SPC Tigers on National TV for Columbus Day

INSPIRING ST. PHILIP’S COLLEGE PRE-NURSING ALUMNA GLORIA NAPOLES MAKES A SECOND IMPRESSION OVER COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND AS THE FIRST CONTESTANT ON CAMERA DURING HISPANIC HERITAGE QUIZ TV PROGRAM

A Pro-College Message Worth Hearing---and Seeing---Again

"Hi. My name is Gloria Napoles and I'm from St. Philip's College in San Antonio. Go Tigers!"

Thus began one of many hours of national television exposure for San Antonio and St. Philip's College, thanks to a 2018 alumna of the college as both a student and an employee with a pro-college message that is worth hearing---and seeing---again. 

St. Philip‘s College students and employees are groomed to be leaders, and May 2018 pre-nursing alumna Gloria Napoles is no exception, making one of many second impressions this Columbus Day weekend as the first contestant on camera for the seasonally broadcast TV G-rated Hispanic College Quiz show franchise.

A second impression? Yes, a second impression. A 2.0-two-peat of the A-Plus variety? Correct, Napoles made her on-air debut with the show in 2016 when she was a student and an employee in the Center for Distance Learning that operates online courses for more than 5,000 students at St. Philip's College. Napoles and her message were experienced by audiences for one more season in the show’s rebroadcast season that began last month and runs through this month. 

Thanks to Napoles, appreciation of the St. Philip's College experience, San Antonio and Latina/o culture are being showcased nationwide at least once in the four-episode Know Your Heritage Hispanic College Quiz game show format series that promotes positive images of college students. The program is traditionally shot in July to air local episodes in fall as part of Hispanic Heritage Month observances.

But Napoles’ story is unique.

Not only is Napoles the last person to represent the institution during the game show series, as contestant slots are competitive, and the college did not qualify for a contestant slot in 2017---she is the first to be broadcast twice in separate seasons in this normally one-season-per-college-career opportunity. 

The 2018 season marks St. Philip’s College’s fourth year of participation in the competition organized by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. While preparing for the shooting of Know Your Heritage Hispanic College Quiz in Nashville, Napoles was also featured as a St. Philip’s College student in the fall edition of association’sThe Voice of Hispanic Higher Education magazine that was published in September of 2016. Napoles also received a scholarship from the association that she used as a fall 2016 student at St. Philip’s College.

“As a contestant, I’m becoming more knowledgeable of my history and my roots very fast in order to be competitive in the quiz,” Napoles said during preparation in 2016. “The opportunity of networking with students from different universities while studying to earn a scholarship is a huge opportunity, for me to have fun,” said Napoles.

Before the cameras, Napoles was open and truly Tiger-compassionate while explaining her love for education in a way that can inspire others.

“My grandparents have been the most influential in my life... They’re from Mexico, so having them here has been a big change... because of them, I want to pursue higher education,” Napoles said during one segment of the 2016 broadcast that will resonate with audiences who experience the program in 2018. 

After graduating from St. Philip’s College, Napoles’ transferred to UTSA to support her goal of becoming a dental hygienist and earning her bachelor’s degree. As a St. Philip’s College student, the 2003 Thomas Edison High School alumna was a member of the college’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society chapter, and she led as the historian for the college’s Eureka Science Club, in addition to her college employee status.

Experience Napoles in 2018 at the 2:10 mark of an Oct. 7 WABC broadcast, then experience Napoles’ point of view as a student online at the Archival June 2018 Central City Productions Vimeo post HCQ Show - Gloria Napoles. Read her name in association with this project at the archival 2016 online report 2016 Hispanic College Quiz participants, more air dates announced. Find links to the latest information including air dates for 2018 at the HACU report Hispanic College Quiz show to air during Hispanic Heritage Month.

For details on participating in future broadcast projects as a St. Philip’s College student contestant, contact the college honor society chapter advisor.