![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/leslie-cranford.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Maria-Soledad Velasquez was the first graduate of Texas Tech Online\u2019s $10K Degree
\n Completion program in El Paso.<\/p>\n
\t\tCREATORS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In early February 2025, El Paso native Maria-Soledad Velasquez was driving when she She laughed to herself. \u201cOkay, God,\u201d she thought. \u201cI get it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n By the end of that evening, she had already looked up the program and submitted an Maria had had her shot at college, more than once, but she was never able to finish. Alex Garcia, director of TTU El Paso, recalls the first time he met Maria, sitting \u201cAfter she was given all the information, her immediate response, without hesitation, Maria started the microcredentials piece of the program in late March \u2013 four short She was then able to formally enroll for the online portion of the program, officially By December Maria had done what once felt impossible: she completed her Online Bachelor of Science in Leadership Studies<\/a>, with a focus on human resource (HR) development. Her concentrations included leadership Like many post-traditional students, Maria\u2019s academic path didn\u2019t follow a straight \u201cI realized I didn\u2019t want to look at numbers for the rest of my life,\u201d she said, shaking Recognizing that accounting wasn\u2019t the right fit, Maria shifted her major to HR development. Years passed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just snowballs,\u201d Maria said. \u201cOne day you look up, and before you know it, you\u2019re During those years away from the classroom, Maria built an impressive professional One of those roles placed her in the middle of an intense and high-stakes challenge: The financial strain was significant. Nearly a million dollars had to be repaid and \u201cIt was a very sketchy time in the business,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to do numbers, Despite how demanding the work was, Maria had mastered it. The company owner noticed \u201cHe kept telling me, \u2018You\u2019re bigger than this place,\u2019\u201d Maria recalled. \u201c\u2018You\u2019re never That encouragement stayed with her. When she decided to return to school, she tried \u201cIt just didn\u2019t feel right to start over after everything I\u2019d already done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She even reached back out to Texas A&M, hoping to finish her degree virtually, but Then there came that radio commercial. And the scroll-stopping ad on her phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n Through the El Paso $10K program, Maria found an institution willing to meet her where Serna, who had first contact with Maria, emphasizes the qualities that helped the \u201cMaria will always stand out as a motivated and optimistic force who spearheaded student At first Maria planned to take it slow, one class at a time. But when Adkins reviewed \u201cI remember thinking, \u2018I\u2019m a full-time grown-up,\u2019\u201d Maria said. \u201c\u2018I work full time. Still, she trusted the guidance and decided to try.<\/p>\n What followed was one of the busiest but most meaningful semesters of her life.<\/p>\n Maria\u2019s days started early with work from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Evenings were devoted \u201cIt really felt like everything aligned,\u201d Maria said. \u201cI was exactly where I needed The dance studio community even noticed her determination. The director purchased As her former boss expected and hoped, not long after graduating, Maria found her Her work reflects the same care and organization she brought to managing businesses Looking back, Maria sees her journey as proof of Texas Tech\u2019s promise: From Here, \u201cFor students like me \u2013 working parents, transfers, people who\u2019ve been out of school From fleeting ads that could have been ignored and a moment of curiosity-turned-inquiry, And sometimes, that opportunity finds you right when you\u2019re ready to hear it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maria-Soledad Velasquez was the first graduate of Texas Tech Online\u2019s $10K Degree Completion program in El Paso. CREATORS…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-242260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n heard it the first time: a radio ad about Texas Tech University<\/a>\u2019s El Paso $10K Degree Completion program<\/a>. Later that same day, as she scrolled through Facebook and Instagram, the message
\n appeared again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n inquiry. The very next day, she was contacted by Jennifer Serna, a Texas Tech advisor
\n in El Paso. What felt like a coincidence quickly became a path forward.<\/p>\n
\n The nudges from seemingly out of nowhere caught her attention.<\/p>\n![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Alex-Garcia-EP-Director.jpg\")
Alex Garcia<\/p>\n
\n in on her Zoom advising session.<\/p>\n
\n was, \u2018Great, where do I sign up?\u2019\u201d Garcia said. \u201cWe immediately registered her for
\n the microcredential classes. And the rest is history, as she became our first El Paso
\n $10K graduate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n courses held onsite in El Paso, tailored to meet the needs of working professionals
\n \u2013 and completed them by June.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n becoming a Red Raider with the help of Texas Tech Online Student Advocate Brianna
\n Adkins.<\/p>\n
\n studies, organizational management and interdisciplinary studies. She graduated cum
\n laude.<\/p>\n![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Maria-shaking-hands-Schovanec.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n line. She began her college journey at Texas A&M University right out of high school,
\n with plans to become an accountant. Math came easily to her. Her father was an accountant,
\n and she had even worked alongside him as an intern at Johnson Controls in Ju\u00e1rez the
\n summer between high school and college. Accounting felt practical, stable and familiar.
