Awards to be given mid-October
The annual Distinguished Alumni Awards have been officially announced by Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s (TAMUK) Javelina Alumni Association. The awards also include The Rising Star Award and the Blue and Gold Service Award.
According to the Javelina Alumni Association, the awards are “presented to alumni who have demonstrated long-time and successful commitment to their careers and communities and have brought special honor to the university because of their accomplishments.”
This year’s Distinguished Alumni Award honorees are Martha D. Salazar-Zamora, Class of 1987, ’92, ’99; Sarah R. Saldaña, Class of 1973, and Josefina Villamil Tinajero, Class of 1980. The Rising Star recipient is Remi Yusuf, 2007, and the Blue and Gold Service Award, which is not awarded to alumni, goes to Dick Messbarger.
The Honorees will be celebrated at a banquet during Homecoming week later in October.
Dr. Salazar-Zamora is a Superintendent at Tomball Independent School District (ISD) and has brought the ISD to an A-rated district, which has been a top-ranking district in Houston. Some of her achievements include opening Tomball Star Academy, the Early Excellence Academy, Two-Way Dual Language Academy, along with a stadium and community center, according to the Javelina Alumni Association.
“[My time attending TAMUK] was very important to me, because I am from Kingsville,” Salazar-Zamora said. “I was born and raised in Kingsville and had the opportunity to attend a number of universities but saw the benefit of staying close to home and staying at a university I believed would help shape my future, and it very much did.”
Salazar-Zamora met her husband while attending then A&I university, and he also received two degrees. The couple met during her freshman English class and have been married for 33 years.
“I was very surprised and honored [to have been selected for the award]. Again, I am aware many people have gone to TAMUK and have been very successful in their fields of choice but being selected brings me great pride knowing that I am in such great company with undergraduates,” Salazar-Zamora said.
From her time at A&I, Salazar-Zamora received four degrees: a bachelor’s degree in 1987, a Master’s in 1988, a second Master’s in 1992, and while she was in school for her Doctoral degree (which she received in 1999), the University became Texas A&M University – Kingsville.
“The University and staff in every way helped prepare me for my future,” she said.
Nominations for the awards opens each spring.
“On average, we probably get six nominations for the Distinguished Alumni Awards,” Vice President of Institutional Advancement and External Relations and CEO of Texas A&M – Kingsville Foundation Brad Walker said. “The process calls for us to hold onto nominations for three years. You are generally looking at a pool of 15 to 20 nominees each year when they are reviewing the nominations.”
From there, a committee meets, reviews, discusses and then makes recommendations to university administration. Then recipients are announced usually during summer.
Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Tinajero is currently an educator and advocate for issues of equity and excellence for culturally and linguistically diverse children and families. Tinajero serves as Professor of Bilingual Education at the University of Texas at El Paso.
“I am humbled by being chosen for this special University award,” Tinajero said. “I feel a tremendous sense of gratitude to a university that prepared me very well to excel as a Professor of Bilingual Education and as a University Administrator.”
The Blue and Gold Service Award is not given to an alumnus, the process of looking for a recipient is still the same as the Distinguished Alumni Award. While the nominations for Distinguished Alumni range about three each year, the Blue and Gold Service Award gets fewer nominations, because it is still a generally new award.
This year’s recipient is former Greater Kingsville Area Economic Development Center Director Dick Messbarger. He served in this role for more than 25 years and still continues to volunteer his time in support of the development of the area and is also an advocate for TAMUK and the Naval Air Station in Kingsville, Austin and Washington.
“My first thought [about the award] was ‘there’s more deserving people.’ I made the great fortune of working with some amazing people that have supported this University,” Messbarger said. “I am honored, but I am going to enjoy it.”