Austin, TX

Concordia University Texas celebrates its first music education graduate

Published

1 year ago

December 31, 2023

Concordia University Texas celebrates its first music education graduate

“Mr. C! Mr. C!” Liberty Middle School students called in the hallway when they saw Ramon Cisneros, a Concordia University Texas student who was teaching his first class. To the children, Cisneros was not just a college student; he was their teacher.

Cisneros became Concordia University Texas’ first music education graduate in December. In the fall, he had begun teaching band to a class of sixth grade students as part of his work to gain professional experience.

During a Zoom call from his classroom on the last day of class at the middle school, he told the American-Statesman it was a sad day for him.

“Students here at the middle school saying goodbye to me, and we’re just exchanging our last day together,” he said.

When Cisneros arrived at the school five months earlier, students were barely taking the plastic off their saxophones. Some had never played. He had taught private piano lessons before, but never a full class.

The task was challenging, he said, but also rewarding. He was surprised by how well he connected with the students, and he said the fulfillment from sharing his passion was gratifying.

“I saw them (from) barely touching that instrument to playing in a concert about a week ago,” he said. “That’s pretty cool.

“Even if it’s a simple song, you were the one that gave them that ability to do that. Once you see it, it’s kind of like your own reward in a way.”

In recognition of his passion and work, Cisneros, along with 44 other Texas students, received the Collegiate Music Educator Award from the Texas Music Educators Association.

“Award recipients represent the finest and most dedicated future music educators in Texas,” Robert Floyd, the executive director of the association, told the Statesman in a statement. “It is truly an honor to be nominated by one’s college or university.”

Whitney Crowley, the Concordia music department chair and Cisneros’ mentor, nominated him for the award. She said he “pioneered” the music education major for the university, all while teaching middle school students.

“He’s able to take what he loves and pass that on to students,” Crowley said. “He’s gone above and beyond, in addition to being our very first (music education graduate), in being an amazing role model for all these younger musicians that are going to follow him.”

Cisneros grew up in Brownsville. At 4 years old, he would play songs on his toy piano. When he heard Beethoven for the first time, his love for music solidified.

“The beautiful classical music just kind of touched my soul when I was a kid,” he said.

Cisneros transferred to Concordia University Texas from Austin Community College. He initially was hesitant to pursue a music degree and instead tried different fields.

“There’s always a choice that you have to make when you get out of high school,” he said. “It’s like, OK, do you want money, or do you want to pursue the thing that you really want to pursue?”

He couldn’t get music out of his mind. His wife, another Concordia graduate, introduced him to the school, and he transferred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pursuing education with music became his compromise, his goal.

“I always loved that there was always a room available with a piano or an open room where I was able to just practice” at Concordia, he said.

At his commencement ceremony, Concordia’s president asked him to stand up to be recognized as the school’s first music graduate. His family and his wife’s family — many of them educators ― came to the graduation to celebrate him.

With his degree in hand, he plans to substitute teach until full-time positions open for the next school year. He said his dream career is to be a professor in music technology, composition and audio engineering.

He said his advice for students is to follow their passions.

“Trust yourself; trust your instincts; something is going to happen,” he said. “You’re always going to find a way.”

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Austin, TX

How many immigrants have been arrested? See which Texas cities had ICE raids this weekend

Published

7 hours ago

January 27, 2025

Press Room

How many immigrants have been arrested? See which Texas cities had ICE raids this weekend

Within a week of Donald Trump’s second term as president, several raids were conducted by ICE agents throughout Texas as well as the rest of the U.S. Upon entering office last Monday, Trump delivered on a campaign promise and issued an executive order to “protect the American people against invasion.” His administration has said the aggressive deportation efforts would prioritize “violent offenders.”

The Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted with the Texas operations.

An ICE spokesperson confirmed the raids in North Texas in an emailed statement to Texas Public Radio:

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with our federal law enforcement partners began conducting enhanced targeted operations today in North Texas and the state of Oklahoma to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities.“

How many undocumented immigrants have been arrested?

Beginning Thursday, Jan. 23, ICE has reported single-day U.S. statistics for the number of individuals arrested and charged with a crime as well as those detained.

Jan. 23: 538 arrests, 373 detainers lodged
Jan. 24: 593 arrests, 449 detainers lodged
Jan. 25: 286 arrests, 421 detainers lodged
Jan. 26: 956 arrests, 554 detainers lodged

Similar operations occurred in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey and New York, according to various news reports.

