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Be your bold self

Maximize your potential at UST

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Viet Tran

When you feel accepted, understood and appreciated for who you are, you’re emboldened to express your gifts to the max. In this inspired state, you can accomplish great things – far more than you could otherwise – in your career and in your community.

The UST family encourages you to be a courageous leader and contribute your unique talents to the common good. Solve pressing problems through science, transform the professional sphere in business or push new ways of thinking through education.

At UST, you’ll find a place to flourish, where academics, art, culture and diversity all come together and empower you to be the best version of yourself.

I remember being very young and selling quesadillas on the sidewalk. The opportunities at UST are infinite.

Renata Garcia Senior Finance Major, Business Leadership Minor

see her storyRenata Garcia

What Does It Mean to be Bold?What Does It Mean to be Bold?

Being bold is knowing the right thing to do and having the courage to do it. Defining yourself, rather than letting anyone else define you. Living as you’re called to live.

It’s pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. Discovering and sharing what’s unique and wonderful about you. Chasing your dreams.

Most of all, it’s doing what you believe is right and just for the world.

At UST, you’re encouraged to be your unique self. We’ll support your biggest ideas and help you find the path to realize them. You’ll develop a strong sense of confidence in yourself and what you’re able to accomplish.

We stopped UST students at random to see what being bold means to them.

StoriesStories

Next stepsNext steps

Alex Yemeck, University of St. Thomas - Houston Be Your Bold Self featured story Theology student Alex Yemeck is advocating boldly for a bright point of light across the Atlantic Ocean. He wakes up and falls asleep every day excited about improving a budding orphanage in Yaoundé, Cameroon, the city where he grew up.

During a discussion in an Ethics class on the virtue of generosity, Alex told visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy Stephen Striby about the construction need. “He made a generous initial donation and started a GoFundMe page. With that, we built the orphanage, supplied three modern toilets and dug a clean water well connecting to a new water tower.”

Yemeck aims for much more than decent accommodations. He envisions changing an entire culture for the better. Alex plans to develop a program that teaches job skills in agriculture, carpentry and information technology, introduce a curriculum and establish counseling services, all with the larger goal to help the orphans become self-sufficient.

“Everyone has a purpose, and our job is to figure out what it is,” Alex said. “My purpose is to take what I learn back to the orphans of my country so they can change Africa – and the rest of the third world – for the better.”

University of St. Thomas - Houston alumna Eden Folwell, Be Your Bold Self featured story UST alumna Eden Folwell is the winner of the 2018 “My Oreo Creation” cookie-designing contest! Folwell’s Cherry Cola Oreos were selected as one of the top three finalists back in April when the new flavors debuted. Oreo fans from around the globe declared Eden’s flavor the winner on August 8, and she is now $500,000 richer.

Eden created the winning flavor after brainstorming ways to produce a nostalgic taste that would elicit memories of joyful summers in the 1970s.

She graduated from UST in 1991 with a communication degree. “I certainly learned good communication skills at UST!” she said. “I put a lot of hard work into winning by going outside my comfort zone and marketing myself in a way I never did before. I’m so proud of this amazing gift for myself and my family.”

Her favorite aspect of student life was being part of the close-knit community. Like many graduates, she still keeps in touch with some of the friends she made on campus. Best of all, she met her husband, David Folwell, at UST.

Now Eden is a professional artist specializing in pop surrealist acrylic paintings on canvas, represented by Cactus Gallery in Los Angeles.

Luis Varela, University of St. Thomas - Houston Be Your Bold Self featured story Finding your way through life can be challenging for the best of us. After graduating from high school, Luis Varela bypassed the traditional college route. He said, “I always had a passion for learning, teaching and problem-solving, so in 1999, I enlisted in the U.S. Army, training as a non-commissioned officer and combat medic.

Luis’s 12-year military career was a challenging and exciting adventure. After September 11, 2001, he served in numerous combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq and saw a lot of action. Luis often found solace in staring at the stars on clear desert nights in the middle of nowhere, far from lights and civilization. During those nights under the desert stars, Luis decided to complete his education.

