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South Texas Ideas
Organizing and mobilizing youth from all over the Rio Grande Valley to celebrate the unique culture, community and identity of South Texas.
Meet 2023's Speakers!
Thomas Ray Garcia is the founder and executive director of the College Scholarship Leadership Access Program (CSLAP), a nonprofit that teaches classes on the college application process and connects near-peer mentors to high school students. Mr. Garcia is also the author of several books on the Texas-Mexico borderlands, including The River Runs: Stories and El Curso de la Raza: The Education of Aurelio Manuel Montemayor.
Thomas Ray Garcia
Culture. Community. Identity.
Serving as an exposé about the life and resources of the Rio Grande Valley, South Texas Ideas is a platform created by and for young adults to engage in an actionable dialogue about culture, community, and identity.
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Prestigious keynote speakers
We invite inspirational community leaders and local figures to give a TED-style talk to the youth of the Valley that revolves around a common message: the youth are both the future and the present of South Texas!
Actively engaged youth organizers
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Our team of bright, passionate youth begins to assemble in the fall semester and combines a wide range of talents: outreach, activity planning, fundraising, social media, and many more community building skills!
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Followers from both sides of La Frontera
After hosting our first festival in 2017, we have amassed an audience of young people and adults alike from all over the world, and we're still just getting started!
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Hours of spreading ideas worth sharing
Our annual festivals are structured to give our attendees the time and space to have open conversations about traditionally avoided topics with both our lineup of speakers and other youth from all over the Valley!
STXi 2019 Highlights
Change Makers
Youth Advocates
Visionaries