One Step At a Time
Student of the Week: Robert “Bobby” Tovar
When looking back at some of the most important mentors who have shaped his life so far, Robert Tovar recalls his former high school head coach David Gilpin who encouraged him to make the most out of doing what he loved.
A standout receiver at Veterans Memorial High School in Mission, Tovar, 23, said he was recruited to play football at Monmouth College in Illinois before being injured. When he returned to Texas, he said he entered South Texas College to pursue a degree in Kinesiology.
“I started from a young age playing T-ball and worked my way up to high school football,” Tovar said. “I excelled in high school football and was selected to play collegiate. I feel working out and my physical fitness, everything has been top notch and I just know it's something I want to surround my life with in my future profession. I love the Valley, so I had to come back one way or another and STC has given me a great opportunity.”
Now only four courses short of graduating, Tovar says he has seen real unity from students as well as faculty who are all working towards success.
“STC has been great overall. I feel like everybody is united in the sense of accomplishing the same goals, getting in, transferring out,” Tovar said. “I know it’s a two-year college, but it’s a good way to get your associate and get to the next step.”
I had to come back one way or another and STC has given me a great opportunity.
The Kinesiology Department at South Texas College prepares students to continue their educational path as transfer students.
The department offers a variety of academic, distance learning, and physical activity laboratory courses in the areas of physical education pedagogy (teaching), fitness, health education, and specialized certification courses. The vast majority of Kinesiology lecture courses are transferable toward a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology at 4-year institutions.
Through his experience in the program, Tovar says he is eyeing a career in coaching or as a Physical Therapist when he graduates in the fall of 2022, and plans to transfer to UTRGV or UTSA to continue his education.
His message to students in college is to never let a moment go to waste.
“I believe everybody has the talent to go to school, you just have to take every opportunity you can, from tutoring to extra studies, you always have to be involved some way or another,” Tovar said. “You have to put in that work and it has to come from the heart. Nobody else can do that work for you, and it has to come from within.”