Hector Villalobos

Off the Court

UTEP alumni, as Hector Villalobos tells it on the shows. Each story was checked against its source.

• Rubén Salazarpioneering Mexican-American journalist

  Rubén Salazar got his journalism degree here in 1954, back when we were Texas Western. He was the first Mexican-American journalist in mainstream media to cover the Chicano community. Un orgullo, El Paso. One of ours told the story first.

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• Ginger KerrickNASA flight director

  Ginger Kerrick started college as a Miner, became a physicist, and then the first Hispanic female flight director at NASA. When Houston answers, sometimes it's El Paso talking. Ándale!

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• Martha E. Bernalfirst Latina psychology PhD

  Martha Bernal, one of ours, was the first Latina to earn a PhD in psychology in the United States. First one through the door, and she started right here on the border.

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• Charles A. Steenstruck uranium, started a boom

  Charles Steen, geology, class of 1943. In 1952 he struck uranium, swapped a tarpaper shack for a mansion, and flew his own plane to weekly rumba lessons. By 1968 he'd filed for bankruptcy. A real Miner, y'all. Boom and bust.

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• John D. OlivasNASA astronaut

  John Olivas took his engineering degree at UTEP in 1989, and NASA picked him to be an astronaut in 1998. Miners usually dig down, right? This one went the other way. Órale!

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