TAMIU RTG Ambassadors Named, Traveling to Japan This Spring
A group of 15 first-year Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) students will be traveling to Japan this Spring Break through TAMIU’s Reading the Globe (RTG) program.
This year’s 2023-2024 RTG Ambassadors are Mia Arguello, Guarino Cavazos, Ximena Del Campo López, Karla Gallardo, Barbara Garza, Lindsay Leal, Anna Ligart, Sierra Long, Lucio Martínez, Julian Ramírez, Paulina Salazar Salas, Daniela Sánchez Gomez, Evelyn Tovar, Daniel Trapero, and Marco Zapata.
During their trip, students will visit historical sites, partake in education lectures, and participate in community engagement activities.
First-year students initially competed for a coveted spot as an RTG Ambassador through an essay contest based on TAMIU’s Fall Campus Common Read.
This year’s selected novel, Where the Dead Pause and the Japanese Say Goodbye by Marie Mutsuki Mockett, explored the author’s grief and the 2011 Great Earthquake in Japan. Students met Mockett during her visit to the University as part of a special Capstone Lecture this past Fall.
After the lecture, students participated in a competition where 25 top essays were chosen. From there, students took part in an interview process before being selected. RTG Ambassadors were notified of their selection with a special class visit where they were surprised with a balloon bouquet and commemorative ticket.
After their return from Japan, RTG Ambassadors will “pay it forward” by participating in University service events promoting the RTG program, helping fundraise, and planning future RTG excursions.
RTG is a University-wide initiative aimed at engaging all members of the University and the surrounding community. It nurtures a common purpose and sense of belonging, supporting the mission of University College which hosts the program.
Since 2008, RTG has enabled all First-Year students to engage in a selected book with an international focus through their Fall University Seminar. The Common Read Program provides an opportunity for discourse about student-relevant issues and raises social awareness on a local and global scale. Faculty and staff of TAMIU also participate in the Common Read.
For additional information on the RTG program, contact University College at 956.326.2134, email readingtheglobe@tamiu.edu or visit https://www.tamiu.edu/readingtheglobe/index.shtml.
TAMIU Reading the Globe Ambassadors, from top to bottom, left to right, are: Guarino Cavazos, Anna Ligart, Sierra Long, Lucio Martinez, Evelyn Tovar, Lindsay Leal, Daniel Trapero, Daniela Sánchez Gomez, Karla Gallardo, Mia Arguello, Paulina Salazar Salas, Marco Zapata, Barbara Garza, Ximena Del Campo Lopez and Julian Ramirez.
