South Texas’s Disaster Recovery

By José Manuel Vazquez, Class of 2026 Disasters strike in all parts of our Earth. On a smaller scale, my community has undergone a few natural disasters. Among the three biggest disasters, South Texas has endured a pandemic, a handful of flooding incidents, and a few...

Business Success by Overcoming Challenges: Passion Matters

By Mariana Arevalo For the South Texas small business interview portion of the Disaster Strength Research Program, I had a primary source perspective on how circumstances fluctuate for these owners. As I interviewed people from my community, I realized they all shared...

My RGV: Stories Grounding Disaster Strength

By Andrea Martinez, Class of 2026 The city of Brownsville, my hometown, is renowned for its orientation to the South Texas Gulf Coast and border with Mexico as well as its rich history. My close connection to the culture of South Texas prompted my participation in UT...

History as a Window into My Community in South Texas

By Mariana Arevalo, Class of 2026 Oftentimes, we are just existing rather than living without knowing the context and purpose of our duty in this world we call Earth. On June 6, 2022, I had the opportunity to attend the Museum of South Texas History in the city of...

A Dive into the Heart of South Texas

By José Manuel Vazquez, Class of 2026 For this summer, I joined the Disaster Strength team, a team of researchers whose mission is to learn more about how the residents of South Texas respond to natural disasters. From local business owners to city leaders, our...

Journey to Edinburg, TX

By Jennifer Torres, Class of 2026 Before the trip to Edinburg, the only contact I had with my teammates was through Zoom. It was not until the trip that I was able to meet and greet them. I was nervous about seeing a new city and meeting new people, especially those I...

Outsider Wanting to Learn

By Keri Stephens, Class of 2005 & Professor The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) has a rich history, and flooding is a part of that history. Our team came to LRGV for a Community Learning Exchange event hosted by Francisco Guajardo, the CEO of the Museum of South...

Learning to Connect with Community Through Research

By Daniel Guerra, Class of 2027 The first two weeks of my research process were riddled with questions, confusion, and rejection. But one striking, constant feeling was my motivation. Before attending the wonderful tour at the Museum of South Texas History, I...
Four Years of IMLS-Funded Research on Rural Libraries and Disasters: Our Findings and Conclusions

Rural Libraries and Disaster Recovery

When you do not know where to go or who to turn to, and especially when you do not have the devices or connectivity to get online, you go to the library. The library is a uniquely trusted institution, a community anchor, that not only provides educational and...