Campos Family Receives TXST Family of the Year Award

The Family of the Year award was given to the Campos family during this year’s family weekend (Sept. 25-27), which brought families together at Texas State University for events and activities throughout the weekend.

Family Weekend at TXST is a time for families to experience campus life alongside their Bobcat through various events and activities. It is also a time to recognize families who go above and beyond to support their students.

Joe Matthew Campos, a senior marketing major in the McCoy College of Business, was recognized as this year’s Family of the Year with his mother, Cassandra, older sister Rebecca, and older brother Aaron during Family Weekend.

For Campos, the recognition represents more than his time at TXST. It represents the family members who supported him through the loss of his father, financial struggles, and academic setbacks.

Campos is a first-generation college student from Laredo. His father, Joe, passed away in 2021 after Campos completed his first semester at TXST.

After his father’s death, Campos said his mother became his “rock” and continued to support him through every part of college.

“My mom has been in my corner every single day,” Campos said. 

His siblings have also played an important role in his journey. Campos said his older sister, who works as a first-grade teacher in San Antonio, regularly calls to check on him. His older brother, who is only 18 months older, has also sacrificed for Campos to continue his education.

Campos said his brother took out a loan for his own student debt and gave him the remaining money so he could continue attending TXST. 

“He sacrificed his timing for my timing,” Campos said.

That support helped Campos return to TXST and continue working toward his degree. He said his family’s support has come in many forms, from phone calls and encouragement to financial help when he needed it.

Campos said his family has made his education a family effort.

“It's like a second home, a second family,” he said about TXST. 

Along with his family, Campos found a sense of community through TXST organizations and programs, including the fraternity Sigma Nu, student government, and the Hispanic Business Student Association. He also credits his professors and mentors for supporting him throughout his time at the university.

One of those professors, David Wierschem, Ph.D., associate dean of undergraduate programs for the McCoy College of Business, had a conversation with Campos during a difficult point in his college career. Campos said the conversation reminded him of the way his father would have spoken to him.

For Campos, TXST has become connected to his memories of his father. His father first visited campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the campus was mostly empty. Campos said his father enjoyed seeing the San Marcos River and later spent time with him at Cheatham Street Warehouse.

Campos and his father also shared a birthday on March 30. Their last birthday together was Campos’ 21st birthday, when they celebrated his father’s 47th birthday in San Marcos.

During Family Weekend, Campos planned to bring his family back to campus to experience some of the places that have been meaningful throughout his time at TXST. The family planned to take a glass-bottom boat tour, visit Cheatham Street, attend the Family Weekend Tailgate, and walk around campus.

The glass-bottom boat tour was especially meaningful to Campos’ mother because it was something she had wanted to do with his father but never got the chance.

As Campos prepares to graduate in December 2026, he said leaving TXST will be bittersweet.

“I feel like I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do and achieve here at Texas State, and I think this kind of puts the cherry on top of all of it,” Campos said.

After graduation, Campos plans to work full time in Dallas with a professional soccer team and eventually pursue a master’s degree. He also hopes to one day return to TXST to teach and give back to the university that helped him grow.

When asked what he thought his father would say about his family receiving the award, Campos said his father would be proud.

“He’d probably cry,” Campos said. “He’d be pretty proud.”