Connecting Others
Margarita Resendiz is a true connector at heart.
Resendiz and her four siblings were raised in the Dallas area by her immigrant mother. Growing up her mom worked hard to provide for the family, while reinforcing the idea that education was important.
“One day my mom was on the family ranch watching her cousin work with livestock and my grandmother made a comment to her that these tasks and work would be what her children were expected to do,” said Resendiz. “Mom says she has never packed so quickly and the next day she was headed to the United States.”
Upon graduating high school in 2016 Resendiz took a short break before enrolling in courses in a local community college. In 2019, with a full year of classes under her belt, Resendiz knew it was time for a move, so she took the leap and moved to the Bryan-College Station area. She enrolled and began taking education classes at Blinn with the goal of becoming a kindergarten teacher, while working full-time at a local research and development company.
“I’ve always wanted to teach but after working for a local company and seeing a need for communicators I knew I needed to change my plans,” said Resendiz. “I realized these researchers and engineers were changing the world, but no one understood the science and academic endeavors behind it. I knew I wanted to be a part of telling that story.”
Plans changed for Resendiz yet again after a chance encounter with a student enrolled in courses at RELLIS, James Loya.
“I happened to meet James and he started telling me about the communications program he was enrolled in,” said Resendiz. “He invited me to lunch, pulled out a brochure about RELLIS and began telling me about all the perks of studying there.”
After hearing the pitch, Resendiz enrolled in the Texas A&M International University Bachelor of Arts in Communication program in the Spring of 2021.
“Despite my first semester taking place during a pandemic, it has all been really great,” said Resendiz. “The professors are really invested in us and our future goals and they make everything very relatable.”
Resendiz is set to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in the fall of 2022, but says that won’t be the last graduation for her.
“I’ve decided I want to become a professor and work with engineers or STEM students so that the world can understand their work,” said Resendiz. “My professor has really encouraged me to work toward a PhD so that is my goal, and I know my time at RELLIS will help me achieve those goals.”
Originally published June 14, 2021