UTMB Community Engagement and Education

05/21/2026

Congratulations to all the participants of our first annual BLAST Symposium hosted at HEC at UTMB on 5.20.26! 🎉
We were proud to have 34 GISD student participants presenting their scholarly work and showcasing their dedication, curiosity, and passion for learning.

Special recognition to our Medical Student Arun Rajan, for creating and leading this initiative. and our amazing medical students for their mentorship, leadership, and commitment to supporting the next generation of scholars:

A heartfelt thank you to Dr. Pryor for collaborating with Mr. Wes Holland and Dr. Jean Langevin from GISD to make this incredible partnership and opportunity possible.

⭐ Project Lead ⭐Arun Rajan ⭐

Team of mentors included:
• Ahan Mistry
• Dominic Nguyen
• Eunice Park
• Kenneth Lam
• Kimya Raietparvar
• Nathaniel Ferriola
• Neha Donthineni
• Nicholas Delaney
• Quynh Nguyen
• Samuel Peterson
• Spencer Mullen
• Steven Yu
• Connor Yee
• Oluwatobi Olaomoju
• Baturalp Baser
Thank you all for making the first BLAST Symposium such a meaningful and inspiring success! 👏📚✨

05/04/2026

Happy Nurses Week! 💙

This week, we proudly celebrate the incredible nurses and nurse practitioners who are the heart and soul of our clinics. A special shoutout to our nurses and NPs who work at St. Vincent’s, Grace Clinic, Doc Side Clinic, Substance Use Disorder clinic. We have over 35 different services between all of our clinics. The compassion and commitment make a lasting difference in the lives of our underserved and uninsured community every single day. These clinics don’t just operate—they thrive and continue to grow.

We want to recognize a few outstanding individuals:

✨ Martha Stephania Diaz (Nurse Manager) – One of the most passionate, dedicated, and hardworking nurses we know. Her compassion for the community goes far beyond her job description, and it shows in everything she does. She has helped pilot most all clinics and continues to amaze us daily. She is a light to our community and everyone needs "Their Nurse Martha"

✨ Julian Quiceno (Administrative Clinic Director - NP) – Our amazing STV Nurse Practitioner! Not only is he compassionate and exceptional with patients, but he’s also our go-to IT expert. We’re so lucky to have someone so versatile and caring on our team. We often don't know how Julian keeps up with his own thoughts, but he does and not only does he just keep up he continually exceeds expectations!

✨ Jennifer Lopez (RN) – A wonderful addition to our team! Her positive attitude and warm smile make her a perfect fit, and the care she shows our patients is already making a beautiful impact. We can't wait to continue to watch her grow with our team! We are lucky to have her

✨ Sister Chi (NP)– Our newest Nurse Practitioner, and we couldn’t be more grateful to welcome her. Her kindness, willingness to serve, and genuine heart align perfectly with our mission.

To all of our nurses and nurse practitioners—thank you for your dedication, your compassion, and the countless ways you uplift our community. We appreciate you not just this week, but every single day.

05/01/2026

04/23/2026

We are incredibly grateful for the annual shoe drive hosted by the UTMB Laboratory Services Department. All donated shoes go directly to our Grace Mobility Clinic, where physical therapy students and faculty provide footwear to our unhoused community every Thursday morning.

Thank you for your generosity and compassion—it truly makes a difference. Our PT team is always excited to see shoe donations come through the doors!

04/21/2026

Happy National Occupational Therapy Month! 💙

Our department has the pleasure of introducing Dr. Loree Pryor! We are incredibly grateful for her compassion, dedication, and the hard work she pours into caring for our patients.

Dr. Pryor serves as our Occupational Therapist in the Substance Use Disorder Clinic, St. Vincent’s, and Grace Clinic. She also leads the ZOCS Mobility class for first-year medical students, guiding them through hospital observation and hands-on patient mobility experiences.

As if that weren’t enough, she balances all of this with her commitment to her beautiful family—her husband and four children—and her role as head swim coach for the Galveston Island Swim Team!

We truly couldn’t have chosen a better fit for our team. The world needs more Dr. Pryor's! 🌟

04/14/2026

We’re excited to share a meaningful volunteer opportunity open to all!
The Run Like a Diva event will take place on April 26, and organizers are currently seeking approximately 50 volunteers to help make this event a success.
🕔 Shift Times:
Volunteers are needed from as early as 5:00 AM through approximately 11:00 AM
🙌 Volunteer Roles Include:
• Packet pick-up support
• Water stations
• Course guides
• Finish line assistance

💙 Why Volunteer?
This event supports the Resource & Crisis Center of Galveston County, helping provide critical services to survivors in our community. Your time and effort will make a direct impact!

🔗 Sign Up Here if you are not a UTMB student:
https://vmodcui.active.com/respo.../eventGroups/3191103/jobs or on Sched if you are a UTMB Student: https://cee.sched.com/?searchstring=diva

We encourage anyone interested in giving back to the community to get involved. Thank you for your commitment!

04/02/2026

Galveston Central Church and Grace Clinic are incredibly grateful to Sofia Piperno for her generosity and compassion. Through her Osler Student Project funds, Sofia provided lunch for 130 community members and donated 26 bags of shoes to support our inventory.

For those who may not know, our PT team at Grace Clinic distributes shoes to members of our unhoused community every Thursday—making this contribution especially meaningful.

Thank you, Sofia, for thinking of our community and for giving back in such a powerful way!

04/01/2026

03/31/2026

Welcome to the team Jennifer and Patricia! We are lucky to have you and can't wait to do amazing work with you two on our team!

03/25/2026

Social Work Appreciation Month is here, and we’re giving a HUGE shoutout to someone who truly goes above and beyond—always showing up, making things happen, and staying deeply committed to serving our community and uplifting others. Thank you Shellie Garlick Wolf for ALL YOU DO!

03/23/2026

We’re so proud to be part of something bigger than ourselves!

Through our ongoing partnership with SMART Family Literacy UTMB residents and medical students have had the incredible opportunity to serve as mentors, role models, and advocates for young learners in our community. Since 2023, this collaboration has allowed us to step into classrooms, childcare centers, and family events each week—reading with children, sparking meaningful conversations, and even promoting heart-healthy habits through fun, hands-on activities like vegetable gardening.

In 2025 alone, UTMB students helped distribute 12,715 books as part of SMART’s mission to expand access to literacy. Together, SMART hosted 246 events, reached over 10,000 children, and provided more than 36,000 books to families.

We’re especially proud of the 38 medical students who dedicated their time to this work—some even stepping into leadership roles as SMART Ambassadors, inspiring others to get involved.

This partnership reflects what we stand for: showing up, giving back, and creating lasting impact in the communities we serve. Grateful to be a part of a mission that truly changes lives—one book, one child, one moment at a time 💫