Commencement Class of Fall 2025
One hundred two students received degrees at the fall graduation ceremony at Arkansas State University Querétaro.
QUERÉTARO – Arkansas State University Querétaro held its fall Commencement Ceremony on Dic 13, 2025.
Dra. Alexandra Strong, Chancellor of Elisia Education Hub, conferred 102 degrees to students from the university’s four colleges during the ceremony held at Campus Querétaro.
Paula Fernanda Almazan Tello addressed the audience on behalf of the graduating class. “ You do not need all the answers right now. What you need is something you already possess: the courage that got you to this point. And the next step—the most important step—is trusting that who you have become is enough to guide who you will be. “ said Ms. Amazan Tello.
Paula is graduating Cum Laude, with a double major in International Business and Global Supply Chain Management. She has been very active during her time at A-State. Paula is the president of the Musical Theater Club at A-State. She has been
an Ambassador, a French tutor and a Business Week organizer. She studied for one semester as an exchange student in Jonesboro. Winner of the Create at A-State contest and was part of the cheerleading team.
We have 102 graduating seniors, which includes 19 seniors graduating with a double major, 44 are graduating with 1 minor, and 3 with a double minor. It also includes 25 distinguished undergraduate students with various academic honors, as identified by the white and red honors cords. We have 12 Cum Laude and 13 Magna Cum Laude.
40% of our graduate students have secured employment or received job offers, and 20% are in the process of starting a master’s degree, a source of immense pride for our entire community.
Once again, Arkansas State University Querétaro stands out for its academic excellence. New Red Wolves enter the world, ready to lead the pack! #WolvesUp
Arkansas State University Querétaro, Where Great Stories Begin.
MEB Lab Students Shine at the 1st Congreso
Mexicano de Evolución
Students from the Molecular Evolution & Bioinformatics Lab (MEB Lab) at Elisia Education Hub and Arkansas State University Querétaro proudly represented our academic community at the 1st Congreso Mexicano de Evolución, an event that brings together emerging and established scientists from across the country.
Guided by Dr. Bernardo Pérez Zamorano, head of the MEB Lab, our undergraduate researchers presented their projects in the Undergraduate Scientific Poster category with outstanding results:
Diego Muñoz Beltrán 1st Place
Luz González Vega 3rd Place
Their achievements reflect not only strong scientific preparation but also their growing confidence as young researchers able to communicate complex ideas with clarity and purpose.
The lab also recognizes Daniel González and Leonardo Reyes, whose collaboration and dedication contributed meaningfully to the team´s participation. Their involvement demonstrates the supportive, researchdriven environment that defines the MEB Lab.
Beyond mentoring the group, Dr. Pérez Zamorano also contributed as a speaker, sharing ongoing research from the laboratory and enriching the scientific dialogue at the congress.
This milestone reinforces the MEB Lab’s commitment to fostering rigorous,
creative, and collaborative research experiences, empowering students to grow as scientists and strengthening Elisia Education Hub’s presence withing Mexico´s evolutionary biology community.
Holiday Spirit Shines at Elisia’s Christmas Tree Lightning
On Wednesday, November 19, the holiday season officailly began at Elisia Education Hub as our community gatheres for the annual Christmas Tree Lighting. After an inspiring edition of the LaLa Film Awards, students, faculty, and staff made their way to the Food Court plaza, where a warm and festive atmosphere awaited.
Guests enjoyed traditional ponche, adding a comforting seasonal touch to the cool evening. The celebration was elevated by a beautiful musical performance from José Manuel Ontiveros Pesqueira, whose voice filled the plaza with harmony and holiday cheer.
We extend our gratitude to every team member and student who helped bring this event to life.
Their enthusiasm, dedication, and attention to detail were reflected in every moment of the celebration.
As the tree lit up, it became more than a decoration, it symbolized community, warmth, and the joy we share throughout this season.
We wish our entire Elisia community a wonderful holiday season and look forward to welcoming everyone back next year with even more excitement and festive spirit.
