General News
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UIL Welcomes Four New Faces
By Chris Schmidt | Thursday, September 10, 2009 12:51 PM
The University Interscholastic League is proud to welcome four new members to the staff.
Veronica Cantu, Marketing Manager – Cantu came to the UIL in August from Dell where she worked for two years in their Latin American Marketing and U.S. Services departments.
A native of San Antonio, Cantu graduated in 2001 from Texas A&M University where she majored in international business and marketing. She later earned her master's in international business and marketing from Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico.
Cantu’s duties will include working with UIL vendors, sponsorships and contracts.
Avi Ghosh, Administrative Associate – Ghosh began working at the UIL in March after a successful stint managing the Blackberry music showcase at the 2009 South by Southwest Music Festival. Before moving to Austin he worked at Discover Card for three years as a decision support analyst out of Chicago and Little Rock.
Printing Press Operator Says Farewell to UIL
By Stephanie Ramirez | Friday, August 28, 2009 1:00 PM
After almost 30 years of service to the University Interscholastic League, Carol Finsrud will start the printing press for the last time on Aug. 31. After starting as a student employee in the mailroom in 1979, Finsrud became a full-time employee in 1981 running the printing press and has been a part of the UIL family ever since.
In July, Finsrud announced her retirement.
“I’m very blessed to be able to retire now,” Finsrud said. “I just want more time to expand on other things.”
Those “other things” range from focusing on her discus and shot put throwing to helping her husband with their gym in Lockhart.
Originally from Minneapolis, Finsrud moved to Texas in the fall of 1977 to attend the University of Texas at Austin on an athletic scholarship as one of the University’s first two female throwers for its Track and Field team.
“Texas was a sight unseen,” she said. “I came for better weather to pursue my passion so that I could practice all year round. I still haven’t left.”
Two Former Legislative Council Members Leave Their Mark of UIL
By Jeanne Acton | Monday, August 17, 2009 10:20 AM
The League lost two of its champion supporters this summer.
On July 22, Vernon Newsom, who retired as the Mansfield ISD Superintendent in June, died from injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident in South Dakota.
Then on Aug. 6 in Wichita Falls, Dan Owen, the former superintendent of Holliday ISD, lost his nine-month battle with cancer.
Both men served two four-year terms on the Legislative Council. Newsom resigned in June when he announced his retirement from Mansfield ISD, and Owen served on the Council from 1987 to 1995.
Lessons from the Past Help Shape UIL’s Future
By Charles Breithaupt | Thursday, August 13, 2009 11:54 AM
The UIL Centennial Committee began planning for the celebration of the 100th birthday of the UIL nearly two years ago. The first stage of this celebration was a student leadership conference held in conjunction with the UIL Legislative Council summer meetings. The highlight of the conference and the Council meetings was the presentation by these students we called the Elite 100.
The Elite 100 was made up of 100 of the best and brightest students in our state. Nominated by their principals, these students represented those who currently participate in UIL activities. Their presentations to the Council were significant and served the purpose of opening a dialogue regarding the direction of the League for the next century.
Listening to the desires of our students is an important step in assuring that our activities remain viable. After all, these activities belong to the students. While school leaders sponsor and administer extracurricular activities, if students are not interested in what we offer or how we run them, we risk losing their participation.
The students of the Elite 100 expressed gratitude for the activities already offered. They suggested several new activities as well as modifications to the processes of current activities.
UIL Kicks Off Centennial Anniversary With Student Conference
By Chris Schmidt | Wednesday, August 12, 2009 12:23 PM
In June, 100 student leaders from across the state descended on the University of Texas campus to attend the UIL Elite 100 Conference and to kick off the centennial anniversary for the League.
Doherty Joins UIL Staff
By Stephanie Ramirez | Friday, May 01, 2009 1:02 PM
Susan Doherty is one of the many new additions to the University Interscholastic League, and one that most likely everyone will get to know. Doherty was named the new executive assistant to UIL Executive Director Dr. Charles Breithaupt.
Doherty and her husband moved to Austin, Texas in 1995 after he was transferred from St. Louis for his job with AT&T. Doherty took a job with Southwestern University in Georgetown where she worked in the registrar’s office until 2007. Before coming to the UIL, Doherty worked at the Texas Girls Coaches Association as an administrative assistant for Sam Tipton.
In Doherty’s explanation of her job, it is basically to help out with anything Dr. Breithaupt needs, from booking appointments to updating information about the school districts and Constitution and Contest Rules.
After 3 Decades, Karen Day Retires From UIL
By Stephanie Ramirez | Friday, May 01, 2009 11:04 AM
At her retirement party, the University Interscholastic League staff joked about how many different times Karen Day had already tried to leave the League and wondered if this was actually Day’s final time to leave. But this time it was.
After 34 years of service with the UIL, Day’s official last day was March 31, 2009.
“My husband retired last year, and this is the time that we can both travel and visit our kids and grandbaby,” Day said.
Sponsor Excellence Awards Announced
By Kim Rogers | Wednesday, March 04, 2009 9:50 AM
The University Interscholastic League is proud to recognize 15 of the top UIL sponsors in Texas as the 2008 UIL Sponsor Excellence Award winners.
The winners were selected by a panel of judges in the areas of music, athletics, and academics from nominations submitted by school principals and superintendents across the state.
The award, now in its 18th year, was created to identify and recognize outstanding sponsors who enable students to develop and refine their extracurricular talents to the highest degree possible within the educational system.
Each winner receives $1,000 and a distinctive trophy from the UIL in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the pursuit of educational excellence through interscholastic competition. The University Interscholastic League continually strives to strengthen and promote the role of extracurricular activities in Texas through programs like the UIL Sponsor Excellence Award.
UIL Celebrates Black History Month
By Stephanie Ramirez | Friday, February 27, 2009 10:07 AM
Walking in to the University Interscholastic League office, one of the first things a visitor see is a wall that displays more than just your average office artwork. In honor of Black History Month, the UIL unveiled a display to honor African-American participants over the years.
“I wanted the exhibit to show the same support for Black History Month that is exhibited around the country,” UIL Executive Director Charles Breithaupt said. “At the UIL, we have so much to celebrate in regards to Black History Month because we have had so many gifted actors, musicians and athletes compete.”
When he was principal of Hardin-Jefferson High School, Breithaupt had his students put together a display, which eventually became his inspiration for this project.
Smith Promoted to Financial Director
By Ty Terrasso | Friday, February 27, 2009 9:59 AM
Dijaira “Di” Smith believes herself to be a pretty lucky person, but luck had little to do with her recent promotion to Financial Director this month. Her willingness to go the extra mile has been instrumental in her professional success over the years.
She grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil with no desire to claim the United States as her place of residence. It would only be by a stroke of her signature luck that she would come to call Austin home.
Smith first came to the United States in 1995 in pursuit of her masters’ degree in Business Finance. For several years she worked within the private sector as a financial manager in Sao Paulo before making her decision to move to Austin. Di sought the upward mobility a Western education would provide her. The professional climate in Brazil at the time made female advancement in the workplace a difficult proposition. She planned to get her MBA in America and return to Brazil with the competitive edge necessary for a woman to compete in upper management.