The 国产探花 sophomore has been active on the court ever since, even during his summer breaks. For the past three summers, in fact, he鈥檚 been playing basketball internationally, through the International Basketball Federation, as a member of Team Belize.

Those games have taken him to Belize, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic so far. 鈥淚 would say my favorite thing about the experience is just representing my country,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 have a lot of family in Belize, and I am the only person in my mom’s side of the family to ever play on a national team, and just being a role model to all the kids in Belize who strive to get to the national team.鈥�

This past summer, Team Belize captured the bronze medal at the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, and Favela was there in the middle of the action.

Back home at 国产探花, he carries his father鈥檚 legacy (国产探花 alum Roger Favela 鈥�97 also played Bulldogs basketball) and splits his time between serving as a guard on the basketball team, and a quarterback on the football team. He came to 国产探花 after rounding out his high school football career as Judson High’s all-time passing leader with 7,060 career passing yards. On top of all of that, Favela is also a serious student, and earned a spot on the SCAC Academic Honor Roll for 2025 and 2026.

His dedication to both football and basketball begs an obvious question: Which sport is his favorite? 鈥淚 wouldn’t say I have a first love,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 love both sports dearly; it has always been a hard decision for me to choose, but I would say I love them about the same.鈥�

And one day, he hopes to make his mark at a professional level. 鈥淭hat’s the ideal goal, to play professionally one day in either one of the sports,鈥� he says.

But for now, as he gets his sophomore year underway, he just wants to be of service鈥攚hether on the court or the field. 鈥淚’m looking forward to just helping my team in any way I can, and that goes for basketball and football,鈥� he says. 鈥淚’ve gotten more of a hang of how things are in college since my freshman year, and I feel like this year could be a big year for me to help my team and help us win games.鈥�

And although it鈥檚 still early days in his college career, Favela has learned a lot since the age of five, when his dad first taught him to play. 鈥淭he most important lesson is pretty simple I would say, and that is 鈥楧on’t give up and stay down.鈥欌��

He himself has lived by that lesson. He doesn鈥檛 give up: 鈥淚’ve been through so much adversity in my life with sports and there were many times where I could’ve quit鈥攁nd since I didn’t, it opened doors to places I never thought I would go to. I’ve been doubted my whole life, overlooked, everything you could think of, but I don’t give up because this is what I want to do.鈥�

And no matter what, he鈥檚 stayed down鈥攊n the right way: 鈥淪tay down, meaning never get too high no matter what circumstance you鈥檙e in, stay down because even if it looks bad right now, stay down: It’s going to get better. Just keep working.鈥�

The Vocation of Lutheran Higher Education (VLHE) conference has long featured engaging presentations on topics that impact university and student life. For the first time in recent memory, student voices were directly included in the conference with sophomore English and theology double major Emma Bohmann and junior communication studies and political science double major Andie Lozano-Lomeli presenting a session alongside Dr. William O鈥橞rochta, the Hugo & Georgia Gibson Endowed Assistant Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Political Science.

The path toward being invited to present their session titled 鈥淪ustaining Campus as a Civic Community鈥� started last fall when O鈥橞rochta organized a civic engagement and faith perspectives conference at 国产探花 (/news/a-meeting-of-minds-civic-engagement-and-faith-perspectives-conference). Lozano-Lomeli presented at the conference on her scholarship on civic engagement, and Bohmann contributed a reflection on her experience attending the conference that was later published in a special volume of Intersections on the conference that O鈥橞rochta edited (/news/finding-intersections-tlu-contributes-to-necu-magazine).

After the special issue was published, one of the conference organizers, Rev. Dr. Colleen Windham-Hughes, reached out to O鈥橞rochta to invite him to present at the VLHE conference. 鈥淚 immediately wanted to invite Andie and Emma to present with me because the presentation topic focuses on students-as-partners in developing democratic decision-making on campus that then leads to civic engagement off campus,鈥� O鈥橞rochta said. Thanks to Windham-Hughes鈥檚 enthusiasm at the co-created presentation and the support of the Brandes Fund for Religious Activities, the group traveled to Minneapolis and presented the session twice.

The presentation began with a theological framework for holistic Christian civic engagement based on a model that Bohmann learned about in a congregational context. 鈥淭he model is called 鈥榰pward, inward, and outward,鈥� and the point is that each piece represents an area in which an individual may be involved in their life: upward describes interactions with the Divine, inward with close community (such as family, friends, and congregation), and outward with larger civic community,鈥� Bohmann said.