“All my time here at UST has been amazing,” he said. “I'm truly happy studying my passions of computer science, mathematics, theology and philosophy.” During his first year at UST, Luis co-founded the UST Mathematics Club and served as its president. That year, he was named Outstanding Non-Traditional Student of the Year. A regular on the Dean’s List, Luis is planning to graduate in May 2019.

Always hungry for more knowledge, Luis now plans to continue his education in graduate school. Someday, he may even reach the stars that inspired him on those clear desert nights years ago.

Helen Shaw, University of St. Thomas - Houston alumna and Be Your Bold Self featured story University of St. Thomas Alumna Helen Shaw ‘17 recently received an invitation to join the Foreign Service with the U.S. Department of State. Shaw will soon travel to Washington, D.C., to begin training for a career in international diplomacy.

Historically, less than 2 percent of initial applicants make it into the Foreign Service. She said, “I credit a big factor in my success to the University of St. Thomas."

Shaw first came to the University upon returning from service in the Peace Corps in Mozambique. At UST, she joined the staff of the Office of Academic Advising. She soon decided to pursue graduate study in the Master of Education and Master of Liberal Arts programs. “There were so many opportunities for me to learn and practice the skills necessary for a career in diplomacy,” Shaw said. “No other universities in Houston have this type of programming. What UST is doing is truly unique.”

At the end of October, Shaw will move to Arlington, Virginia, to begin training to become a Public Diplomacy Officer with the U.S. Foreign Service. “I’ve wanted to be a Foreign Service Officer since I was a kid,” she said. “I would not be where I am today if it hadn’t been for the professors, colleagues, and students that I have met here. Leaving will be bittersweet. I have such gratitude for the family I found at UST.”

Johnathon Vermaelen, University of St. Thomas - Houston grad and Be Your Bold Self featured story “Education is essential for just about anything you want to do in life,” said Johnathon Vermaelen, the first UST student to graduate with a double major in Criminology and Political Science.

It’s because education is so important that Johnathon has persevered toward his goal of earning a bachelor’s degree, in spite of the challenges that come with being on the autism spectrum. “It affects everything I see and hear,” he said. “Autism gives me the intelligence of a supercomputer but the social skills of a rock – initially, anyway.”

Fascinated with law from a young age, Johnathon works for a nonprofit law firm that handles civil cases, particularly those related to disability rights. Ultimately, Johnathon hopes to become a lawyer defending the rights of people from all walks of life.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is on the rise. Among people born in 1992, 1 in 150 is affected with autism, according to the CDC. Of those born in 2006, the number has jumped to 1 in 59 – an increase of more than 250% in 14 years. Most people on the autism spectrum face difficulties with social interaction and communication.

Chair of the Criminology Department Dr. Michael Kane said, “Johnathon has overcome autism to be successful in his academic endeavors. He is committed to UST and our mission, actively participating in discussions and providing assistance to students that request help.”

Renata Garcia at University of St. Thomas - Houston El que mira encuentra. The one who looks... finds. Renata Garcia remembers her grandfather reassuring her with these words anytime she was in doubt. “You just need to look for opportunities,” Renata said. “If you focus and work hard, the world can be yours.”

Renata is one of many international students who came to the University of St. Thomas seeking better opportunities. “I remember being very young and selling quesadillas on the sidewalk,” she said. With her parents paying private tuition in Mexico City, every peso counted.

“They always put my education first,” she shared, “I had to work hard to get to where I want to be. Back then I never imagined I’d be living in Houston, going to such a prestigious university as UST. I think the opportunities here are infinite.”

A senior finance major and business leadership minor, Renata has found her calling. “UST has really helped me discover my true potential,” she said. Following her fascination for neuroscience in marketing, Dr. Zhang supported her in attending a conference in Chicago to delve into the subject.

UST is a Hispanic-serving institution, participating in a federal program designed to assist first-generation Hispanic students in pursuing higher education. Almost half the undergraduate students and about 30% of graduate students are Hispanic.