Nearly 800 UTB students receive diplomas

Addressing the 798 candidates for graduation at UTB-TSC on May 10, commencement speaker Ciro V. Sumaya offered this advice to graduates.

"Maintain your flexibility and the ability to change course," said Sumaya, alumnus of the University of Texas Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.

Deborah Anne Wilson Banker epitomizes this ideal. Banker graduated on Saturday from the University of Houston Cooperative Doctoral Program in Education, after spending the beginning of her career as an analytical chemist.

Then, 18 years ago, Banker adopted a child from Russia. As her son Devon grew older she discovered that he had severe learning disabilities resulting from fetal alcohol syndrome.

"That's when my career changed," Banker said.

She went back to school to study education. This year she completed her dissertation on the perceptions of special education teachers and their students on the students' success in the classroom.

Banker's experience of watching her own son go through the school system was the impetus for the study.

"Some teachers were very good with him. They provided the atmosphere and environment he needed," Banker said. "Other teachers weren't willing to do what it took to help him to learn."

Howard Jones, a professor from the University of Houston, helped guide Banker on her dissertation.

He says that students at UTB-TSC are some of the most dedicated he's seen in all of his years of teaching - even after spending years at Syracuse University and the University of Oregon.

"Anybody who is working full time and spending tuition money out of their own pocket, takes education very seriously," Jones said. "They won't tolerate bad advising. When you have a person with that energetic attitude, they're a pleasure to work with."

Sumaya concluded his speech with a similar idea,

"Magic happens when preparation meets opportunity," he said.