reach through our programs. With that being said, after 19 years of service to Tech Prep and now RGV LEAD, we wish Eliza Groff farewell and nothing but positive vibes on the next chapter of her life. Eliza has been the backbone for RGV LEAD, not only for our programs but for ensuring that we were on top of items we needed to complete.

Thank you, Eliza, for all your service; we wish you well!

Today we remember those who have fallen and paid the ultimate sacrifice to provide us our freedoms. We thank you!

The RGV LEAD office will be closed today and will reopen tomorrow May 30, 2023.

Ready to serve as a mentor for RGV LEAD - Rio Grande Valley Linking Economic and Academic Development 🤓

Are you looking to make a difference in the lives of our future leaders? If so, you are in the right place! RGV LEAD, since 1992 has focused on preparing students for college careers.

We are currently looking to fill the Program coordinator position. This position will work closely with Industry Partners and School Districts for many of our great programs, like the Education EXPO, Entrepreneurship Challenge and so many more! The current position is located in Weslaco, TX.

Please email Luis Rodriguez, the Executive Director [email protected]

We look forward to hearing from you!

Today, RGV LEAD held the closing luncheon for the 2022-2023 Ambassador program. Over 200 students from across the Valley attend the event. Thank you TSTC for hosting our event and a special thanks to our keynote speaker Julian Alvarez of Lone Star National Bank. Congratulations to all the seniors who completed the program.

The RGV LEAD Ambassador Program brings teams of high school students together to develop their leadership skills, learn more about labor market information, and take their knowledge and skills back to their high schools to encourage college-and-career readiness among their peers.

Great things continue to happen at RGV LEAD! KRGV channel 5.2 will be interviewing Executive Director, Luis Rodriguez today!

Thank you to RGV LEAD Board Member and Region One GEAR UP team member Leo Saenz for inviting me to share my career, and career path with students of the Rio Grande Valley. Today was a great day and a lot of great questions asked, I’m sure to all mentors participating about how they got to their current position.

RGV LEAD works hard to support the educators and students of the Rio Grande Valley by hosting the upcoming events and meetings.

Save the date and mark your calendars for our upcoming events and meetings:

Regional P-16/Counselors’ Network Meeting: March 22, 2023, via Zoom from
9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Register here: https://forms.office.com/r/EiWM4cbxpn

23rd Annual RGV LEAD Scholarship: Applications are due March 29, 2023.

2023 Young Entrepreneurship of the RGV Challenge Kick off: April 5, 2023 via Zoom, 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Ambassador Spring Leadership Workshop: April 26, 2023, at TSTC. A special thank you to TSTC for hosting our event!

For more information or to register, visit our website at https://rgvlead.org/events/

Only 5 days left!

RGV LEAD will host its Regional P-16/Counselors' Network Meeting on March 22, 2023, via Zoom from 09:00 am-11:00 am.

It is an honor to have Dr. Tina Marie Jackson, Ph.D., as our keynote speaker. Dr. Jackson is the Assistant Commissioner of Workforce Education at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In this role, she works with all aspects of career and technical workforce initiatives and programs, including the administration of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.

To register for our event, use the QR code or this link:
https://forms.office.com/r/EiWM4cbxpn

RGV LEAD will host its Regional P-16/Counselors' Network Meeting on March 22, 2023, via Zoom from 09:00 am-11:00 am.

It is an honor to have Dr. Tina Marie Jackson, Ph.D., as our keynote speaker. Dr. Jackson is the Assistant Commissioner of Workforce Education at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In this role, she works with all aspects of career and technical workforce initiatives and programs, including the administration of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.

To register for our event, use the QR code or this link:
https://forms.office.com/r/EiWM4cbxpn

Hooray, it's on! Mark your calendars, young entrepreneurs!

Young Entrepreneurs of the Rio Grande Valley Kick-Off
April 5 @ 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM CDT Virtual Event

Young Entrepreneurs of the Rio Grande Valley Kick-Off On behalf of RGV LEAD and the Entrepreneurship Committee, we are happy to announce that this year’s Kick-Off Event for the Young Entrepreneurs of the RGV Challenge is scheduled on Wednesday, April 5th, from 9 AM to 11 AM. The Young Entrepreneurs of the RGV Challenge is for 9th- 12th-grade students...

Call for RGV LEAD Scholarship Applications
Don't wait. Apply now!
The application deadline is Friday, March 31, 2023, by 4:00 pm.

2023 RGV LEAD Scholarship Competition The application deadline is Friday, March 31, 2023, by 4:00 pm (no exceptions). Please read all instructions carefully. Incomplete, late, and applications that are not typed or do not meet stated eligibility criteria and other requirements will not be considered.

Register now!
Regional P-16/Counselors Network
March 22 @ 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM CDT

Regional P-16/Counselors Network RGV LEAD will host its Regional P-16/Counselors' Network Meeting on March 22, 2023, via Zoom from 09:00 am-11:00 am. It is an honor to have Dr. Tina Marie Jackson, Ph.D., as our keynote speaker. Dr. Jackson is the Assistant Commissioner of Workforce

RGV LEAD Student Ambassador Meet-Up
April 26 @ 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM CDT

RGV LEAD Student Ambassador Meet-Up

Happy International Women’s Day to all the women who inspire us, support us, and make the world a better place!

RGV LEAD continues to host events and meetings!

Mark your calendars and save the date for our Regional P-16/Counselor Network meeting hosted by RGV LEAD with keynote speaker Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
The meeting will be held via Zoom between 9:00am-11:00am.

Our registration and further details will be announced soon!

Superintendents from across the region gathered at Region One ESC for our annual superintendents meeting.

Superintendents heard from our keynote speaker, State Board of Education District 2, LJ Francis.

Thank you to Region One for hosting us!