KINGSVILLE (Nov. 25, 2025) — After Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s (TAMUK) Workforce Development completed its first Clinical Medical Assistance Program in the new Alice location, the 10-person cohort were given their certificates of completion and recognized by Jim Wells County Judge Pete Trevino during a Jim Wells County Commissioner’s Court meeting Monday morning.
The first Alice CMA group completed its instruction at the Jim Wells County Annex and is the result of a collaboration between TAMUK and the county meant to make earning similar certifications more accessible to rural communities in the university’s surrounding counties.
“A lot of students in these rural communities may not think that they can make it in A&M-Kingsville,” said Texas A&M University-Kingsville president Dr. Robert Vela. “This is a great introduction to get these types of certifications within your backyard and then get the inspiration to move forward by coming back to our university and continuing your journey.
“We are making tremendous headway when it comes to working with county judges, working with mayors of these rural communities to open up these opportunities so that students don’t leave” Vela added. “A lot of these students are working, so it’s difficult to come to school, so we bring it to them. If we can get them one step closer to getting those credentials and their degrees, then we’re going to do that. That is my commitment to South Texas.”
The 15-week course was taught by instructor Emilia Jasso and was approximately 160 hours, including clinicals.
Upon completion, students are now able to take the National Healthcare Association (NHA) exam, which is included with the price of the class. Exams are Dec. 1.
Students also learned skills that will allow them to pursue careers as phlebotomists and EKG technicians — an area of need for Jim Wells County and surrounding rural communities.
"Bringing this program to Alice, where CMA’s are greatly needed at our healthcare facilities in Jim Wells County, allowed us to keep qualified workers here as well,” said Brenda Ballard, Director for Workforce Training at Texas A&M-Kingsville. “We educate them here so they don’t have to go far and we keep them here because they are already rooted in this community. We’re also building this community at the same time.”
“In adult partners, which we’re dealing with, any roadblock that you put in their way can potentially be an automatic stop for them,” Ballard added. “We removed the fact that they had to travel. Some are also financially strained, so to have a vehicle to even take was hard for them. We also had grant money for a lot of them so they received scholarships. We are also grouped as a training course with Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend, so some received funding from that as well.”
Anyone interested in enrolling in the CMA program in either Kingsville or Alice can find information on the TAMUK Workforce Development website or call 361-593-4261.
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