UTEP strives to give students an ‘Edge’ before and after graduation

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The University of Texas at El Paso offers a vast array of services to students that will not only help them while in school but to prepare them for lifelong success as well. Besides course work, UTEP further prepares students by providing research experiences, creative activities, study abroad, student employment, and student internships, among others. This fall semester, UTEP gathered all of these activities under a new initiative called UTEP Edge, which helps students get involved in school and in their career planning by focusing on research projects and extracurricular activities while they are enrolled. “The Edge is really centered around three core statements which are talented students, enriching experiences, and lifelong success,” Marc Cox, director of the Center for Faculty Leadership and Development, said. According to Cox, the fact that the majority of UTEP students are bilingual is an asset.

How I worked my way through anxiety

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In mid-August of 2014 with a new semester just around the corner, everything was going according to plan. During a beautiful afternoon on Aug. 14, my father, brother and I were all waiting for mom to come home to make plans and have dinner. Mom walked in at around 20 minutes after 6 p.m., said hello and closed the window next to the sofa where I sat texting. I was unaware of what was coming my way.

Light Projection – A new virtual experience in Roman museums, sites

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By Rachel Gonzalez

Rome is a cultural mecca with museums and sites at every turn. Tourists and scholars have flocked there for many years learning from its history and trying to decipher the clues left behind that tell the story of the past. Today light projection act as a visual aid for visitors by creating a kind of virtual window into the past. It may seem that places like the Forum of Augustus and especially the Colosseum are in no need of modern technology to get people interested, but these technologies are not to bring people through the door, they are there to enhance the experience of those who visit and give them a bright new angle of view. Three Roman locations in which light projection has made a debut are the Roman House (le Domus Romane di Palazzo Valentini), the Forum of Augustus and the Colosseum.

The Pantheon – An illuminating experience  

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By Matthew P. Gonzales

The Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain persuade many to visit Rome. Personally, these were not sites I was very interested in seeing. I was part of the Layers of Rome study abroad course visiting Rome, Italy.  On a bright sunny day, our class went out to look at a monument that is one of the last remaining buildings from the Roman Empire dating back to the 2nd century, the Pantheon. The word Pantheon means a temple dedicated to all the gods.

Exploring Rome, a city filled with wonder that captures your heart

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We landed and exited the plane and I couldn’t believe I was here. I was the first person in my family to travel to Italy; the airport was packed with people. I heard so many different languages: English, Italian, Spanish, French and a language I thought was Russian or maybe German. The passport officer, looked me up and down opened my passport and stamped it: Roma- Italia- Fiumicino- EU: 23/05/17. I still couldn’t believe it, I was in another country, I was 6,000 miles away from home.

Italy and my encounter with the issues of bilingualism

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By Crystal Calderon

Growing up in a bilingual environment meant I was fortunate to have the opportunity  to learn at least two languages. I grew up in the border city of El Paso TX., right next to Juarez Chihuahua MX. I was fortunate enough to grow up bilingual. Unlike most US citizens who are monolingual, my background enabled me to feel more  natural when in Rome. This past summer I traveled to Italy as part of the Layers of Rome study abroad course hosted by the  Humanities Program of the University of Texas at El Paso.

Six ways to prepare for an audio internship

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As El Paso native Khalid becomes more and more famous, interest in becoming an artist or recording the next superstar is rising. I cannot tell you how to become the next Khalid, but if you want to become an audio engineer (the person that pushes all the buttons and records the artist), as an audio engineering graduate and former intern, I can give you several tips on how to get started. 

1. Get educated

The first step to acquiring an internship is getting an education in audio engineering. Most studios (especially the more well-known studios) require some sort of formal education from an accredited college or technical school before even looking at an applicant. Depending on who you know, you might be able to get away with not going to school, but knowledge and skills are still required to be successful.

Mexicano, Chicano, or Pocho. Who am I?

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I didn’t start to question my identity until my first year of college. Before that I thought I was an American citizen attending kindergarten in Ciudad Juarez. Then in third grade I realized that I was Mexican when I crossed the border to attend Houston Elementary School in El Paso. The first day of school a classmate asked me in Spanish – not English – why I was wearing black polished shoes. I remember I looked around and saw that all the other boys and girls were wearing sporty tennis shoes.

Working hard for the money, El Paso drag queens enjoy creative outlet

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Putting layers of Elmer’s glue on his eyebrows is the first step in creating a perfect look. Alexander Wright, who goes by the stage name Rumor, will spend most of his Saturday planning the perfect drag performance. Five hours of the day will be dedicated to applying make-up, and the rest will go toward selecting a variety of dresses and songs for the night’s performance. “Drag is an artistry, you get to create different concepts and test your creativity,” said Wright, who has been doing drag for a year and is currently the reigning Sun City Miss Pride. “Applying makeup is like an oil painting from afar it looks great and cute, but when you get close, you can see all the railroad tracks.”

His first performance was at a local benefit show at Touch Bar and Nightclub in East El Paso.

12 El Paso bands and musical artists you should know about

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Over the past 30 years in El Paso, the hard-core rock band At the Drive-In has mostly stood alone as the city’s prominent breakthrough group on an international level. But the music scene in the Sun City has changed in the 14 year hiatus of the iconic punk band – with music taste in the city diversifying, new venues opening, old ones closing and many bands have come out since then. If you’re from El Paso here’s who you should know. 1. Pissing Razors

This heavy-metal band formed in 1996 in El Paso, and although then-drummer Danny Garcia moved the band to New York, the band’s inception can largely be credited to the metal scene and love for heavy metal that continues to be a constant in El Paso.