2021 News

'American Swimming Magazine' publishes essay by TWU student Ulysses Perez

6/10/21

Incoming TWU ESFL transfer student Ulysses Perez had an essay published in American Swimming Magazine. The essay, titled "The 'Impossible,'" marks his first magazine article and second publication. Read Ulysses Perez' full essay (pdf)

Alumna Melissa Theil leads effort to memorialize Sherman, Texas lynching

6/7/21

TWU alumna Melissa Thiel is leading an effort to install a historical marker for the lynching of George Hughes and the Sherman Riot of 1930. Thiel’s effort to commemorate Sherman’s painful past has stalled — caught between resistance by some of the town’s White leaders and a rising desire among residents to confront old racial wounds.
Although she has approached her project with a certain indomitability, “I picked a doozy,” Thiel said. “I was naive, and I didn’t think the pushback I’d get would get to this level.”

Thiel earned her master's in history and was part of TWU's public history program.

Alumnus' comic book series surpasses 10th anniversary Kickstarter goal; movie in works

6/7/21

"There hasn't been a superhero like El Peso Hero," TWU Visual Arts alumnus Hector Rodriguez III says. "A hero that transcends cultures and borders for Texas and Mexico." 

The creator of the celebrated comic book series, who is a fifth-grade bilingual teacher for McKinney ISD, wears a lot of hats. He's also the co-founder of Texas Latino Comic Con, a publisher and CEO, and development director of a lucha libre multimedia company. Coming soon: the movie.

Music therapy faculty revamp curriculum, forge partnerships at home and abroad

5/26/21

In a year of unexpected challenges, TWU music therapy program faculty Drs. Lauren DiMaio, Della Molloy-Daugherty and Rebecca West have teamed up to create an innovative, holistic and social justice-driven curriculum with new opportunities for student-client connection and community collaboration.

Turning pain into purpose

5/25/21

A group of TWU students found a path to healing following the death of George Floyd when they formed TRIBE: A Black Student Support Group. The new, safe and confidential space allowed students to “celebrate blackness and express themselves fully in community,” as well as to discuss police brutality, racial inequality and the various emotions that would arise.