MCALLEN,
27
January
2020
|
08:58 AM
America/Chicago

The business of being future-proof

Student of the Week: Mario Rivera

Mario Rivera knows he wants to be a part of the business world. As a high school student in South Texas College’s Dual Enrollment Business Administration Academy (DEBAA) he’s already taking steps and building tools to achieve that.

“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.

 

“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.”
STC Student of the Week Mario Rivera

“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.”