THURSDAY, NOV. 13, 2025 VOLUME 100 ISSUE 4
NEWS
PUZZLE
SPORTS
Texas Tech’s School of Nursing ranks first in the nation for the third year in a row. Learn more about what the school offers students.
Check out The Daily Toreador’s originally made crossword.
Texas Tech soccer senior defender Macy Blackburn overcame two knee injuries to win consecutive Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year awards.
CARE facilitates a hands-on learning enviorment for Texas Tech students wanting to enter the veteranarian field.
LA VIDA
He-Brews Coffee manager Camryn Dyer balances being a student and working as the coffee shop manager.
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RECOVERY
Delgado’s mindset allows positivty through cancer journey giving back to his fraternity, Phi Kappa Alpha, as the team’s basketball coach in the Greek Basketball Association, after When Aaron Delgado first noticed Delgado was diagnosed his fraternity swelling in his neck, he brushed it off. decided to give back to him. Fellow member and close friend Between engineering classes, Student Government Association Amith Ochoa, a fourth-year with a dual meetings and fraternity events, the major in management and marketing 18-year-old mechanical engineering from Lubbock, said he decided to start major from Prosper, originally from a GoFundMe for Delgado shortly after New York, who’s also minoring in aero- he was diagnosed. That same Gospace engineering and FundMe went on to math, didn’t imagine $30,000 to help offit could be something set medical costs life-threatening. (Cancer) showed me throughout Delgado’s Months later — time in the hospital. after many appoint- that all those days “Aaron is the most ments and a biopsy before, when I was positive guy I know that initially came healthy, I should have back negative —he enjoyed it more and not always smiling, always was informed he had stressed about the little friendly,” Ochoa said. “He was one of those stage four classical things. people you instantHodgkin’s lymphoma. AARON DELGADO ly feel comfortable “As soon as I was diagnosed, that prob- PHI KAPPA ALPHA MEMBER around.” As the donations lem (cancer) became my whole world,” Delgado said. “It and messages of encouragement showed me that all those days before, poured in, Ochoa said it was a powerwhen I was healthy, I should have en- ful reminder of who Delgado was as a joyed it more and not stressed about person and the impact he continues to make on people. the little things.” “It was amazing, just seeing the While he spends most of his time By SHELBY RADFORD Staff Writer
sheer amount of love and support,” Ochoa said.“It’s a testament to Aaron’s character. If I could make him feel even a fraction of love he’s given all of us, that’s what I wanted to do.” The wave of support reminded Delgado he wasn’t fighting alone, and he said every message, donation and phone call from his fraternity reminded him that he had a community standing behind him. “People I wasn’t even that close to (started) reaching out,” he said. “It showed me people really do care about me, and that kept me motivated to keep going.” Delgado stayed enrolled at Tech, switching to online classes in March to complete them at home. Classes like calculus three, differential equations and circuits gave him something to do back home in between treatments. “My professors were great,” he said. “They gave me the time I needed.” Being back in Lubbock along with classes, basketball practices and games, he still schedules lab work, doctor visits and infusions once every two weeks. Most days are normal college days, with late-night library sessions punctuated by morning check-ins at the Joe Arrington Cancer Center for
MAKAYLA PEREZ/The Daily Toreador
Texas Tech junior mechanical engineering major from Prosper, Aaron Delgado, poses for a photo with his Guns Up in front of the Pi Kappa Alpha lodge.
immunotherapy. Before college, Delgado always wanted to be an engineer and work for a companies like Boeing to engineer space and aircrafts. Now in remission, he plans to continue pursuing this dream. “I have always wanted to have a job where I can make a difference in someone’s life every day,” he said. “I know if I
stick through the hard years of college classes, I will be able to do that.” If Delgado could leave his classmates with one takeaway, he said it would be to take their health very seriously, even in college. “We think we’re invincible, but we are not,” he said. @ShelbyradfordDT
TECHNOLOGY
Tech, Fermi create first Energy, Intelligence Campus By ALLIE SCOTT NeWS editor
The Texas Tech System established a partnership with energy and technology company Fermi America over the summer. This partnership will create an Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus in Panhandle, Texas and is expected to complete by the mid-2030s. The energy and data infrastructure campus will be named Project Matador — The President Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus. Trump’s former energy secretary and Fermi co-founder Rick Perry is spearheading the initiative. The collaboration aims to advance artificial intelligence, data management and energy development and management while creating opportunities for students, faculty and regional partners, according to the Tech System. “It’s been an amazing partnership. They (Tech) have the land out near PanTex, and we knew that land was incredibly valuable because of the natural gas, water, fiber infrastructure, helium and the relationship next door to PanTex,” said Cathy Landtroop, Fermi chief marketing and communications officer. PanTex is the U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration primary facility for the assembly, dismantlement and
maintenance of nuclear weapons. The Project Matador campus will be the first private power grid in the U.S., meaning nuclear energy will be generated on-site. Fermi plans to create the largest nuclear power complex in the U.S. — the HyperGrid — as a future power source for the 18-million-square-feet gigawatt AI campus. The development will generate up to 11 gigawatts of power to provide consistent power required for its data centers. It will also support between 15 and 18 million square feet of AI data infrastructure, according to the Tech System. 11 gigawatts is enough to power New York City twice, according to a Fermi news release. The HyperGrid will draw power from clean natural gas, nuclear, solar and battery power, rather than the U.S. grid. Landtroop said Fermi partnered with Tech because it presents as a major asset and premier location. Lubbock is located approximately 158 miles from the Fermi site in Carson County, providing an easy commute for Lubbock-based employees and
students. Fermi holds a 99-year sovereign lease with approximately 5,855 acres in Carson County. The land was granted by the Tech System,
GRAPHIC BY ANALISA DELUNA
according to Fermi America. Tech will $12.2 million in base rent from Fermi following the lease commencement date, according to the Fermi, Tech System agreement.
