A Passion to Serve
Young alum found his calling.
Through ASU’s student organizations, Eddye Zuniga-Sanchez found his calling in serving others.
Originally from College Station, Zuniga-Sanchez first heard about Angelo State from his high school geometry teacher, a former Belles volleyball player.
“She told me all these great things about ASU,” Zuniga-Sanchez said. “The faculty, the staff, the students, it all felt like family. It has a lot to do with the student organizations I was involved in - Association of Mexican American Students (AMAS), Delta Sigma Pi and Kappa Sigma. I felt like ASU was my home away from home.”
Beginning his college journey at ASU as a junior, Zuniga-Sanchez wasn’t involved with student organizations right away. But then several AMAS members talked him into helping out at a student organization block party, and the rest is history.
“I was that one kid who went straight to class and back to my residence hall,” Zuniga-Sanchez said. “I came here not knowing who I was. When I first joined AMAS, I had no idea I had the potential of serving others. I love serving people. I love helping others reach their full potential and making them feel like they’re part of something.”
“I became a co-chair for one of the sub-organizations in AMAS,” he added. “The year after that, I became the treasurer, and then I was the president. I had no idea I was going to become the president and do all these things with my peers and colleagues.”
Also a first-generation student, Zuniga-Sanchez knows the impact his college education has on his family. Relating to the hard work of his fellow Ram Fam members and wanting to celebrate with them, he helped orchestrate and named the inaugural Raíces y Sueños Stole Ceremony during commencement week of the spring 2022 semester.
“Cody Vasquez is the one who sparked the idea initially in 2019,” he said. “Cody was the one doing the marketing. I was the one doing the logistics. I was in and out of multiple meetings.”
“Raíces y sueños is Spanish for ‘roots and dreams’ and it has meaning behind it,” he added. “Wherever we go, we’re always tied to our roots.”
“I love helping others reach their full potential and making them feel like they’re part of something.”
He had no idea how popular the ceremony would be among the graduates.
“Initially, we only thought it was going to be 10-15 people,” Zuniga-Sanchez said. “Within the first two-to-three days, we were already up to 100 people who registered. We were scrambling to switch up the dates, times and location.”
With the help of Drs. Flor Madero and John Klingemann, they were able to move the ceremony into ASU’s Elta Joyce Murphey Auditorium.
“We started off with this thought of it going to be this tiny event, and then it grew to 130 people,” Zuniga-Sanchez said. “We barely had enough seats for the families.”
“This is going to be here for years to come,” he added. “It’s something to represent all of the students that don’t get enough representation. It’s celebrating them and their accomplishments along with their families.”
“I want to go to Munich, Germany, and get my Ph.D.,” Zuniga-Sanchez said. “The main reason I want to go to Munich is that my family members are of German descent, so I’m literally going back to my roots.”
“I also want to come back to San Angelo one day and retire as a professor in the Norris-Vincent College of Business,” he continued. “I want to continue to have a positive impact on people and build future leaders.”