UTRGV students interning at TSTC Advocacy and Resource Center to host wellness fair

HARLINGEN — The Advocacy and Resource Center at Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen campus will host a wellness fair from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9 for the TSTC community.

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) students Lizette Serrato and Adriana Venegas, who are doing an internship with TSTC’s Advocacy and Resource Center for their Master of Science in social work, will host the wellness fair.

The wellness fair’s participants include TSTC’s Career Services department, Counseling department and the Wellness and Sports Center.

UTRGV students Lizette Serrato (left) and Adriana Venegas will host a wellness fair for the TSTC Advocacy and Resource Center as part of their internship at the Harlingen campus. (Courtesy: Texas State Technical College/TSTC)

The TSTC Rotaract college club will also participate.

Other businesses such as Behavioral Health Solutions of South Texas, Harlingen Food Pantry, Mesquite Treatment Center, TONE UP Health and Fitness, Tu Salud ¡Si Cuenta!, and the Valley Aids Council will attend to provide information about their services.

Serrato, of Edinburg, said the opportunity to do outreach for this event has been exciting.

“The objective is to educate TSTC students about these area businesses and utilize the resources to their advantage,” Serrato said.

Serrato said the internship with the Advocacy and Resource Center has been incredible.

“I wanted to get experience with a different demographic in adulthood,” she said. “My previous social work experience has been in hospice. As for the center’s leaders, (Lisa) Garcia and (Belinda) Palomino, they are both great leaders, and I enjoyed learning from them.”

Adriana Venegas, of Brownsville, said that she wanted the students to be aware of the various resources in the area.

“There is the Harlingen Neighborhood Food Pantry and Loaves and Fishes of the Rio Grande Valley,” Venegas said. “It’s great to know these are available to them.”

Venegas added that what piqued her interest in the internship is what the Advocacy and Resource Center has to offer.

“I am used to working with children, but this time I wanted an experience with adults,” she said. “I find it wonderful that the Advocacy and Resource Center offers a food pantry that caters to the TSTC students. Garcia and Palomino are open to every situation and every student. They make this work environment very healthy.”

Belinda Palomino, TSTC’s Advocacy and Resource Center coordinator and statewide lead, said that Serrato and Venegas are responsible, intelligent, kind to TSTC students, and always take initiative.

“The Advocacy and Resource Center gave Lizette and Adriana the opportunity to practice and implement what they learned in the UTRGV social work program,” Palomino said. “The interns were able to build their network and get real-world experience. They developed soft skills like event planning, case management and self-confidence. In return, we get knowledgeable advocates to help serve the TSTC student body.”

The event will be held at the student quad.

For more information about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.