{"id":951,"date":"2024-02-29T00:39:39","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T00:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/?p=951"},"modified":"2024-02-29T21:46:23","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T21:46:23","slug":"we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/","title":{"rendered":"We Are UST"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What it Means to be the Only Catholic University\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"WeareUST_Encounterwinter2024\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We are the only Catholic university in Houston. We are special. We are unique. We are an inflection point for the world\u2019s future leaders in medicine, engineering, business, entrepreneurship, marketing, diplomacy, cybersecurity, theology, and so much more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Are Partnerships, Professors and Our Core <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through collaborative partnerships, our reach is both local and global. Our beautiful campus in the heart of the city\u2019s Museum District is emboldened by accomplished, innovative professors and state-of-the-art student resources. Students are further enriched by a grounding in our liberal arts core curriculum.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Are Nourishment of Body, Mind and Spirit <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you would expect from the only Catholic university in Houston, we nourish body, mind and spirit. Our students discover wisdom through faith and reason. Together with the skills and knowledge cultivated here, they are well-prepared to serve society as leaders known for integrity, insight and courage.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, our students and passionate alumni know how to combine service with abundant live-out-loud fun.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Celebrate our Community
Follow along to see how \u201cWe are UST\u201d manifested in 2023-2024 . . .\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crowned Mr. & Ms. UST\u00a0
Calvin Nguyen and Lucylitzy Bautista\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homecoming 2023 was a spectacularly festive week of colorful events and engaging activities that culminated in the traditional \u201ccoming home\u201d of UST\u2019s beloved alumni. Celt alumni and current students demonstrated their fantastic school spirit all week long.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • The annual Chili Cook-Off saw 19 culinary teams showing off their chili chops\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The Filipino Student Association almost swept the Chili Cook-Off awards, winning three of five.\u00a0\n
      \n
    • UST\u2019s Veteran Success Center crushed the Decorating Contest with creativity. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      $90,000\u00a0 raised<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Honorary Co-Chairs <\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Denise Castillo-Rhodes, MBA \u201992 <\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • and Robert Sergesketter <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Tasty tacos and craft brews during Homecoming weekend made for a wildly successful 12th Annual Two Saints and a Taco Tasting. Unfazed by stormy weather, Two Saints and a Taco Tasting cleverly hosted its taco tasting competition and scholarship fundraiser inside the always sunny Saint Arnold Brewing Co. As the night concluded, Gordo Ninos took home the <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Best Taco Award and People\u2019s Choice Award while $90,000 was raised for the Alumni Association Scholarship Fund. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Honoring Our Patron Saint <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A  marvelous, weeklong Festival of St. Thomas from Jan. 28 \u2013  Feb. 2 honored the accomplishments of our patron saint and highlighted the values held dear at UST. The celebration provided daily opportunities for the UST community to gather and share the joy of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        We are the only Catholic university in Houston. We are special. We are unique. We are an inflection point for the world\u2019s future leaders in medicine, engineering, business, entrepreneurship, marketing, diplomacy, cybersecurity, theology, and so much more. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":952,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2,6,8,153],"tags":[296,875,874,873,872,871,878,877,876,103,648,693,10],"class_list":["post-951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-featured-stories","category-giving-opportunities","category-student-stories","tag-core-curriculum","tag-denise-castillo-rhodes","tag-dr-richard-and-melynda-ludwick","tag-festival-of-st-thomas-aquinas","tag-homecoming","tag-houstons-only-catholic-university","tag-mba-92","tag-ms-and-mr-ust","tag-st-arnold","tag-st-thomas-aquinas","tag-two-saints-a-taco-tasting-event","tag-winter-2024-issue","tag-winter-issue"],"yoast_head":"\nWe are the only Catholic university in Houston. We are unique.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Say it loud and proud\u2014We are the only Catholic University in Houston. We are special. We are unique. We are UST.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"We are the only Catholic university in Houston. We are unique.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Say it loud and proud\u2014We are the only Catholic University in Houston. We are special. We are unique. We are UST.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Encounter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-29T00:39:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-29T21:46:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/02\/WeareUST_Encounterwinter2024.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie Roark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie Roark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/\",\"name\":\"We are the only Catholic university in Houston. We are unique.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/02\/WeareUST_Encounterwinter2024.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-29T00:39:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-29T21:46:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/#\/schema\/person\/98f6bf468428b334ddb0a3dfeb67ca2c\"},\"description\":\"Say it loud and proud\u2014We are the only Catholic University in Houston. We are special. We are unique. We are UST.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/02\/WeareUST_Encounterwinter2024.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/02\/WeareUST_Encounterwinter2024.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"WeareUST_Encounterwinter2024\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"We Are UST\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/\",\"name\":\"Encounter\",\"description\":\"The Magazine of the University of St. Thomas\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/#\/schema\/person\/98f6bf468428b334ddb0a3dfeb67ca2c\",\"name\":\"Jamie Roark\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/08\/Jamie-Roark-250x250-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/08\/Jamie-Roark-250x250-1.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Jamie Roark\"},\"description\":\"Jamie Roark is an experienced, Houston-based content creator & communications skills coach. Through her company, Simply Communicate USA, she especially enjoys helping Higher Education and healthcare organizations to tell stories that inform and influence.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/author\/jamie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"We are the only Catholic university in Houston. We are unique.","description":"Say it loud and proud\u2014We are the only Catholic University in Houston. We are special. We are unique. We are UST.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"We are the only Catholic university in Houston. We are unique.","og_description":"Say it loud and proud\u2014We are the only Catholic University in Houston. We are special. We are unique. We are UST.","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/","og_site_name":"Encounter","article_published_time":"2024-02-29T00:39:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-29T21:46:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/02\/WeareUST_Encounterwinter2024.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jamie Roark","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jamie Roark","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/","name":"We are the only Catholic university in Houston. We are unique.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/02\/WeareUST_Encounterwinter2024.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-29T00:39:39+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-29T21:46:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/#\/schema\/person\/98f6bf468428b334ddb0a3dfeb67ca2c"},"description":"Say it loud and proud\u2014We are the only Catholic University in Houston. We are special. We are unique. We are UST.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/02\/WeareUST_Encounterwinter2024.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/02\/WeareUST_Encounterwinter2024.jpg","width":600,"height":300,"caption":"WeareUST_Encounterwinter2024"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2024\/student-stories\/we-are-the-only-catholic-university-in-houston-we-are-unique\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"We Are UST"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/","name":"Encounter","description":"The Magazine of the University of St. Thomas","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/#\/schema\/person\/98f6bf468428b334ddb0a3dfeb67ca2c","name":"Jamie Roark","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/08\/Jamie-Roark-250x250-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/08\/Jamie-Roark-250x250-1.jpg","caption":"Jamie Roark"},"description":"Jamie Roark is an experienced, Houston-based content creator & communications skills coach. Through her company, Simply Communicate USA, she especially enjoys helping Higher Education and healthcare organizations to tell stories that inform and influence.","url":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/author\/jamie\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}