A&M-Victoria collaborates with Victoria Public Library to promote literacy, community ties
Dressed in his nightgown with matching red sneakers, jax the Jaguar was the center of attention with a children’s book in hand as he worked with his handler to read to a crowd full of students at the Victoria Public Library.
Last Thursday, jaX attended the event as part of a series of “Stuffy Sleepover Storytime” events held by the Victoria Public Library to bring together children, parents and the community for a memorable morning of stories, fun and learning.
The event was held as part of the library’s ongoing youth programs and marked the first collaboration between Texas A&M University-Victoria and the library’s “Stuffy Sleepover Storytime” series, said Keyla Diaz, youth programs supervisor at the Victoria Public Library.
“It’s really good for our community to be involved with the university, as well as the public library together,” Diaz said. “Joining and having everyone together will have a huge impact.”
The morning session began with the library’s story time, featuring opening and goodbye rhymes, Diaz said. In between that, kids and their parents were treated to a special reading of “Llama Llama Red Pajama,” a book by Anna Dewdney, from jaX and his handler, Makayla Ramirez, a student worker in University Advancement.
After the reading, children and their families had the opportunity to take photos with jaX and participate in coloring sessions. But the excitement didn’t end there, Diaz added. Children were invited to bring their favorite plush toys for a “stuffy sleepover,” where the plushies would spend the night camping in the library with jaX.
“Our theme this week is camping, and so with everyone bringing in their plushies, they’re going to stay overnight,” Diaz said. “And overnight, they’re going to camp with jaX in the library and on Friday, the children will get to see photos of what jaX and the plushies did throughout the library after hours.”
The event was designed not only to entertain, but also to strengthen the bond between the library, the university and the community, Diaz said.
“I hope that they were able to see the impact that the university has with the library,” Diaz said. “Literacy begins here and continues all the way through university.”
A&M-Victoria and the Victoria Public Library have a long-standing history of collaboration, said Jennifer Ortiz Garza, A&M-Victoria’s director of development. The collaboration, which has been in the works for a year and a half, has seen both institutions working together on a variety of initiatives, she said.
“We’ve been doing different things on and off with the library,” Ortiz Garza said. “The library was doing some of their young adult programming on our campus, and we were sending some of our students to their young adult programming. They’ve really ramped up all of their programming for all ages.”
Looking ahead, A&M-Victoria and the Victoria Public Library are exploring additional initiatives, including a display in the library showcasing information about the university for recruitment and general awareness. Additionally, the university has planned more story time events with the library in the future to feature athletes from A&M-Victoria. By participating in library events and supporting educational programming, A&M-Victoria hopes to promote literacy and emotional development and give a sense of belonging among young participants, Ortiz-Garza said. Feedback from recent events has been overwhelmingly positive, with children showing enthusiasm and parents gaining a greater appreciation for the university’s role in the community.
“The library is a huge asset to our community,” Ortiz Garza said. “Anytime you read to a child, it helps improve their language skills and their emotional intelligence. All those skills are necessary skills to one day be a college student at A&M-Victoria.”
Texas A&M University-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the colleges of Business, Education & Health Professions, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Science. A&M-Victoria provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as online classes that students can take from anywhere. The university supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.