Cornerstone photo part of kickoff to Centennial year
Spring showers delayed the squadron of Javelinas and hundreds of South Texans who were eager to take the historic re-creation of Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) Centennial Cornerstone photo. The rescheduling to April 3 didn’t deter the hundreds of participants who joined in celebrating history.
People from all walks of life came out to support, which meant many generations of Javelinas from Texas A&I to TAMUK were greeted not as the past, but as Javelinas.
The pride, sense of family and history within the university was on full display from everyone who walked through the doors of the Conner Museum and especially with retired Professor Dr. Manuel Flores.
“I graduated three times from here with a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degree. But my aunt was a student and graduated from here in 1958, one of the first Hispanics at that time to go to this university. And of course, we’ve had Hispanics at this university since the very first year that this cornerstone was dedicated but Texas A&M University Kingsville, South Texas State Teachers College, and Texas A&I is and was a big part of South Texas. We’ve really changed the dimension of South Texas as far as higher education is concerned,” Flores said.
Being the 100th year of TAMUK wasn’t just another number in its long history, it meant a lot to everyone who attended the event because they were more than just people taking a photo – they are a legacy.
“I’m a three-time alum so it means a lot to me. When I first stepped foot here in 1989 and to come full circle, to serve as president, to be able to set the tone, the foundation, moving forward for the next 100 years is a point of pride for me as an educator. We want to be sure that every student gets the very best of this university from academic instruction to student services, to athletics, to everything that we do in our community. It’s important that we set the bar high so that our students, when they graduate, they have something to be proud of,” TAMUK President Dr. Robert H. Vela said.
TAMUK’s treasured past was a key point in the re-creation because of how important it is for everyone to see how far the university has come and the obstacles it has overcome.
“TAMUK was instrumental in the city, and our residents were instrumental in helping this university be created. I mean, 100 years ago, it was the Kingsville Commercial Club, which is an admin of the Chamber of Commerce. They went all over the state promoting this and getting the endorsements from officials and worked really hard to make sure that this university ended up in Kingsville. There were other communities in the areas that were going for it, too. In fact, there was a state rep from Corpus Christi that filed a bill in the legislature designating Corpus Christi as a site,” Kingsville Mayor Sam Fugate said.
Alumni weren’t the only excited Javelinas that lined the grass and pavement in front of Manning Hall for the photo. Students, athletes and professors were eagerly waiting for the camerawoman to be hoisted up to take the historic photo.
“It honestly feels really great. It feels like we’re being a part of history, history that happened 100 years ago. And now it’s happening again here in 2025 so it feels great, awesome, and fantastic,” student Amado Moreno III said.
The spirit of the Javelina will forever live on and every person there now is cemented in history.
“One thing I hope people will learn from this centennial celebration is to see how we’ve grown as an institution, not with a bunch of fancy buildings, but as in a diverse student population, how we’ve grown, and how this will help promote future generations to come to Texas A&M University- Kingsville,” Moreno III said.