2008, the Mexican pop group, RBD, played at a private concert in Saint Joseph Academy's gymnasium after several students won a competition sponsored by Verizon Wireless. By June 2012, the whole campus in SJA got wireless network connection. Mission statement St. Joseph Academy, conducted by the Marist Brothers with the mission to serve the children of the lower portion of the Rio Grande Valley, dedicates to provide a "religious and moral formation" and a college preparatory education under the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. According to the official page of the school, the SJA "endeavors" to form students that will succeed in their university studies, understand and love Jesus Christ, and participate in the mission of the Church, including Catholic social teaching on the preferential option for the poor. Every year, about 100 students and more than a dozen faculty members travel to several rural communities to do community services and conduct religious classes. The school also has a community service requirement for each student during the school year, and that chore is set up by the religion professors. In the early 2000s, the missions program at St. Joseph travelled to Tula, Tamaulipas every year; in 2012, they traveled to a Native American reservation near Gallup, New Mexico on a 10-day trip. Athletics At a high school level, SJA has baseball, basketball, cheerleading, dance team, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, and track and field. In junior high, which is only from seventh to eighth grade, basketball, football, cross country, track and field and volleyball are available. In 2021, the boys Cross Country team, coached by Teddy Lopez, earned second place in the TAPPS State Meet in the 5A division. The team was coached by Teddy Lopez along with Mike Schlater and Louie Tijerina. This team was led by Pedro Cardenas and was made up of the district winning team Alejandro Ramirez, Jorge Albores, Juan Gonzalez, Mauricio Gonzalez, and Julio Cesar Silguero. Communities represented Students attending Saint Joseph Academy come from the following communities in the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan area. Cities in Mexico Matamoros, Tamaulipas Cities in the U.S. (Texas) Notable alumni Robert Rodriguez (physician) — is an American emergency physician working at the San Francisco General Hospital. He is a professor of emergency medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine and is a member of the COVID-19 Advisory Board of U.S. president Joe Biden. Filemon Vela Jr. —