Student Spotlight: Javi Fuentes

Award-winning Aggie Represents CEHD at McAllen Campus

Francisco Javier “Javi” Fuentes ’27 has already made an impact at Texas A&M University while getting the Aggie experience over 350 miles away from our flagship campus. The Human Resource Development (HRD) major is part of our inaugural program cohort at Texas A&M’s Higher Education Center at McAllen.

Dr. Paula Yoder and Fuentes celebrate Fuentes’ achievement.

Fuentes started with fewer than 12 classmates but has seen the HRD program at McAllen nearly triple in size in just over a year. He credits the smaller class sizes and student-to-faculty ratio as key factors that led him to enroll. “The other university in our area felt like I was going to be one in a million,” Fuentes explained. “Here, you get to know the professors more. One professor, Dr. Paula Yoder, treats me like her son the way she keeps me on the ball and shares all these grants and opportunities that come up. It’s something where I feel at home.”

Fuentes has demonstrated great initiative in recruitment and leadership in organizing and helping at other University events. He also supports classmates with tutoring in various subjects from degree-related courses to math and science classes.

The flexible schedule and mixture of in-person and online classes have been a key component of Fuentes’ experience. He also credits his online courses with professors in College Station for making him feel like a real part of Texas A&M. “It feels like I’m there at heart, and I feel welcome whenever I come to visit,” Fuentes shared. “I can get the true Aggie experience, even from the comfort of my home.”

For his outstanding leadership, academic excellence and efforts promoting the HRD program in McAllen, Fuentes was recognized with the 2023-24 Educational Human Resource Development Undergraduate Student Achievement Award. Learn more about this honor by clicking here.

For media inquiries, contact Ruben Hidalgo.