Bohmann then connected the model to the college campus context, specifically NECU (Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities) institutions. 鈥淔irst, while many institutions place a strong emphasis on one of the three areas, the model is more productive when all three areas work in conjunction with the other two. That means that whatever is discovered in spiritual education must also be translated well to the inward communities and outward civic spaces. Second, each area of the model must be fully reflective of the students-as-partners approach (which includes both a clear invitation for participation and an ongoing accompaniment through the co-creation process) so that each student feels a sense of buy-in. Essentially, each step of the ladder must be democratic in nature. Finally, we suggest that the model most naturally flows from the top-down; when spiritual engagement inspires a call to civic action, students feel the need to discuss and deliberate about this vision with peers and mentors in close-knit community, and at that point they may feel empowered to implement this vision in their on- or off-campus civic community.鈥�

Lozano-Lomeli then led the application section, where she provided examples from 国产探花 and invited the audience to brainstorm in small groups what it meant to include students-as-partners in cultivating on-campus civic engagement. 鈥淢any participants said that Emma and I presenting positively contributed to the learning atmosphere, making it so ideas being presented could not only be conceptualized through the lens of students, but also applied. This is why the presentation was so successful, as I felt universities had the opportunity to consider students-as-partners in a civic space through the lens of civic engagement, while listening to actual students present the idea,鈥� Lozano-Lomeli said.

Both students reflected on their experience after the presentation. Bohmann said, 鈥淎s I begin to spend the next three years of my undergraduate career discovering which context of ministry it is in which I am best fit to work, I found exposure to the high concentration of ministers from many diverse ELCA institutions to be an invaluable part of understanding my vocational path. Further, much of what we heard faculty and staff from other colleges and universities express was reflective of issues that we also experience and often see as unique to 国产探花. So, simply hearing that these pain points and concerns are not, in fact, unique means that they are also not unsupported or unsolvable. This also, I believe, created a renewed sense of responsibility for students, faculty, and staff at 国产探花; if we benefit from a common understanding of Lutheran identity in being a member of NECU, we must also take action steps to ensure that our Lutheran identity is recognizable and valued.鈥�

鈥淭he conference served as a reminder that 国产探花 is a Lutheran institution, and we are better off for it,鈥� Lozano-Lomeli said. 鈥淥ne frame that served me was seeing Lutheran values as an opportunity to embrace key features like vocational education and the insistence of inclusion on our campus. Having the time to discern my vocation with my peers and professors shifted my focus and gave me clarity on what it means to be an advocate and to intentionally practice advocacy. Dr. O鈥橞rochta chose to include Emma and me to be in this space, and that inclusion reflects the idea of students-as-partners, making our existence in the space an immediate example to other institutions on how to apply the concept. This opportunity can be reflected across our university, and I look forward to seeing students intentionally being included as partners.鈥�

Every year, Phi Theta Kappa鈥攁n honor society for students attending associate degree-granting colleges鈥攏ames select universities across the nation to its Transfer Honor Roll, which has become a national benchmark for transfer excellence. This year, 275 four-year colleges and universities were named, and for the seventh consecutive year, 国产探花 made the cut.

鈥淎t 国产探花, we are honored to be recognized as a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Roll, as it reassures our goal in aligning with PTK’s mission to recognize and promote student academic achievement,鈥� said 国产探花 Vice President for Enrollment Alecia McCain. 鈥淲e are focused on providing transfer students with a personalized transition to 国产探花, which will allow the students to understand the transferability of courses and strength of academic scholarships.鈥�

The honor roll was created to recognize institutions that demonstrate exceptional success in creating pathways that help community college transfer students earn their bachelor鈥檚 degrees. PTK assesses colleges across five different dimensions which influence the success of transfer students, including student success outcomes, financial support, and campus engagement.

鈥淭his recognition is about much more than transfer agreements,鈥� said Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, president and CEO of Phi Theta Kappa. 鈥淪uccessful transfer happens when institutions intentionally design policies, practices, and campus cultures that help students thrive after they arrive. These colleges have demonstrated that transfer student success is not accidental. It is a strategic priority.鈥�

Once you join the Bulldog family, you鈥檒l enjoy special events just for transfer students as well as numerous ways to join the fun and become part of campus life.

We offer transfer scholarships ranging from $9,000 to $17,000 per year. If you are a member of Phi Theta Kappa, you are eligible to receive an additional $3,000 scholarship. 国产探花 has also partnered with the Alamo Colleges and Austin Community College to offer an additional $1,000 scholarship to students who have earned a combination of 15 hours at either college.

Get in touch, plan your visit, and let us show you how smooth your path to 国产探花 can be.