Student regent finds dual purpose in leadership role

Aug. 5, 2025 — DENTON — Growing up in north Fort Worth, Alyssa Flores was a self-described shy kid. She played sports and joined clubs at Keller ISD but was always hesitant to use her voice. 

“When I was in public school, I just didn’t know how to put yourself out there,” Flores said. 

That all changed her freshman year at Texas Woman’s University. The Denton campus immediately felt like home. Flores found friendships within the TWU President’s Leadership Council and became involved in the Denton community with the Pioneer Service Scholars. 

“They are the organizations that really teach you the meaning of leading and serving to make a difference,” Flores said. 

Not only did she join organizations such as the Pre-Physical Therapy Club and Society of Health Studies & Kinesiology (SHSK) Club, she sought leadership positions. Flores served as vice president of Omicron Delta Kappa and the Pre-PT Therapy Club, and president of the SHSK Club.

“I really learned as a leader to advocate for others means so much more than you think,” Flores said. “Because in the role, it is more selfless than it is more about who you want to be.”

After attending Leadershape Institute, a week-long intensive leadership training program during her junior year, Flores pondered how far she could go in making a difference at TWU. 

Flores graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a pre-physical therapy focus in May 2024 and spent a year working as a PT rehabilitation aid in Flower Mound. She returned to Texas Woman’s in the summer of 2025 not only as a Doctor of Physical Therapy student on the Denton campus but also as the student regent.  

On June 1, Flores was appointed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to become TWU’s newest student regent, following the term of her predecessor, Maya Landgrebe. Flores’ term expires May 31, 2026. Although student regents do not vote, they serve as a voice for students on the Denton, Dallas and Houston campuses to the TWU System Board of Regents and represent TWU at the highest levels within Texas higher education. 

“Being deemed as student regent just makes me feel that there was no other way that I could have been welcomed back to this home away from home,” Flores said.

Getting accepted into the first DPT cohort on the Denton campus and then being named student regent was a sign to Flores that she was meant to be back at Texas Woman’s. 

“That my vision is heard,” Flores said. 

Flores’ vision is to make an impact in the university system and to increase the visibility of the student regent position. 

In just a short amount of time Flores is already making herself visible. Since she was appointed, she has met with campus leaders and student organizations and is documenting her experience on TWU’s Student Regent Instagram account.

“I just want to make sure I am balancing being a PT student and a student regent at the same time,” Flores said. “I want to make sure I prioritize my studies but I am able to allocate myself to others.”

Flores’ other vision is a career in physical therapy. That is something that she has dreamed about since she was a young child. 

When she was seven, Flores and her grandparents were in a serious car accident. Their car flipped three times, and her grandfather was seriously injured. Her grandfather went from active to sedentary and his mental health suffered.

“I was such a strong support system during the process with my motivation and encouragement to where my grandma told me I was the only one he would do his home exercises for,” Flores recalled. 

Flores learned even at that young age that physical therapy was more than just physical. 

“I want to help people to realize that not only is this all about the physical aspect, but the mental aspect, too,” Flores said. “I want to know you as a person, not just your condition.” 

Flores also sees physical therapy in a similar vein as leadership: as a way to make a difference. With just a year to serve as student regent, Flores wants to make the most of her time. 

“I would like them (students) to know that I’m approachable and that you can be seen,” Flores said. “You do have a voice whether you believe it or not.”