TAMIU’s Dr. Thompson, Three Graduate Students Presenting at TSHA Annual Meeting in Houston
Dr. Jerry D. Thompson, Regents Professor of History at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) has taught history first at Laredo College and then TAMIU for 56 years, encouraging hundreds of students to pursue graduate degrees.
At next week’s Annual Meeting of the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) in Houston, Feb. 27 – March 1, 2025, three of his top students will join their current and former TAMIU professor for a session he’ll chair, “Political, Economic, and Social Leaders on the 20th Century South Texas Borderlands,” highlighting the significance of legendary figures in South Texas.
Zach Nora completed his master’s in history at TAMIU and is now a PhD student in History at the University of Oklahoma, where he also serves as a graduate teaching Assistant and was an editorial fellow with the University of Oklahoma Press. Nora will present his TAMIU Master’s thesis on “King Petrol: Oliver Winfield Killam and the South Texas Oil Boom.” Although from Missouri and Oklahoma, O.W. Killam helped reshape the region’s economy and exerted political sway that impacted the area for decades after his death. Despite his significance to Texas history, there has been no scholarly study chronicling Killam’s life or his many contributions.
Diana Medina-Rendon, currently finishing her TAMIU Master’s thesis this Spring semester, will present “Abraham ‘Chick’ Kazen and the Creation of the Kickapoo Nation Reservation” in Eagle Pass” at the Friday TSHA session. Rendon holds a bachelor’s in history and two additional graduate degrees in Educational Administration and Educational Technology, all from TAMIU. She is a social studies teacher for the United Independent School District.
Grace Maciel, also finishing her TAMIU Master’s thesis this Spring, will present “Heinrich Portscheller: Famous Only by Design.” Portscheller was a German immigrant whose novel masonry style in architecture is seen throughout Laredo, Northern México, and the Rio Grande Valley. Maciel is also working on the restoration of Portscheller’s grave in Laredo. She is finishing her thesis on John Decker, a 19th Century Rio Grande City entrepreneur.
Dr. Thompson said he’s gratified to be able to share the TSHA stage with the two TAMIU students and current OU doctoral student.
“All three are among some of the best graduate students I have ever had,” he offered, “This TSHA session I’m chairing offers a fascinating exploration of South Texas history. In addition to the presentations by my students, we’ll also have panelist Dr. Jody Edward Ginn of the Texas Rangers Association Foundation sharing his research on ‘Jovita Idar: The Woman and the Myth.’ Each person profiled in this session influenced South Texas’s past and, some believe, still shape the region today,” Thompson observed.
The Houston TSHA Conference will include 150 speakers and over 40 distinct panels. The week-long Conference includes immersive offsite tours, special engagement events, and access to the rich culture and history of the host city.
Organized in Austin on March 2, 1897, TSHA’s founders brought lay and professional historians together to document and celebrate Texas’s complex and diverse history. TSHA continues to follow its founders’ path, sharing the State’s history with individuals across the state, nation, and globe.
TSHA focuses on two major service areas: education programs and historical publications. Its services primarily benefit students and adults throughout Texas, but individuals worldwide can access TSHA's online publications.
See the Conference Program. Find out more about TSHA.
Learn more about TAMIU’s Master’s degree in History and Political Thought, an interdisciplinary program promoting the critical examination and study of a wide range of historical and political phenomena and patterns, including admission and program requirements.
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