Project MALES ended the fall 2014 semester on a positive note. On the mentoring side, we renewed our partnership with Austin Independent School District (AISD) by continuing its standing relationship with Lanier, Reagan, and Travis High Schools as well as initiating conversations with other local schools for possible future collaborations. In addition, this semester we introduced Impacting Males through Peer Advising College Tracks (IMPACT), a new service-learning course that met once a week for an hour and went hand-in-hand with our mentoring efforts at our local schools. Our Project Males Student Organization put together a great Plática series which included various UT-Austin staff and faculty members. Our Plática theme this semester was 
“Agents of Change” where we had the privilege of having Mr. Ramón R. Gómez, Director of Student and Community Affairs, from the School of Social Work at the University of Texas; Dr. Ramón Antonio Martínez, Assistant Professor in Language and Literacy Studies; and Dr. Luis Urrieta, Jr., Associate Professor in Cultural Studies in Education. All shared the work in and outside of the university; including the importance of being involved in the community and being of service to others.
Project MALES ended the fall 2014 semester with our End-of-Year Celebration, an ongoing tradition where we celebrate our semester accomplishments by recognizing our student mentors and other key staff. This semester we recognized students in five categories: Student Council, Work Study’s, Study Abroad, Internship, and Outstanding Student. Students were recognized as follows:
Student Council Awards
Carlos Guerrero
Estela Lopez
Toby Ramirez
Lidia Salazar
Jonathan Espinoza
Work Studys Awards
Maribel Tinajero
Karina Roque
Carlos Guerrero
Enrique Reyes
Jonathan Espinoza
Study Abroad Awards
Maribel Tinajero
Estela Lopez
Internships Awards
Stephanie Solis
Antonio Cruz
“Outstanding Students” Award (Morning IMPACT Section)
Isaac Del Bosque
Janet Ramirez
“Outstanding Students” Award (Afternoon IMPACT Section)
Sayuri Morales
Pablo Rivera
We had a very successful fall semester and we look forward to picking up where we left off in the spring semester. Project MALES would like to wish our partners and everyone involved with the project a safe and Happy Holidays! Stay tuned for Project MALES news in the new year.
