𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗦𝗘𝗘𝗞 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧'𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗦𝗖 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦

 

Hilda Silva, Eva Alejandro

It's been my pleasure to individually interview the two dedicated women pictured above, who've devoted their lives to education, Hilda Silva and Eva Alejandro, with 44 and 53 years in education respectively.

What struck me as extraordinary, albeit refreshing, was to observe these two ladies at a candidate forum sponsored by the Democrats of Southern Cameron County April 17, chatting amiably, comparing notes, while both vying for Position 7 on the TSC Board of Trustees.

While Alejandro lost the primary vote, Silva is in a runoff with Adela Garza sycophant, Norma Lopez-Harris, a pharmacist with little education experience.

In a blatantly unethical move, TSC Board Chair Adela Garza actually promoted two newbie replacement candidates she'd recruited to run against Trustees Alejandro and De Leon on her personal Facebook page. (Only in comatose Cameron County would such an ugly move by a community college board chairman be tolerated.)

In our conversation this afternoon, Hilda Silva mentioned her recent attendance at a TSC board meeting, noting that the board's culture needs tweaking.

On a walking tour of the campus, Silva found it "odd" that pictures of the board of trustees were in various buildings.

"We should have pictures of our students on the walls, promoting their successes, not the board of trustees," stated Silva.

"It's students we should be championing, not board members," she added.

While Silva has a long tenure at UTRGV and the former UTB-TSC, her only involvement now is "teaching a class twice a month."

"I was surprised to learn that several available Department of Education grants were simply not being applied for," Silva told me.

"That needs to change," she continued.

As for dual enrollment by local high school students, Silva described that process as "wonderful," but cautioned that TSC must not ignore regular students, making certain they leave the school with degrees or certificates in hand.