It is unclear how many of these arrests and detainments occurred in Texas. However, several cities across the Lone Star State saw these “enhanced targeted operations” on Sunday.

Where did the ICE raids happen in Texas?

Officials have yet to confirm how many undocumented immigrants were apprehended in Texas Sunday. However, local news outlets suggest the following areas have been subjected to the raids:

How many undocumented immigrants are in Texas?

About 1.6 million unauthorized immigrants reside in Texas, according to July 2024 data in a Pew Research Center report.

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Austin, TX

ICE conducts 'targeted enforcement' in Austin over weekend

Published

19 hours ago

January 27, 2025

Press Room

ICE conducts 'targeted enforcement' in Austin over weekend

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted “targeted enforcement actions” in Austin and other cities on Sunday, the DEA Houston division confirmed.

“The DEA Houston division assisted DHS with their targeted enforcement actions. We’ve assisted in several cities to include Austin,” said DEA spokesperson Sally Sparks in a text message to KUT News.

The DEA Houston division operates in a large swath of Texas, all the way from the southern border to as far north as Waco.

The division posted photos associated with the operations on X, formerly known as Twitter, Sunday.

According to ICE, enforcement operations involve “the identification, arrest, detention and removal of aliens who are subject to removal or are unlawfully present in the United States.” KUT News has reached out to Homeland Securities Investigations for further details about Sunday’s operations.

The news of ICE’s activities in Austin comes just over a week after Trump administration “border czar” Tom Homan said ICE would begin conducting illegal immigration enforcement raids. Homan said those raids would begin Tuesday, Jan. 21, and identified Chicago as an early target in an interview with Fox News.

“We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them go arrest criminal aliens. That’s what’s gonna happen,” Homan said.

ICE confirmed to the Texas Newsroom that operations are also underway in North Texas, where dozens of individuals were arrested over the weekend.

KXAN was first to report the news of ICE’s operations in Austin.

This is a developing story.

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Austin, TX

Yellow Jackets Fall to No. 1 Texas in Championship Match

Published

1 day ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

Yellow Jackets Fall to No. 1 Texas in Championship Match

AUSTIN, Texas – The Yellow Jackets faced the number one team in college tennis on Sunday but fell 0-4 to Texas in the championship match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Austin Regional.

In doubles action, Texas jumped to a quick 1-0 lead on the day, claiming doubles courts one and three. The duo of Sebastian Eriksson and Jonah Braswell got a 6-3 over the Tech pairing of Gabriele Brancatelli and Robert Bauer, before the No. 7 ranked doubles team of Lucas Brown and Timo Legout got a 6-4 win over No. 19 Krish Arora and Christophe Clement.

In singles action, the Yellow Jackets were unable to stop the Longhorns’ momentum, eventually dropping three singles matches, and falling 0-4 in the championship match.

No. 90 ranked Nate Bonetto faced Legout, who is ranked No. 3, but fell 1-6, 1-6, putting Texas up 2-0.

Branctelli took on No. 2 Sebastian Gorzny, but dropped his match 3-6, 2-6.

Sebastian Eriksson of Texas closed out the win for the Longhorns, defeating Georgia Tech’s Gianluca Carlini 6-1, 6-3.

Tech will be back in action Thursday, Jan. 30, as they welcome Georgia State to the Ken Byers Tennis Complex for a match at 4 p.m.

#1 Texas 4, Georgia Tech 0
Singles

#3 Timo Legout (TEX) def. #90 Nate Bonetto (GT) 6-1, 6-1
#2 Sebastian Gorzny (TEX) def. Gabriele Brancatelli (GT) 6-3, 6-2
Pierre-Yves Bailly (TEX) vs. Christophe Clement (GT) 6-4, 4-0, unfinished
#20 Jonah Braswell (TEX) vs. Krish Arora (GT) 7-5, 1-0, unfinished
Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) def. Gianluca Carlini (GT) 6-1, 6-3
#116 Lucas Brown (TEX) vs. Richard Biagiotti (GT) 6-3, 2-3, unfinished

Doubles

#7 Lucas Brown/Timo Legout (TEX) def. #19 Krish Arora/Christophe Clement (GT) 6-4
Sebastian Gorzny/Pierre-Yves Bailly (TEX) vs. #44 Nate Bonetto/Gianluca Carlini (GT) 6-5, unfinished
Sebastian Eriksson/Jonah Braswell (TEX) def. Gabriele Brancatelli/Robert Bauer (GT) 6-3

Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on X (@GT_MTEN), Instagram (GT_MTEN), Facebook (Georgia Tech Men’s Tennis) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com

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