LUGO, Spain – Through her four years at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), Uxia Pereira learned a lot about herself as a person, a student and an athlete, building a strong foundation for the next phase of her life. 
 
Pereira came to UTRGV from Lugo, Galicia, Spain when she was 17 years old, after a company saw her compete in a national meet in her home country and offered to help her find a university in the United States to study and run track. She'll graduate in December with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
 
"I went to UTRGV because they made it easy for me to study and do my sport at a high level, and I'm glad I did. It was a really good experience," Pereira said. 
 
Pereira trained during the summer after her freshman year in Spain, but after the COVID-19 pandemic impacted travel regulations, she and her UTRGV coaches decided it was best to spend the next few summers training in the Valley. The time away from home and the absence of her family in the stands at track meets was difficult to cope with, but she found comfort within the tight-knight program. 
 
"My parents, especially my mom, were in the stands all the time when I competed at home, and when I finished I could go to them and be happy or cry if I did bad and express all my feelings. Not having that all the time was difficult, but thankfully the coaches and my teammates, the trainers and all the staff were all really supportive, so it balanced it out and helped me as an international student-athlete to still feel like I had a family," Pereira said. 
 
With that support, Pereira pushed herself and grew tremendously as a student, athlete and person. She came in as a hurdler and added several events to her program, even competing as a heptathlete a few times. 
 
Pereira made the All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Second Team in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2021 WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where she was also ninth in heptathlon and 10^th in the 100-meter hurdles. She ran personal records in the 60-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash at this year's WAC Indoor Championships and hit PRs in in both outdoor hurdles while running the 4x400-meter relay. 
 
Pereira leaves UTRGV with improved personal records of 8.67 in the 60-meter hurdles, 13.96 in the 100-meter hurdles and 1:03.47 in the 400-meter hurdles. She's ranked fifth in program history in the 60 hurdles, tied for fifth-best in the 100 hurdles and fourth in heptathlon with a career-best 4,343 points. She's also a two-time Academic All-WAC honoree and a two-time athletic director's honor roll member. 
 
"I learned a lot about not depending on other people and about my body, and as an athlete I think that's really important," Pereira said. "When I first went to UTRGV, there was a lot of levels of good athletes and schools that I was not used to seeing, so I learned to focus on myself. There's always going to be someone better than me, worse than me, but I have to focus on my race and what I have to do. I learned how to take care of myself, to do the right things in the training room and to make time between my studies to take care of my body. 
 
"Academically, I'm in a hard major, so that requires a lot of homework and studying. I learned that organization and discipline are important," she added. "I'm really happy that UTRGV helped me to do the sport I love and study mechanical engineering at the same time. Putting those things together would not be possible in my country. I think that's the most important thing UTRGV gave me, allowing me to pursue the major I always wanted and still do track at a high level. That's my biggest accomplishment." 
 
With her collegiate career wrapped up, Pereira is turning her focus on the next phase of her athletic and academic life. After completion of her bachelor's in December, she'll begin the process to pursue a master's degree back home in Spain. She plans to continue training and competing, professionally, "until my body tells me to stop." 
 
Pereira's first post-collegiate competition will put her in familiar territory – competing against her country's best at the XXXVIII Campeonato de España Sub23 de Pista al Aire Libre, the Spanish Under-23 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, July 1-2 in Tarragona, Spain. She'll run the 100-meter hurdles, hoping to advance through two preliminary rounds into the final and capture a top-two spot with a time of 13.90 or better. If she achieves those goals, she'll represent Spain at the European Athletics U23 Championships July 13-16 in Finland. 
 
Pereira has performed well in previous Spanish national competitions. She was fifth in the 100-meter hurdles as a U18 athlete outdoors and fifth in the 60-meter hurdles at the U20 level indoors. She returned home in early June to let herself acclimate to the weather conditions and time change, and she's feeling good about her training and ability as the meet nears. 
 
"I feel that I'm ready. I've been ready," Pereira said. "My objectives will be to PR and to run a 13.8 or 13.7, that would be really motivating for me. I want to make it to the final and if I can get one of those spots to go to the European championships, that would be awesome." 
 
Pereira spent her final season with the Vaqueros as one of the only upperclassmen on a freshman-heavy squad. She hopes her drive left an impact on her younger teammates that will guide them to a feeling of fulfillment when their time at UTRGV is done, just like she has. 
 
"Time goes fast. You should enjoy college and have experiences, but also remember that you should focus on the most important things that are going to help you in the future and understand that all the things the coaches are doing is to help you," Pereira said. "It's four years of your life. Do as much as you can but in a productive way." 

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