The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is the institution of choice for many resilient students who come from all sorts of backgrounds. As a Hispanic Serving Institute (HSI) on the border, some students come from backgrounds that instill doubt and fear when it comes to education, but every year UTEP chooses their Top 10 Seniors that represent the university through their achievements, passions and advocacy.
The 2024-2025 Top 10 Seniors were students with a variety of majors ranging from STEM to humanities. Although the students come from different walks of life, one similarity they all carry is their inextinguishable need to give back to the community that raised them.
Alexa Carranco, 22, graduated with her bachelor’s in Chicano studies in Dec. 2024. Her college career included, but was not limited to, participating in advocacy groups such as becoming president of UTEP’s Texas Rising Chapter and secretary of Chicano Law Society, and she studied in Washington D.C. during the 2024 election through The Archer Fellowship Program.
Carranco is passionate about protecting the rights of those from communities like hers, marginalized groups and immigrants.
“Looking back, I think being from El Paso, my parents being from Juarez, and growing up seeing a lot of immigration related issues with my family, had really sparked something in me,” Carranco said. “At the time the incident with George Floyd just happened, the Black Lives Matter movement was rising, and I think a lot of people in El Paso were starting to take action after Aug. 3, 2019, as well. That was a tipping point for me.”
Carranco is currently preparing to take the Law School Administration Test (LSAT) so she could begin her journey in the legal field starting Fall 2026. After law school she’d enjoy being a civil rights or immigration lawyer in El Paso to give back.
Victor Estrada-Jimenez is another December 2024 graduate with a bachelors in cellular and molecular biochemistry. His journey included crossing the El Paso-Juarez border nearly every day for him to obtain his education, which he said meant he had to put in more effort to succeed. Although a difficult obstacle to get through, his ambition kept him going.
The Top 10 Senior Award is his one last hoorah as he expresses it was a great way for all his hard work and dedication to be recognized.
“There are a bunch of different things that go against [international students]. The main one I think about is the money. Every dollar is 20 pesos, so I need to work 20 times as hard to be on the same playing field who are citizens or residents in the United States,” Estrada said.
His accomplishments include an internship with University of Texas Healthcare, the opportunity to co-author published scientific journals and present research at multiple conferences and he was a recipient of scholarships such as UTEP’s Hawkins Scholarship. Estrada will be attending the University of Colorado to begin his doctorate in immunology this fall.
“Part of the reason I want to go into immunology is because I want to look into diseases, but I also want to see how it affects the people,” Estrada said. “I do hope that my doctorate furthers my education, but I never want to lose sight of what’s important and that is the health of the people. At the end of the day it’s to help people have a better life.”
Georgina Bugarini graduated with a bachelors in biological sciences. She expresses her gratitude to the Terry Scholarship Program which allowed her to focus on her studies without added financial stress. She was also a researcher, peer leader, and overall, heavily involved in organizations she felt pushed her along her college career. She will be attending UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine this fall. Her experience was filled with friendship and success that she said she will hold closely throughout her life.
When she starts her journey at medical school, she still looks forward to participating in volunteer work and clinics that will give back to the communities she’s in. One day, she hopes to come back and practice medicine in El Paso with the same goal.
“I do hope I can open my own clinic for underserved communities,” Bugarini said. “I got inspiration from volunteering at El Paso Baptist Clinic. I hope that I can model their clinic as well and have my own clinic to help communities where they don’t have the status to pay for healthcare, which is a very sad thing. Every human being should have healthcare.”
She hopes her experiences growing up and helping in a largely Mexican American community are something she can take with her throughout her career.
“When I interned last summer, physicians would ask ‘Does anyone know Spanish?’ I want to be able to help these communities and be a physician who’s able to speak Spanish. I think patients feel so much more trusting when you can speak in their language,” Bugarini said.
The culture that these Top 10 Seniors grew up in is a large factor of their future which includes giving back. These graduates have studied and worked beyond limits and strive to keep their ambition on fire through their lifelong careers.
Jesie Garcia is a staff reporter and may be reached at [email protected] or on Instagram @empanaditawrites.
