Posted on May 2, 2025 by Rebekah Alegria
Stacy Carrizales’ heart has always belonged to San Antonio. Attending UTSA allowed her to maintain her hometown roots, but more importantly allowed her to blossom into something more powerful.
Stacy Carrizales, B.B.A. Marketing '25
Carrizales will graduate this spring with a B.B.A. in Marketing from the Carlos Alvarez College of Business.
“I was born and raised here in San Antonio, and I am in love with my city,” she shared. “I was accepted to other great schools, but I always knew in my heart that I wanted to plant my roots here.”
As a first-generation college student, Stacy Carrizales doesn’t take the opportunity lightly. With her parents as her biggest supporters, she carries their hopes and dreams with pride and purpose. “My education means everything,” she said.
Realizing her true calling in marketing, Carrizales picked a major that would let her tap into her wide-ranging passions and connect with others. “Marketing touches every industry,” she said. “It’s allowed me to explore all of my interests, from miniature collectibles to pickleball to quantum physics. I don’t think any other major would’ve given me that kind of creative freedom.”
Carrizales credits several faculty members with shaping her college journey, especially Wendy Gratereaux, professor of practice in marketing. Her applied learning approach inspired Carrizales to participate in a real-world marketing challenge with Taco Palenque. Her creative pitch led to her selection as a Taco Palenque brand ambassador, opening new doors in experiential marketing.
“They made me feel seen, not just as a student, but as someone with something to contribute,” she said. That validation carried into her current role as a brand project manager at a creative agency in San Antonio. 
As a non-STEM major, Carrizales never expected to find a place in research, but that changed when she was one of nine students selected for the UTSA IES Pathways Fellows Program, a program funded by the U.S. Department of Education to encourage interdisciplinary research for undergraduates. Always eager to try something new, her research focused on how Hispanic-Serving Institutions like UTSA can use culturally relevant communication to foster undergraduate research engagement.
“My parents don’t speak English, and that shaped how I see access to opportunity,” she explained. “My research was about helping others see themselves in higher education.”
Through this program, Carrizales presented at national research conferences and gained lifelong friendships and professional confidence. “I went from never flying on a plane to presenting coast to coast,” she said.
Inspired by her research and lived experiences as a bilingual Latina navigating business and communication, she founded Vemos Vamos, a bilingual platform designed to help individuals turn their passions into profitable ventures. “Our language plays a big role in what we pursue and love,” she explained. “There’s so much untapped potential in the Latin market, and I want to bridge that gap.”
That same curiosity and openness led her to participate in the UTSA Alvarez Business Immersion to Costa Rica, where she witnessed firsthand how business values can reflect cultural priorities. “In Costa Rica, time moved slower. They prioritize people and job creation in ways that are so different from the U.S.,” she said. “That experience completely reset my perspective.”
Building community closer to home, she joined the Russian Club and the Pickleball Club at UTSA to stay grounded and well-rounded. “I want to be quadrilingual by 30,” she laughed. “I believe being intentional about learning and connection makes us better people.”
As for what’s next, graduate school is on the horizon. “I hope to be enrolled in a master’s program within the next year,” she said. But no matter where her journey takes her, her purpose is clear. “In 10 years, I want to fund startups and support the people and ideas that inspire me,” she said. “But it all starts here. UTSA didn’t just prepare me for the future; it made me realize I’m already living it.”
— Rebekah Alegria
