Friday, May 10th, 2024 at the Pete P. Gallego Center in Alpine, TX.
The ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m.
Students have been instructed to be at the Graves-Pierce Complex at 4:30 p.m. for line up.
Commencement will be available to watch online here:
The Honorable Judge Baldemar Garza, a 1983 graduate of Sul Ross State University, will deliver the keynote address for spring commencement exercises in Alpine on Friday, May 10, at 5:30 p.m. and in Eagle Pass on Saturday, May 11, at 3:30 p.m.
The Alpine ceremony will be held at the Pete P. Gallego Center while the Eagle Pass ceremony will be held at the International Center for Trade. Both will be livestreamed from the SRSU YouTube page.
Judge Garza has served as the judge for the 229th District Court since January 1, 2019.
He was born on May 26, 1961, to Norberta Renteria Garza and Adan Garza in La Puerta Ranch, located five miles east of Rio Grande City, Texas.
He graduated from Rio Grande City High School in 1979, and from Sul Ross State in Alpine in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in English and a minor in Spanish. Following his undergraduate studies, he received his Juris Doctorate from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston in 1986.
Judge Garza was a practicing attorney from 1986 to 2019 and was the elected mayor of Rio Grande City from 1996 to 2004. Prior to that, Judge Garza served as mayor pro tem (1994-95), as an alderman (1993-96), and as secretary and director of the Rio Grande City Economic Development Corporation (1994).
He was a member of the Starr County Child Welfare Board and has been a member of the Rio Grande City Rotary Club since 1991, serving as a director, treasurer and president. Judge Garza also served as president of the Rio Grande City Quarterback Club and officiated high school football games as a member of the Southwest Football Officials Association.
Judge Garza was a director of the College of the State Bar of Texas and has been a long-time Fellow for the Texas Bar Foundation. He served on the Board of Directors of the Texas Young Lawyers Association, and as Chair of the Board from 1996 to 1997.
Judge Garza is married to Aracelie B. Garza, a retired first grade teacher and they have two sons, Baldemar Garza, Jr. and Oscar Omar Garza.
We ask that each party arrive and sit together.