Scholarship Sessions Bring Together Over 500 Parents & Students
In November, the Scholarships Department hosted two key information sessions, one for parents and one for students, reinforcing our commitment to transparency, guidance, and equal access to educational opportunities across Elisia Education Hub.
More than 230 parents joined the first meeting, where they received clear guidance on scholarships types, renewal criteria, important dates for the 2026 cycle, required documentation, and tips to support their students thoughout the process. Their active participation reflected the strong engagement and commitment of our Elisia families.
Later, a second session brought together 280 students from Texas State Univesity and Arkansas State University. This space provided essential information on scholarship responsibilities, academic performance requirements, key deadlines, and points of contact for individual support. Students asked thoughtful questions and worked through specific scenarios to ensure full understanding of the renewal process.
Together these sessions highlight a shared commitment to academic continuity and student success. The strong turnout from both families and students reaffirms the importance of open communication and collective effort within our Elisia community.
Where We Stand Before the Next Chapter
By Diana Alarcón Lujano
Graduating feels beautifully bittersweet. It’s one of those moments where joy and nostalgia sit side by side, both loud and soft at the same time. As I look ahead, I’m excited to explore new opportunities, take risks, and build something that feels like my own path. But there’s also this quiet ache in letting go of the hallways I’ve walked a thousand times, the classrooms where ideas turned into dreams, and the people who became my chosen family. Friends who stood by me in every season. Professors who pushed me, challenged me, and believed in me even when I doubted myself. Leaving all of that behind is harder than I ever expected.
When I think about these years, I realize how lucky I was to be surrounded by people from every major imaginable. Engineers, chemists, artists, business students, each one sees the world in their own way. But I have to give a special mention to the biologists. Those guys have absolutely zero fear of touching anything weird, slimy, or squishy. But beyond that, I admire how they see life, how they can look at a cell, a leaf, or even a mosquito and find meaning in it. They taught me that life, in all its forms, is a miracle of order within chaos; that whether you call it evolution, energy, or God’s
fingerprint, every living thing has a purpose. They reminded me that being a good person isn’t just a moral choice, it’s part of the natural balance we’re meant to protect.
We were also the first generation after the COVID-19 pandemic to truly live on campus again, and that alone shaped us more than we realize. We arrived with this huge, unstoppable energy, excited, hopeful, a little chaotic, ready to make up for all the time we “lost”. We came in with dreams that had been waiting patiently behind a screen for years. Suddenly, the world
felt open again. I don’t know if you remember that first pool party, but at the time, it felt the most incredible thing in the world. After being locked at home, even jumping into a slightly overcrowded pool with people we barely knew felt like a celebration of freedom.
As an engineering student, I also learned to appreaciate the magic that happens when science meets application, when formulas turn into solutions, when ideas become something real. And I think that’s what life is about, too. We should all be the engineers of our own lives: analyze, question, design, test, break things apart, rebuild them, trust our gut, and ultimately create the future we want.
We went from socially distant hellos to latenight study sessions, from awkward first-week introductions to crying, laughing, and planning futures that once felt too far away to imagine. We grew up together in a world that was still healing, maybe that’s what made our bonds stronger. We learned to adapt, to support each other, to rebuild routines and friendships and a sense of normalcy. We became a generation defined not by what we lost, but by how fiercely we lived afterward.
So here’s to us, to the class that came back after a world-changing pause, to the friendships that became home, to the professors who believed in us, to the biologists who lectured us about purpose, and to the people we’re becoming.
Thank you for being part of my story. I’ll carry you all with me into whatever comes next.
What I Found Along the Way By Hanna Romero
“Enjoy every moment in college, because time flies.” When I was about to enter college I heard this phrase from everyone around me. I chose not to believe it because... what do you mean four years will pass so quickly? But here we are, four years later, and it truly feels like they were only a few months. Today, I wish I could slow down these last few days of the semester, just so my friends and I could make every last minute plan we talked about, anything to delay the moment of saying goodbye when we graduate. There is so much uncertainty: When will we share another breakfast together, or go to a party together, or spend an entire day watching movies with our only worry being
the thousands of projects and homeworks due that same night, yet still finding time for each other?
