The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) has made part of its mission to become a bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate public institution. Established in 2015 on two legacy institutions, The University of Texas-Pan American and The University of Texas Brownsville, it must reconcile a past that was not always welcoming of its students’ bilingualism. This article examines one instructor’s experience taking one of the university’s signature first-year experience courses and creating a class that is welcoming and supportive of the students’ bilingualism while also reconciling his own educational experiences with language
