Grand Opening Celebration

New Home of Our Lady of the Lake University

The grand opening of the long-awaited La Feria Technology and Success Center of Our Lady of the Lake University Rio Grande Valley Campus brought together university and La Feria city officials, teachers, dignitaries, contractors and a large crowd of interested citizens.

The joint celebration by the City of La Feria and the OLLU was the realization of a dream for the San Antonio-based Catholic university, as well as members of the current and previous city administrations, many of whom were in attendance.

After a musical program featuring the soaring sounds of the Mariachi Mundial, Patricia M. Longoria, OLLU-Rio Grande Valley Director, welcomed everyone who had come to share in the well-attended event at the new campus.

After an invocation by Vicar General Father Alfonso Guevara, Director Longoria introduced La Feria City Mayor, Olga. H. Maldonado. She thanked the administrators and officers of Our Lady of the Lake University for “sharing your vision of the blessing of higher education for our citizens and what it will mean for future generations of our Rio Grande Valley children.”

Robert Peche, U.S. Economic Development Representative said his agency is 50 years old and was started under the LBJ administration. It was part of his vision of investing in infrastructures such as this joint collaboration between the City of La Feria and the university. “Our job is to bring funding to the table,” he said, adding, “This university expansion will be a tremendous addition to your community and enable it to help itself with convenient higher education.”

State Representative Oscar Longoria spoke to the crowd and said he recognized many familiar faces among those present and thanked them for making this step forward in education possible. “This is the future of La Feria, and we will continue to make funds available to La Feria for future projects,” he added.

Diane E. Melby, OLLU President, presided at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony. She thanked all those who had contributed to the success of the La Fera project after years of planning and preparation.

Attention was drawn to the mission statement on the entrance wall of the new building. The message is that the mission of Our Lady of the Lake University is to “be a community called to transform individuals as they discover their purpose in life, using our expertise in Mexican-American culture.”

After the ribbon-cutting, the crowd went inside to inspect the beautiful, state-of-the-art interior and class rooms equipped with the latest electronic teaching devices. The Mariachi Mundial again serenaded the guests as they visited and enjoyed refreshments.