Through it all, she is also balancing her journey as a South Texas College Dual Credit student.

Tamez, a sophomore at Weslaco High School, is pursuing an associate degree in Mathematics from STC. She said she was inspired to join the dual credit program after seeing her older sister’s success.

“My sister was part of the Weslaco Early College and I saw how she had 64 college credits transfer to her university,” Tamez said. “She started off as a junior at the University of Texas at Austin and I thought that was a perfect example to follow.”

Tamez is currently taking U.S. History through STC and is also enrolled in Pre-Advanced Placement classes to prepare for her next semester of college. 

“Dual enrollment has been a great experience for me so far, and I enjoy it a lot,” Tamez said. “It’s hard work, but I’m focused on knowing that I’ll have a head start in college.”

Tamez plans to use her STC mathematics education as a foundation for a future bachelor’s degree in business management.

“I've always wanted to be independent, so I want to own my own company,” Tamez said. “My dream is to have my own car dealership full of Corvettes, because Corvettes are my favorite car.”

As Miss Onion Fest, Tamez has been given a unique chance to meet with community members who have accomplished their own dreams. Tamez said she was excited to visit Texas Onion Fest sponsor Payne Weslaco Chevrolet, and took the opportunity to learn more about the automotive industry, and, of course, pose in her favorite car.

“We were doing the sponsor photos at Payne Chevrolet and I was excited to be able to sit in the Corvette and meet the manager,” Tamez said. “I was especially inspired by her; she gave me advice and told me how she was able to get into the business.”

Tamez said she has been connecting and learning more about her hometown and one of its biggest developments, the 1015 Onion.

The annual Texas Onion Festival celebrates the development of the world-famous Sweet Texas 1015 Onion, which was developed in Weslaco at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

This year’s Texas Onion Fest was held on Saturday, March 25 in Historic Downtown Weslaco. The event had record-breaking attendance, and Tamez said she was proud to be the festival’s representative. 

“I read to children at the library with the rest of the Weslaco Royal Court and also participated in the Lionel’s Western Wear fashion show,” Tamez said. “There were so many events going on, but I enjoyed seeing everybody.” 

Tamez said she was honored to be seen as a role model by the children in attendance who approached her for a photo. And, she surprised herself by outpacing other contestants in the onion eating contest.

“It wasn’t the easiest contest, but I’m proud I won,” Tamez said with a laugh. "I really wanted to win that one."

Tamez’s reign and community service will continue through the year. She recently visited Weslaco elementary schools for National Read Across America Week and also undertook a food drive and Easter basket initiative at San Martin de Porres Catholic Church.

“Easter is around the corner and I know that there are families who are struggling,” Tamez said. “I thought it would be a great way to help them so they’re able to celebrate Easter with us and have Easter baskets for their children.”

Tamez is proud to call Weslaco her home, and acknowledges that residents are also fortunate to have a community college located in the heart of their city.

“I think higher education opens doors for more opportunities and gives you a chance to meet new people,” Tamez said. “STC is a great option for students who aren’t ready to leave home. They’re still getting the education that they need in an environment that’s close to home.”

“I want to do this, and I’m going to do this,” she remembers telling herself when she first applied to the Dual Enrollment Medical Science Academy (DEMSA) program.  

 A senior at Progresso High School, the aspiring pediatrician joined STC’s dual enrollment program at the start of the pandemic to obtain an associate of science degree before graduating high school. 

“This is a program for students who are passionate about the sciences and want to pursue a medical profession,” said Zavala. “As a DEMSA student, you have to be a responsible student and committed to your studies.”  

The academy is designed to encourage area high school students to pursue the health care professions by providing college coursework and health-related opportunities that will educate and prepare students for higher education in the field. 

The seventeen-year-old shares a memory that inspired her ambitious career choice.  

“Something happened when I was six-years-old at a playground where all of a sudden, I heard a little girl crying,” recalls Zavala. “And I see that she is on the floor crying holding her knee up cradling, and I looked at my mom where she gave me this nod of approval knowing that I wanted to help, and I saw it was a scrape with blood which I asked my mom for tissues and a band-aid, and the girl just smiled at me, and I reassured her that everything was going to be O.K.”  

Her instinct to help those in need is why she wants to pursue a Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN) and serve the Valley community.  

“I always think of that little girl and know I want to help kids like her,” she said. 

Working toward her career goals, Zavala excels in athletics and currently serves as president of her high school’s Medical Health Careers Club. 

“I have built on my responsibility and trustworthiness with my coaches and teammates and leadership amongst my peers,” said Zavala. “I use these qualities throughout school and am going to continue applying them throughout my college education and future profession.” 

Zavala earned an STC President’s Honor Roll Award for her academic achievements. 

She plans to care for children in the Valley where she feels the need to be. 

“My parents have supported me all along and I am reminded that this is what I want to do,” she said.  

To learn more about STC’s DEMSA program visit, https://www.southtexascollege.edu/dual/academies/  

Nicole, 18, is currently a dual student at Mission Veterans Memorial High School and will be graduating with an associate degree in Criminal Justice from South Texas College this May.

“It feels amazing to say that I will be graduating college before high school and I'm really grateful for this opportunity,” Nicole said. “I've always been a super curious person, and I feel that that is what has led me to aspire to work in the field of criminal justice.

“I want to make a difference in people’s lives, and this is why I’m pursuing a degree in this field,” she said.

