RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Summertime doesn't equal days off for the student-athletes at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The work the Vaqueros did in the classroom this summer exemplifies that. 
 
Throughout the 2022 summer sessions, 38 student-athletes from UTRGV's volleyball and men's and women's basketball teams took at least one course and excelled in the classroom. Volleyball notched a cumulative summer GPA of 3.68, the men's basketball team had a 3.44 GPA and the women's basketball team combined for a 3.38 GPA. 
 
"Summer is so helpful. We offer a lot of support and when it's just a few teams in the summer, they get a lot of our attention. It's so important to take advantage of the opportunity," Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Services Letty Hernandez said. "Once their seasons start, as much as we plan, hiccups can happen. Summer is crucial because the one or two classes they take will help them stay on track to graduate. We stress taking summer classes to the student-athletes because there's no traveling, campus is a lot calmer, it's easier to focus with less distractions. It's great to have the coaches and administrative staff on board." 
 
UTRGV coaches encourage student-athletes to take summer courses and utilize the resources provided to them at the Victory Center in the Academic Services Building, where Hernandez and the Academic Advisement staff works. The Victory Center offers tutors, a computer lab, a learning lab, group and individual study areas and other resources student-athletes may need to reach their academic goals. 
 
Fourteen members of the volleyball team took summer courses. Junior Ioanna Charitonidi took two classes in the summer. This was her second time taking summer courses and that opportunity is something she's thankful for. 
 
"Summer classes are great because you get through the material faster and you don't have to worry about that much in the fall during the season. It lightens the load," Charitonidi said. "Coach Todd Lowery really wants us to get these summer classes so we can get to campus earlier and we start bonding with the team and practicing all together, get in the weight room, so it's really important for academics but also for the team. It's not just about being good at volleyball, but Coach Lowery also pushes us out of our boundaries on the academic side. It's great to have a coach who doesn't just care about wins or losses. He's also trying to make us better people."
 
The men's basketball team had 13 student-athletes take at least one summer course. Hernandez praised the team for being "on it" about stressing summer classes, especially for freshmen/newcomers, and said head coach Matt Figger makes it clear to his team that they're students first and he wants to see them graduate. 
 
Junior Daylen Williams, a junior college transfer, took his first summer class and got an A in political science. He expressed appreciation for Hernandez and all the benefits offered at the Victory Center and was glad he spent time in the summer focusing on academics. 
 
"I liked taking the summer class, to be honest. It was a good idea," Williams said. "Taking that class got me prepared and let me know what to expect for the fall. It helped the team build chemistry because some of us took the same classes so we always helped each other with work. We appreciate all the help from our advisors. They do a lot for us." 
 
Eleven women's basketball student-athletes took at least one summer class, including freshman Charlotte O'Keefe, who said she appreciated the experience because it helped with the transition from high school to college. 
 
"I am glad I did a summer class. My class was online and I have three of my five classes this fall semester online, so it did really help me get used to Blackboard and how to work out my own schedule," O'Keefe said. "In high school, you're done by a certain time and everything was handed to you. In college, you're a lot more on your own and it's a busier schedule. The workload is definitely a lot different. Our advisor is really good and it's nice having him as a resource, and we have tutors, too." 
 
Student-athlete advisor Andrew Padron, a former UTRGV student-athlete himself, works with the volleyball and women's basketball teams. His role, like Hernandez's, includes helping the Vaqueros enroll in classes and stay on top of their busy workload. He knows firsthand the demands a student-athlete faces, and he's proud of the resources he and UTRGV offers to push the Vaqueros to their potential, and to see the student-athletes use them well.  
 
"Being a student-athlete is a full-time job," Padron said. "They're doing 20 hours out on the competition floor, they're putting in 3-to-6 hours in the classroom in the summer and in the fall/spring it's more like 15 hours, then they have 6-to-10 hours of study hall per week. It's pretty challenging, but these student-athletes go above and beyond. They understand that academics are important. They're student-athletes, and they take that 'student' part of their title strongly. 
 
"It's a testament to them and their coaches and to the department as a whole the way we look out for student-athletes," he added. "We understand that it's not just on the court. The educational side is really important so when they're done competing, they're going to have something to fall back on, and that's a degree." 

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