LaredoBuzz.Com

Courtesy Mika S, Akikuni, 

Like ripples across a pond, next week’s graduates of Texas A&M International University’s (TAMIU) College of Nursing and Health Sciences’ Dr. F. M. Canseco School of Nursing are the latest recipients of a historic legacy gift to the University by the Canseco family.

In 1997, the University dedicated Dr. F. M. Canseco Hall, home of the Nursing School.

This Thursday, May 18, at 5:30 p.m., members of the late Dr. F. M. Canseco’s family will return to campus to celebrate a 20-year legacy that continues to impact Laredo and the surrounding area.

Family members will join the faculty and student graduates at the annual Pinning Ceremony in the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall.

TAMIU president Dr. Pablo Arenaz said the impact of the family’s gift is beyond measure.

“This gift truly made Canseco Hall and the Nursing School possible. Its impact is beyond measure, but can be tracked in the successful professional careers and leadership of our graduates, the critical service, research and teaching of our faculty, and the myriad combined opportunities that are made possible by the School.  This is a legacy that will always live on,” Dr. Arenaz noted.

Dr. Glenda Walker, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, said the family’s gift has changed lives in South Texas and beyond.

“Thanks to this generous and visionary gift 20 years ago, residents of South Texas and beyond have been able to receive quality services and health care from professionals and leaders who have graduated from the Canseco School of Nursing,” Dr. Walker said, “Aside from teaching, the research and service opportunities that our faculty and students have engaged in over the years have had a tremendous impact on lives that will last for generations.”

Since 1997, a total of 811 TAMIU undergraduate and 93 graduate nursing degrees were earned through the Canseco School. A total of 12 undergraduates received their degrees in 1997. This has grown to 78 nursing students who will receive their undergraduate degree in 2017, Walker said.

            The growth of the School of Nursing is also reflective in the percentage of male students now earning their degree. This year, 30 percent of the total graduating class, which includes both undergraduate and graduate students, are male.

             “The success of the Canseco School of Nursing is also measured by the number of graduating students who have job offers upon graduation”, Walker said.

The average percentage of Canseco School of Nursing graduates that have immediate job offers is 100 percent, of which at least 85 percent are within the Laredo and South Texas region, Walker said.

According to Walker, the quality of the educational experience for graduates is reflected in the average pass rate for the national licensure exam of 95 percent.

Furthermore, Walker said that the average starting annual salary for undergraduate degree holders is about $55,000 and $105,000 for graduate degree holders.

 The late Dr. Canseco and his wife were staunch advocates of education and their gift has enabled students to achieve their professional nursing goals.

Canseco was a much-loved doctor who was born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, México, and came to Laredo as a child.  Earning degrees from Culver Military Academy, Rice University, Stanford University and Washington University, Dr. Canseco returned to Laredo to serve as both general practitioner and surgeon here.  He and his family lived here for the next 55 years.

His wife, Consuelo Canseco, was also from Monterrey, and a lifetime member of Mercy Regional Medical Center’s Auxiliary, the Tri-County Medical Auxiliary and a Society of Martha Washington past president.  She adored cooking, gardening and traveling, and was an accomplished canasta player.  Also a firm believer in the transformative power of education, she encouraged eight children and 19 grandchildren to secure their futures through education.