However, if you offered me another semester in college, I would immediately say, “No, thanks.” Don’t get me wrong, I loved the time spent here. It’s just that I don’t feel this is my place anymore. I know my journey here has come to an end, and now that I look back, I see how much I’ve grown. I’ve learned so many things that shaped who I am today. I learned that even when you are scared of doing something, you should still do it. In fact, the scarier it feels, the greater the satisfaciont once you overcome it.
Four years ago, I was not even half as scared as I am today, leaving college. Back then, I got on a plane to move to a state where I didn’t know anyone, not even the city. But I knew I had the opportunity to
build my future here in college. I knew I had to make my own path if I wanted to become the best version of myself, and that is exactly what I tried to do.
I learned everything from the basics, like mopping the floor or cleaning a sink to keep my room clean, to much harder things, like learning to live far away from my family. Honestly, the hardest part was being thousands of kilometers away from them and only being able to visit at the end of each semester. I would have loved to be closer and spend important dates with them. Still, I do not regret even a little bit taking the chance to move out, because it allowed me to find the amazing people I now call my chosen family.
So my recommendation is this: do everything you feel like doing, even if it scares you, because the reward will always be bigger than the fear. My friends taught me many things that shaped me, but one I will always carry with
me is that if you don’t take an opportunity, it will pass, and it might never come again. So take the chance, take the risk, do it for the plot if you want. Because the only thing you already have is a “no”, so you should always chase the “yes”.
Despite the fear I’m feeling right now, I’m excited to close this chapter of my life and open a new one. In fact, the fear is what pushes me to keep looking forward to new experiences. So I will greatly enjoy these last days as a college student and embrace taking this scary path, ready to be amazed by what will come. One more thing I’d like to share is that sometimes you might feel that the choices you make may be wrong. But let me tell you that all of your decisions lead you to the precise moments and places you should be. So you shouldn’t worry too much, because even when it doesn’t look like it, everything eventually falls into place.
Seasons of Change: A Semester of Growth
By Regina Monasterio
This semester has been one of the most intense and transformative chapters of my university journey. I recently returned from an exchange semester in South Korea, and experience that pushed me out of every comfort zone I knew. I had studied abroad before, in France, but this time everything felt completely different. Korea challenged me in new ways, a different language, culture, academic rhythm, and daily routine, and coming back home with all those changes inside me was something I didn’t expect to navigate so deeply.
Adjusting back to life in Mexico wasn’t as effortless as I imagined. I thought everything would fall into place naturally, but instead I found myself juggling a faste academic pace, more demanding courses, and the pressure that comes with being so close to gradaution. Each class felt more technical, more complex,
and more defining. But somewhere between late-night study sessions, project, and deadlines, I discovered a level of resilience in myself that I had never truly recognized.
At the same time, this semester meant managing responsibilities that have become a big part of who I am. Being a Resident Assitant means showing up for students when they need guidance, support, or simply a safe person to talk to. And being the cheer captain, while working alongside the dance and cheer team, brought its own layer of challenges, ntense practices, competitions, leadership expectations, and the constant discipline of being a student athlete. Balancing training with academics is never easy; long days, tired bodies, and still the demand to perform well in both world.s But representing my team and my community has been one of the most rewarding parts of my college experience.
Still, the biggest challenge this semester wasn’t any class or competition, it was handling the combination of everything at once. Coming back from a completely different environment, adapting to cahnges in my personal life, and trying to find my rhythm again took a lot more strength than I expected. There were days when I felt out of place, unsure of how to align who I became abroad with the person I was before. But I’ve learnes that this stage of life is exactly that: a continuous process of readjusting, growing quietly, and embracing change even when it feels overwhelming.
What I take with me from these past months is the reminder that no one has everything figured out, and that’s okay. Everyone moves at their own pace. Even when you feel stuck something inside you is still evolving. Reinventing yourself doesn’t mean you’re lost; it means you’re brave enough to keep moving.