The Dual Enrollment Criminal Justice Academy (DECJA) is a two year-round dual enrollment program developed for high school juniors and seniors of the Starr County and Pecan Campus area who are seriously interested in pursuing a career in criminal justice.

The program has the support of local law enforcement professionals who participate in efforts to provide students with information on the educational and personal preparation required for success.

“My experience as a dual student at STC has been phenomenal,” Nicole said. “I have gotten to experience what it's like to be in an actual college class with a real college professor. It's nothing like taking a college class at the high school. Being in this program has taught me so many things. I am much more mature, I've learned better time-management, I've learned what it's like to be independent.

“In college, your success is all up to you, if you want to succeed you got to do that on your own,” she said. “This experience is something I will treasure forever.”

Looking ahead to the future, Nicole said she was accepted to over 10 different universities including UTRGV, St. Mary’s, St. Edwards, UT-Austin, Texas State University, UTSA, and Texas A&M but is still undecided.

She has recently been offered a $48,000 scholarship to attend St. Edwards and a $64,000 scholarship to attend St. Mary’s in the fall.

After graduation she wants to pursue a bachelor degree in Psychology or Criminology with the hopes of entering a career as a criminologist, forensic scientist, FBI agent or intelligence analyst.

“To students going down the same path, I promise your sacrifices will pay off,” Nicole said. “I want to thank anyone who has taken part in my success and has pushed me to the fullest of my potential including, teachers, counselors, friends, and family. Thank you! Someday, hopefully I can return the favor and encouragement. Thank you, South Texas College, for these amazing opportunities and this recognition, I am forever grateful.”

“The choice to attend STC was entirely mine,” Rivera said. “I actually talked about it with friends and everything. They invited the top 100 of my class, and there was a surprise that only three of us actually got into the academy.”

Rivera is a senior at Weslaco High School. He made the decision to make use of his time by joining DEBAA.

“In high school I only needed two classes to graduate,” Rivera said. “My schedule would really just be filled up with extra classes and I thought it was a good opportunity to join the academy.”

DEBAA is one of seven dual enrollment academies open to applications by high school sophomores to enter as juniors.

The Dual Enrollment Business Administration Academy encourages students to consider a Business Administration profession by providing college coursework and opportunities that motivate, educate and prepare them for higher education in the field. Students can do this while completing an Associate of Arts (AS) degree in Business Administration by the end of their senior year in high school.

Rivera hasn’t narrowed down the type of business he would like to operate or be a part of but his educational interests might help shape that choice.

“I actually don’t know exactly what I want to do but I know it’s in the business field. Actually I want to have the opportunities to double major in business and psychology at the University of Texas. So I’m hoping to combine those two majors and find the career for me.”

His logic for these two fields of study was sound. He wants to not just have customers down the road, he wants to understand them.

“I believe that having a double major would enable me to do that. I think a psychology and business degree work together because you’re going to be able to better understand the people around you, which is really important.”

“My message to them is to find the motivation,” Rivera said. “I know it’s challenging having to be a full-time student at STC and also a full-time student at their high school. I think it’s very important that you have your motivation that enables you to work for what you want. You don’t necessarily have to know what you want but at least in which direction. Find the motivation to be able to reach that.”

Last summer, Destiny Closner was named valedictorian at Sharyland Advanced Academic Academy and graduated from STC with an associate degree in Biology in May.

Destiny said she was 16 years old when she began taking college courses as a sophomore through STC’s Dual Credit Program.

“I got into this early college because my mom really wanted me to get that associate degree and my high school degree at the same time,” Destiny said. “My mom is a pharmacist, so that's why I always knew I wanted to be in the science field.”

Dual Credit Programs at STC provide the opportunity for eligible high school students, in a participating school district, to enroll in college courses while still attending high school. STC boasts one of the largest Dual Credit Programs in the state, serving high school students, tuition-free, since 2000.

In partnership with STC, Sharyland Advanced Academic Academy is one of 29 ISD Early College High Schools (ECHS) designed to provide high school students with the opportunity to earn up to 60 credit hours and/or an Associate degree while in high school. Each ISD ECHS is designed to create a seamless transition between high school and college.

Hoping to enter a career in pediatrics, Destiny said she was inspired to succeed by her mother Melissa, a pharmacist, as well as her two younger siblings whose support she says was crucial to her success in school.

“My siblings have been a big motivation for me, especially because they look up to me, and I want them to see it's possible to be valedictorian, to take all these college classes, and to still have friends on the side and stuff like that,” Destiny said. “All of my STC professors have been really helpful transitioning high school kids into college kids, and I think with their help, it was pretty fun to be in a college class surrounded by people like twice your age, and then still being able to keep up with them.”

Opting to study microbiology at STC, Destiny said her plan is to now begin the journey into medical school by completing her bachelor degree at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV).

STC she said gave her the crucial experience she needed before she transitioned to the university.

“I took most of my classes here at STC, so I was only at high school really for two to three hours, and then I would come straight over to the college. I even took summer classes, so it has been a real college experience,” she said. “After I finish UTRGV, I'm hoping to get into either UTRGV medical school or UTSA medical school, or any medical school I can really get into, and then take it from there with the debt and the financing and all that.”

Now finally graduated, Destiny says her career track is set, and with the help of her family and STC will one day reach her goals.