“The university just adds so much to it. It adds incredible research, brain power and brainstorming,” Landtroop said. A Tech research facility will also be located on-site, allowing students, faculty and researchers to work directly with experts as Project Matador develops over the next 15 years. “ T h e y ( Te c h ) w i l l be helping innovate, research and lead the way,” Landtroop said. “It will be a great draw for professors and students that want to be on the ground with the next nuclear project in the country.” The partnership’s educational component is expected to include internships, training programs and research collaborations, Landtroop said. The goal is to give students hands-on experience solving real-world energy and infrastructure challenges. “It will be a great draw for professors and students that want to be on the ground with the next nuclear project in the country, or work with natural gas, or be in the AI space,” Landtroop said. The site will also include an academic
and research facility including office, classroom and conference spaces, according to the Tech System. “There’s no more hands-on project in the world right now than Fermi America,” Landtroop said. “If you’re a student at Texas Tech and you’re hungry and willing to work, you’re about to be at the epicenter of multiple industries.” Landtroop said the partnership adds diversity to jobs and opportunities that are offered in West Texas, specifically to Tech students who are excited to learn. “We’re excited to mentor students who are eager to learn … and to learn from those students that see things differently or challenge ideas or concepts,” Landtroop said. Fermi plans to meet with professors from Tech colleges in the next two to three weeks to begin outlining areas of research collaboration, Landtroop said. She said will meet with professors and learn about how issues addressed in Tech research can be implemented at Fermi, noting she wants both parties to learn from each other. “We’re always curious and asking questions for how we can improve upon the success of yesterday and that works beautifully with a college campus like Texas Tech focused on answering those questions and providing research,” Landtroop said. @AllieScottDT
TRANSFERS
Established winning culture draws in men’s basketball recruits By CORY WHITMAN SportS reporter
In Grant McCasland’s two seasons as head coach of Texas Tech men’s basketball, the program has gone 51-20, including two NCAA Tournament appearances and an Elite Eight showing. Of the five players the Red Raiders brought into the program from the transfer portal this offseason, one player, sophomore forward Luke Bamgboye, has been a part of the NCAA Tournament.
McCasland said he prefers this when recruiting. “They came here because they wanted to be a part of winning,” McCasland said. “That’s it first. A lot of people are talked about financially and NIL and all the accolades that come with being here and playing, but honestly what we focused on is guys that want to win.” Last season, the Red Raiders took a different approach toward experience in the portal with four out of the five transfer additions
playing in the NCAA Tournament prior to their tenure in Lubbock. With this group of additions not having that same experience in March, McCasland said it brings an eagerness to come together as a team and band toward the common goal. “ We w e r e r e c r u i t i n g g u y s that only played in the NCAA Tournament, and then you kind of can get this mix of now guys that are like, ‘I just want to have the opportunity to compete,’” M c C a s l a n d s a i d . “ I t ’s b e e n
awesome to have a team that comes here with the focus on how do we win as a team.” The sentiment of getting to the championship game in March isn’t just vocalized by the coaching staff, but the players as well. Senior guard Donovan Atwell transferred to the Red Raiders this offseason after spending three seasons at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Atwell said the decision to move over 20 hours to a new program in his final season of eligibility
boiled down to McCasland and his ultimate goal of winning a national championship. “I just believed in what his plan was,” Atwell said. “Also they win. They win here a lot, and I want to be a part of that. They get to March Madness every year, and I want to get to experience that and get to that last game in March. That definitely was a big focal point in winning for sure.” SEE TRANSFERS, PG. 4