FIRST GRADUATES — The inaugural graduating class of the Irma Rangel College of Pharmacy read aloud the “Oath of a Pharmacist” Saturday at the end of the historic ceremony. (Photo by Erika Hernandez) History was made Saturday when 74 graduates were honored as the first to receive their Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree in the inaugural commencement of the Irma Rangel College of Pharmacy on the campus of Texas A&M University- Kingsville.

Coinciding with the historical commencement was the birthday of the late State Rep. Rangel, a native of Kingsville, whose dedication and commitment brought the first professional school to South Texas in 2006.

“Representative Rangel would be very happy and pleased with what has happened today,” Indra K. Reddy, Ph. D., dean of the HSC-Rangel College of Pharmacy said at a celebratory luncheon held prior to the commencement Saturday. “Our resources have been one hundred percent utilized and I am proud to say that we have a one hundred percent retention rate with this inaugural class.”

The 74 graduates started the four-year program together in August of 2006 and all completed the program together on time as planned.

Also speaking at the luncheon was Nancy W. Dickey, M.D., president of the Texas A&M Health Science Center, who praised the students for their achievement and thanked local dignitaries for their continued support of the pharmacy school although the journey to this day was not always smooth.

The college building stood empty for a full year after completion due to lack of operating funds and the outlook at a grand opening was dismal until the Texas A&M Health Science Center stepped in.

“I would like to thank Mayor Sam Fugate, former State Rep. Juan Escobar, J.M. Lozano, and Senator Carlos Truan, who matched Rangel’s bill in the House with a bill in the Senate, for all of their cooperation and assistance in making this day possible,” Dickey said.

“What a birthday present this is.”

Dickey also spoke of the hope that graduates from the school would stay in South Texas and give back to the community.

Indeed many graduates have already signed on to work throughout the Coastal Bend and Rio Grande Valley.

Texas State Senator Leticia Van de Putte, D-District 26, gave the commencement address at Saturday’s ceremony.

A pharmacist for 30 years and in her fifth term as state senator, she spoke to the graduates of her experiences as a pharmacist in San Antonio and of her memories of Rep. Rangel, whom she called one of her heroes.

Van de Putte, whose grandfather was also a pharmacist in San Antonio, also mentioned her mentor Minnie Rangel Henderson, Rangel’s late sister whose daughter Debbie, also a local pharmacist, was among the honored guests at the ceremony.

“The example that these two extraordinary women set is the example I have looked to for myself,” Van de Putte said.

“This is a momentous day and she would be so proud of each and every one of you.”

First elected in 1976, Representative Rangel served her South Texas district for 26 years.

As the first female Mexican American legislator and first and only woman to serve as Chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, she paved the way for others like Van de Putte to follow.

The HSC-Rangel College of Pharmacy, located on the Texas A&M University- Kingsville campus, was created in response to the shortage of pharmacists in the border region.

During the first three years of its existence, the college has ranked first in Hispanic enrollment among the nation’s colleges and schools of pharmacy.

Students receiving their Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) are listed by hometown as follows:

Texas Residents

Alamo: Rigoberto O. Rivera

Alice: Jose F. Trejo II

Arlington: Hieu D. Dao, Andrea M. Gilmore, Thuy- Ngan Thi Huynh, BaAimee T. Nguyen

Austin: Vu N. Dang

Beeville: Debra A. Thomas

Big Sandy: Jacob B. Williamson

Boerne: Sean L. Schmidt

Brownsville: Steven M. Valdez

Corpus Christi: Bryan R. Cook, Armando Garcia Jr., Elizabeth Ann Kiolbassa, Gavon W. Morrison, Sergio E. Valdes, Elaina Lynn Wilkins, Erin Donahoe Williamsor

Clifton: Jennifer L. Villalpando

Cuero: Cody R. Sweatman Edinburg: Manuel Rendon II, Christina L. Villarreal, Daniel Villarreal, Jr.

El Paso: Sebastian E. Perez, Charles C. Rolph, Elizabeth B. Tavizon-Refaei

Gainesville: Chelsea Marie Denney

Hidalgo: Leonardo D. Lopez

Highland Village: Chloe H. Lee

Houston: Ifeoma Anekwe, Peter H. Duong, Nga Phoung Le, Dimpesh H. Mehta, Stephanie T. Ngo, Susanna N. Nguyen, Yen H. Nguyen

Kingsville: Eugenio Enrique Castillo, Rene X. Flores, Melissa A. Seeley

Laredo: Joel Sauceda, Jr.

McAllen: Aaron E. Garcia, Davender S. Kanwar, Aanchal Kumar Thadani, Francis Phuong Visitacion

Mission: Eleuterio Garza

Nacogdoches: Brian D. McCarty

Ore City: Jennifer M. Thompson

Pharr: Verenice Olmeda Plano: Tram T. Duong

Portland: Chad K. Gibson

Raymondville: Oscar Ramirez, Jr.

Round Rock: Jonathan D. Rutledge

Roma: Miryam Gallegos

San Angelo: Jonathan M. Wagner

San Antonio: Christopher Michael Benito, Sanjay Michael Devadoss, Timothy Ryan DuParc, William E. Quigley, Aries R. Rodriguez, Hui Y. Yun

San Benito: Leonel Ramirez, Jr., Rodolfo Rangel

San Diego: Valerie Marie Oliveira

Santa Fe: Andrew C. McDonald II

Tomball: Alexia N. Westerhausen

Tyler: Sonia Auellanda Borja

Valley Mills: Justin C. Markley

Waxahachie: Tiffany B. Davis

Zapata: Irma Araceli Martinez

Non-Texas Residents

Immokalee, Florida: Johanne Pierre-Fils

Garden City, Kansas: David T. Le

Shreveport, Louisiana: Christopher S. King

Southhaven, Mississippi: Leigh Anne Lunsford

Cary, North Carolina: Veronica Marie Kerner