Having earned regional and national recognition multiple times in its first four years of existence, Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s Honors Program assumed a local leadership position by hosting the San Antonio Honors Symposium on March 21. This was the program’s first time hosting the annual event.
The daylong event, coined “Open Minds, Open Futures,” was the third iteration of the symposium. Nine universities and community colleges presented 45 research projects, with individual awards handed out to recognize student achievements.
A&M-San Antonio students swept the first-, second-, and third-place awards in the research poster category for upper-division undergraduates. The winners included:
“Winning first place affirms that I am on the right path in my educational journey,” said Opiela, a psychology major. “Seeing that the judges recognized the same potential I see within myself made this a full-circle moment. This achievement has given me confidence and confirmation that I am meant to pursue a career in research.”
The symposium helps nurture efforts to establish honors programs that challenge students to delve into topics meaningful to themselves and society as a whole.
“Honors programs play an important role in elevating the whole university,” said Dr. William S. Bush, professor of history and director of A&M-San Antonio’s Honors Program, who developed the symposium with Sam Evans of Palo Alto College. Evans, who was an assistant professor of government, passed away suddenly late last year and was honored at the event.
A&M-San Antonio’s Honors Program launched its first cohort in fall 2022. Now there are 130 students. Students in the program must maintain a 3.25 grade point average. It is an interdisciplinary initiative designed to serve the top 10% of graduating high school classes as well as high-achieving transfer and continuing students. The program supports some costs for students to present at conferences or participate in experiential programs in their major disciplines. It also offers an Honors Study Abroad experience, which included a trip to the United Kingdom last June.
Honors Program students work with faculty members to maintain a portfolio documenting their work and experiences, including an honors research project that can become the basis for presentations at conferences and symposia.
Recent examples include Ingrid Moncivaez, who won first place at the 2026 Great Plains Honors Conference, a six-state competition that took place on March 6-7 at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. Her research poster, “Urban Design and Human Flourishing,” studies how city planning contributes to mental and physical well-being.
Another honor student, Cody Garcia, won second place at the 2024 National Collegiate Honors Conference for research analyzing how knowledge gaps play a role in shaping legal perceptions and voting patterns.
Many of A&M–San Antonio’s students are the first in their families to attend college. Bush notes that thriving in the honors program and presenting at conferences are significant personal milestones. Students often overcome imposter syndrome and self-doubt through public speaking and research experiences
“One of the exciting things about this program has been watching students grow in confidence and professionalism,” Bush said. “Their work ethic is incredible.”
Hosting the San Antonio Honors Symposium places a spotlight on individual achievement, as well as the University’s Honors Program and its academic mission. One of the primary reasons for launching the local event was to provide a forum for schools that lacked the means to send their top performers to out-of-state conferences, Bush said.
“It’s really been a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats approach for honors programs across the city,” said Bush. “The symposium has helped foster a cross-campus honors community in San Antonio and South Texas.”