Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about Veterans Day. San Antonio College’s Veterans Affairs Office will hold a ceremony for SAC’s student veterans. Student veterans make up about 14 percent of our student population. During the ceremony, SAC will officially receive the 2025 Veteran Education Excellence Gold Award from the Texas Veteran’s Commission. This annual award has been given since 2021, and SAC has been honored every year with the Gold Award. We will be joined by Chancelor Dr. Mike Flores and Texas State Senator José Menéndez for the event to recognize our veterans.

As part of the SAC 100th anniversary, we invite the community to take part in our SAC Centennial History Harvest. Faculty members in our history program are collecting the oral histories of our former students, faculty and staff. Please share your personal stories of SAC. We would also like to get photos or copies of any SAC items that you may have. By hearing from our SAC community, we hope to gain a better understanding of just what SAC has meant to those who studied here.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about First Generation Students. This week SAC is celebrating its First-Generation Students with First-Gen week. Students have several opportunities to attend workshops centered around their success in the classroom and beyond. SAC will also host the First-Gen Fest, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6, on the SAC Mall. The event will feature music, games, and food. There will also be campus resources on hand to offer help to SAC’s first-gen community.

This week’s guest is Tracy Floyd, Dean for Student Success, one of the newest members of our College Executive Team. She is a first-generation student and has worked in higher education for 15 years and was recently the Director of Student Success at Northeast Lakeview College She is also a veteran of the US Army where she served as a mental health technician.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about a San Antonio College holding a Fall Commencement Ceremony for the first time. The Fall Commencement is for students who completed their degree plans over the summer or at the end of this semester. Students who are eligible to graduate in December need to complete their graduation application this week – the deadline is Friday, October 31. Graduation candidates will be able to start picking up their caps and gowns starting on Monday, November 17.

SAC is hosting a Blood Drive on Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday. October 30, in the Nursing Building, Room 218. There’s a theme for the blood drive, its called Lucky Draw, and every donor will receive a gift card. Card values range from $10 to $150. The blood drive is sponsored by the SAC chapter of the Texas Student Nurses Association and Alpha Delta Nu, the honor society for nursing students studying for an associate degree.

Shoutout to KSYM’s Patti Garcia, who works in the radio-tv-film program, she will be making her 100th lifetime donation to the blood bank. She says she is dedicating this donation to SAC’s Centennial. Last year, Patti was inducted into the San Antonio Radio Hall of Fame for her long and distinguished career on local radio.

More information on the Fall Commencement Ceremony is at alamo.edu/sac/graduation