\n But once she was deep into her coursework, something still hadn\u2019t clicked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n her head at the irony. \u201cWhich is funny, because I still ended up looking at numbers
\n anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n The change aligned more closely with her strengths \u2014 working with people, managing
\n operations and keeping organizations running smoothly. She completed much of the coursework
\n for her bachelor\u2019s degree and built a strong foundation in HR. But life, as it often
\n does, had other plans. School was put on pause, but work continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n in your 30s with kids and you didn\u2019t finish school.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Maria](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Maria-Kids-winter.jpg\")
Maria with daughters Erika (left) and Allison<\/p>\n
\n resume. She managed four different companies under one umbrella, gaining hands-on
\n experience that many graduates only encounter years after earning a degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n helping stabilize a general contracting company after a previous contractor took payment
\n and disappeared before finishing the job.<\/p>\n
\n managed as the project moved forward. Maria helped oversee subcontracting, tracked
\n cash flow and ensured payments went out as money came in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n but there I was, crunching them week to week just to make sure everyone got paid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n how efficient she became. He noticed something else, too.<\/p>\n
\n going to have space to grow here. It\u2019s time to get that degree.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Maria-Soledad](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/VELASQUEZ_MARIA_ONLINE.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n exploring closer options. She discovered the first school she enrolled at wouldn’t
\n apply her previous credits in the way she expected. Courses she had completed years
\n earlier didn\u2019t align cleanly with degree requirements, meaning more time, more repetition
\n \u2013 and more tuition would be necessary.<\/p>\n
\n that didn\u2019t quite work out either. However, the process reinforced something Maria
\n already knew: she needed a path that made sense for where she was in life now, not
\n where she had been as a first-time student all those years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n she was regarding her previous coursework, her professional experience and her responsibilities
\n as a working parent. Just as important, she found people who believed finishing was
\n not only possible, but close.<\/p>\n![\"Jennifer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Jennifer-Serna-advisor.jpg\")
![\"Brianna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Brianna-Adkins-headshot.jpg\")
Jennifer Serna, senior academic advisor; and Brianna Adkins, online student advocate<\/p>\n
\n post-traditional student forge her path and inspire others in the process.<\/p>\n
\n success in El Paso,\u201d Serna said. \u201cShe not only inspires us as administrators, but
\n her story has encouraged students toward following their own dreams, and it will continue
\n to do so for years to come. We are extremely proud of her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n her record to enroll Maria in her remaining required classes, she offered a surprising
\n suggestion: take all four remaining required courses at once, and she could graduate
\n in December.<\/p>\n
\n I\u2019m a mom. How am I supposed to do all of this at once?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Maria](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Maria-Kids-graduation.jpg\")
Maria and her girls at graduation<\/p>\n
\n to taking her daughters, Erika (12) and Alicia (9), to their activities. Alicia, a
\n competitive dancer, spent three hours twice a week at the dance studio. Erika\u2019s cheer
\n practice fell during the same hours. Instead of sitting on the sidelines watching
\n her younger daughter practice, Maria began bringing her laptop. She studied, wrote
\n papers and completed assignments while Alicia danced in the background.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n to be, doing exactly what I needed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n small rolling desks for Maria and other parents so they could comfortably work while
\n waiting through practice. Weekends were for finishing anything still on her list.
\n It wasn\u2019t easy, but it worked perfectly. Ahead of the December graduation date, she
\n was finished.<\/p>\n
\n place to grow, stepping into a new role as an academic administrative coordinator
\n at the Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine<\/a> at TTUHSC El Paso<\/a>. In her position, she supports professors, proctors exams, enters grades and tracks
\n student progress, helping identify when students may need additional support. Maria
\n says the program motivated her to find a place where she can help other people achieve
\n their dreams and complete their education.<\/p>\n
\n and completing her degree. And while she\u2019s considered returning to school for a master\u2019s
\n degree, Maria is thoughtful about timing. She wants to make sure she\u2019s giving 100%
\n to her job first and doesn\u2019t bite off more than she can chew.<\/p>\n
\n It\u2019s Possible\u2122.<\/p>\n
\n for years \u2013 Texas Tech makes space,\u201d she said. \u201cThey look at what you\u2019ve already done
\n and help you move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n to graduation and a new career path, Maria\u2019s journey is a reminder that progress doesn\u2019t
\n require perfection, just the willingness to take the next step when the opportunity
\n arises.<\/p>\n