By Rick Vacek | August 25, 2025
This is a story about family. It all started there.
The family shared knowledge, which led to opportunity, which inspired gratitude, which resulted in unwavering devotion to The University of Texas at Dallas – a loyalty measured in T-shirts.
But to understand how these threads were woven together, you first need to understand the family ties.
Natalia Camacho was a member of the 2015 cohort of Terry Scholars® at UTD, a program housed in the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College. She is closing in on a PhD in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the same School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences discipline.
“The past 10 years have been a one-stop shop in the best way possible,” she said. “It’s a combination of everything UTD houses.”
Her cousins, juniors Alexis Carranza and Mari Hernandez, often heard those praises and didn’t need much convincing that UT Dallas was the best choice for them, too. Better yet, it kept them together beyond high school.
“I was able to go to college with my best friend,” said Alexis, who followed Natalia’s path and likewise is a Terry Scholar (2023 cohort) and a Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences major.
Mari found a similar influence in her mother, Isabel, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminology from UT Dallas. Thus, it’s hardly surprising that Mari is a criminology major.
“UT Dallas has always had a place in my heart,” Mari said. “I feel like I’ve always been involved with it. When my mom was getting her college degree, she also was raising me.”
Got all that? Just wait – there are a lot more connections to each other and to their favorite university. This family tree, like their growth at UT Dallas, is in full bloom.
In 2015, Natalia was leaning toward a shorter commute from her Frisco home to a community college when she received an email inviting her to apply for the Terry Scholars program, a full ride provided by the Houston-based Terry Foundation® to students at 11 Texas public universities.
The scholarship covers the full cost of attendance for up to eight semesters and also provides $5,000 for international study. In return, Terry Scholars are expected to give back to the community.
Still, Natalia hesitated. “I didn’t understand the concept of a full ride,” she said.
But she didn’t hesitate to seek some free advice from Isabel, who had just graduated with her master’s.
“She’s been a mentor to me in many ways,” Natalia said. “I asked her, ‘What do you think?’ She encouraged me to apply. She is an older cousin who’s like a sister, and through her confidence and guidance I saw a trusted institution.”
Eight years later, Alexis saw how much Natalia valued the UT Dallas/Terry Scholars experience and applied to the program. And just as Isabel came to Natalia’s aid, Natalia coached Alexis through the final Terry Foundation interview in Houston (“Hardest thing I’ve ever had to overcome,” Alexis said) and all the other hurdles she would have to clear to earn the scholarship.
Once again, it was a family affair.
“Our families say that Natalia and I are like the copy-and-paste of each other – we are the same exact person,” Alexis said.
Natalia and Alexis look remarkably alike for a good reason: Their parents are two sister/brother combinations – Alexis’ mother and Natalia’s father, and Natalia’s mom and Alexis’ dad.
There also is an interesting family dynamic between Alexis and Mari. Even though they were born only four months apart, they are aunt and niece because Isabel is Alexis’ older sister. The best friends like to tell people they’re twins.
Sheila Kelly, Director of the Terry Scholars Program, sees another resemblance.
“They are all lovely people,” said Kelly, who didn’t know Natalia and Alexis were related until she met Alexis. “They are confident, ambitious, outgoing and have excelled on their individual paths. They are all leaders in their own right and outstanding contributors to the communities they are part of.”
And so passionate, too. From volleyball to the Innocence Project to the Play With Me program to, of course, the Terry Scholars, they’re committed to service as much as courtesy.
Mari’s service on the volleyball court is quite literal – serving and setting are key parts of her role as the libero on the UT Dallas women’s team. She wanted to play college sports as an homage to her father’s soccer skills, just as her interest in criminology was piqued by her mother’s career. It’s her way of showing appreciation.
“My parents were young parents. They made a lot of sacrifices, a lot of investments to provide me with the life and opportunities I have now,” she said.
She also is grateful for the Innocence Project, which works to exonerate people believed to be wrongfully convicted. Reviewing real cases, reading police briefs and bringing her findings to a project attorney is excellent training for the pre-law student’s plans to someday argue cases in a courtroom.
Another piece of excellent training is Play With Me, the bilingual, playful-learning program for children ages 0 to 3 and their parents offered by the Center for Children and Families. Like the Terry Scholars, it has been a UT Dallas anchor for both Natalia and Alexis.
“That kickstarted my research interests,” said Natalia, who continues to give back to the Terry Scholars program as an alumna. “It is because of that program that I love working with kids and knew I would love becoming a speech and language pathologist.”
Her Play With Me experience is reflected in her dissertation, in which she examines the bilingual development of young children learning Spanish and English with a focus on properly identifying developmental language disorders among them.
Hearing Natalia talk so glowingly about the program convinced Alexis to sign up, and now Alexis raves just as much. “I’ve made such strong, lasting, impactful relationships,” she said, “and I’ve known them for only about a year.”
Alexis also put her heart and soul into serving as the Terry Scholars social director last year. You guessed it – same result.
“She is extremely organized, radiates positivity and planned, budgeted and communicated so well,” Kelly said. “The student organization overall greatly benefited from the time and effort Alexis put into initiating so many successful events.”
But just in case their dedication isn’t obvious, Natalia, Mari and Alexis wear it. They figure that together they own nearly a hundred UT Dallas-branded items, mainly T-shirts, jackets and hoodies.
Mari leads the way with about 40, many of them from volleyball and one from her work as the 2024-25 Community Outreach director on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
But, for all three, adding to the collection is always a possibility. “I tell the girls, ‘Don’t let me go to the bookstore because I’m trying not to buy another T-shirt,’” Natalia said, laughing.
Put them all at a family dinner, and the conversation inevitably turns to their appreciation for UT Dallas.
Natalia: “I’m just very thankful. I always try to represent UT Dallas, I try to represent the Terry Foundation, I try to represent the speech-language pathology program.”
Mari: “UTD has given me the opportunity to get the best of both worlds. I am able to honor my mom’s legacy and pursue what I love in criminology and law.”
Alexis: “I wouldn’t be able to pursue higher education without the Terry Foundation and Sheila Kelly. She’s always there for us. Dean Skinner (Dr. Donal Skinner, head of the Honors College) also is a big factor in the Terry Foundation. All their sacrifices and the work they do doesn’t go unnoticed.”
But it always comes back to one unifying force.
“I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” Alexis added, “without the love and support from all my family members.”
Family. It all started there … and that’s why it continues.