The University of Texas System Board of Regents have awarded University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley lecturer Marcela Hebbard the 2024 Regent's Outstanding Teaching Award.

Hebbard is a lecturer in the UTRGV Writing and Language Studies Department and is one of only 12 educators across the UT system to receive this award, which recognizes exceptional classroom performance and commitment to student success.

Hebbard originally aspired to become an architect, but a strike in Mexico's academic sector changed her plans. She enrolled in bilingual secretarial school, where she began tutoring a friend in English, which ignited her passion for teaching.

Hebbard went on to obtaining five master's degrees in High Education Administration, Interdisciplinary English Studies, English as a Second Language, Biblical Studies and Cross Cultural Ministries.