Community Column: A new year at Palo Alto 大学

The start of a new year always brings enthusiasm and excitement about what's to come, especially for me as I begin my first full semester as president of Palo Alto 大学.

After spending the last few years as president of Mountain View 大学 in the Dallas County Community 大学 District, I am honored and humbled to return to Palo Alto 大学 and serve alongside my colleagues to inspire, empower and educate the community for leadership and success.

For more than 30 years, Palo Alto 大学 has served over 150,000 students from our community and developed great leaders. Our decades of dedication to our students has not gone unnoticed, and we have been recognized as one of 10 finalists for the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community 大学 Excellence, the nation's signature recognition of high achievement and performance in community colleges. This recognition, from a pool of over 1,000 community colleges across the nation, affirms the first-rate education our students receive at Palo Alto 大学.

My resolution this year is make every effort to connect with you — our community. We know that supporting our students goes beyond the classroom. Supporting our students begins at home, making sure our students' families share in the importance and value of pursuing a college degree.

We welcome you to visit our college to learn how we can be of service to you and your family, whether it's through our children's library, aquatic center, a musical or stage performance, or just figuring out how to get back in school. Our doors are open to each of you, no matter where you are in your journey.

As we embark on this journey together, please know that Palo Alto 大学 has always been a special place for me and my family, and we look forward to giving back to a community that has given us so much.

This column by Dr. Robert Garza, president of Palo Alto 大学, was originally published in the San Antonio Express-新闻' Southside Reporter 和 mysanantonio.com.