![\"TSTC](\"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TSTC-HrlgnCottonCommittee-Donation-72dpi.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI still love music, but after my grandfather passed away a couple of months I wanted to honor him, and this is how I\u2019m doing it,\u201d said Martinez. \u201cI thank TSTC and the Harlingen Cotton Committee for allowing me this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sam Simmons Jr., Cotton Committee chairman, said the organization\u2019s ultimate goal is to help students like Martinez pursue an education in a field where the number of farmers is decreasing annually.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to empower students to better their lives,\u201d said Simmons. \u201cAnd we hope that every student we touch can lead a successful career in Agriculture. We need them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The partnership between the Harlingen Cotton Committee and TSTC began in 2011. Since the organization\u2019s first recorded donation, the funds provided for scholarships has grown along with the partnership.<\/p>\n
To date the organization has donated more than $60,000 to TSTC.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Harlingen Cotton Committee do so much for the agriculture community in the Rio Grande Valley, including for our students here at TSTC,\u201d said Amy Lynch, TSTC senior field development officer. \u201cThey care so much about agricultural education and ensuring that students have the resources they need to make their dreams a reality. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
And making their dreams a reality is something that Martinez, who completed an internship with Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Weslaco and was immediately hired on; and Samantha Mendoza, also a TSTC Agricultural Technology student, are familiar with.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m graduating next semester and I will transfer to Texas A&M-Kingsville to pursue a degree in pre-veterinary medicine,\u201d said Mendoza. \u201cAnd all of this is possible because of TSTC, its instructors and the money I have just received from the Harlingen Cotton Committee.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI struggle financially and this has brought such a huge relief. I\u2019ll be able to focus on getting to the finish line,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
TSTC Agricultural Technology Department State Lead and Instructor Sam Gavito said he is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the organization\u2019s generosity to his students and program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no words to describe how appreciative I am for the help our students are getting,\u201d said Gavito. \u201cEvery student here is worthy of this scholarship. They have proven their academic success and I can\u2019t wait to see what else they can achieve with this help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavito added, \u201cThis is an amazing event. I send a huge thank you to everyone.”<\/p>\n
All proceeds from the 2018 First Bale of Cotton Auction and Scholarship Fundraiser benefit the committee and Algodon Club of Harlingen Scholarship Fund.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis donation is life-changing for many of our students,\u201d TSTC Provost Cledia Hernandez. \u201cThat one tank of gas can mean the difference between graduating or dropping out and this organization understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are friends of TSTC,\u201d Hernandez added. \u201cThe impact they have on our TSTC students is amazing. Tremendous.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information on TSTC Agricultural Technology, visit tstc.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(HARLINGEN) – What do the Harlingen Cotton Committee and the late Ruben Vela\u2019s former drummer have in common? A passion for agriculture. On Thursday night, during the annual Harlingen Cotton Committee 2018 First Bale of Cotton Auction and Scholarship Fundraiser, Juan Martinez, former drummer for the late conjunto and accordion legend and 13 other Agricultural […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3407"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3409,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3407\/revisions\/3409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}