Advice on the go

Transporting about 250 people between campuses on a daily basis, UTRGV Driver Juan Manuel “Manny” Espino estimates that he encourages, motivates and speaks with at least 150 students.

From a family of 11 siblings, Espino used to migrate between Mexico and the U.S. with his family to work in agriculture fields in various states, but mainly in California and Washington. His father was born in El Paso but they lived in Mexico because they had land of their own there.

“Cuando fuera grande yo quería ser como mi papá. Él era electricista, carpintero. De hecho, todavía hay casas que él hizo que siguen en pie”, Espino dijo. “Yo decía, ‘Cuando yo esté grande, quiero ser como mi papá porque todo lo que él dice sale cierto. Todo lo que habla tiene razón’. Para mí, él fue un ejemplo, mi ídolo”.

He was hired as a custodian for legacy institution UT Pan American in 2011, then he acquired a job as a shuttle bus driver after UTPA merged with UT Brownsville to become UTRGV in 2015 and he has been a bus driver since.

Espino transports members of the campus community to Edinburg, Harlingen and Brownsville.

Covering the night shift, Espino remembers how he struggled for a year to transition from part time to full time in the day shift.

“La gente que trabaja de noche sabe lo difícil y lo duro que es, no duermes, el tiempo, tu ritmo, y tu vida se voltean porque ya no estás en la casa en la noche”, Espino dijo. “Es otro tipo de ritmo que llevas, hasta para comer, porque trabajas de noche y duermes de día”.

Regardless of the issues that he faced, he always stayed positive.

“En ocasiones, me desesperaba, pero mi sueño era quedarme con UTPA. Para mí, la universidad es la máxima casa de la cultura. Me gustaba, yo quería quedarme y me dieron la oportunidad. Me siento muy orgulloso del trabajo que he desempeñado en UTRGV. Desde que empecé como custodian, todo lo he hecho con mucho gusto”.

Being a bus driver is what he enjoys the most.

“Cuando descanso, me desespero en ocasiones porque ya quiero regresar a trabajar. Es más que un trabajo, es mi vida, y en cierto modo hay muchos estudiantes que yo considero como familia”, Espino dijo.

Asked how much he liked his job, he replied, “I like my job; I love it.”

Espino loves his job as a shuttle bus driver; however, he used to dream of being an astronaut.

“Cuando era niño, siempre soñaba con que yo un día iba a ser astronauta e iba a ir a la luna. Siempre he tenido esa fascinación por los planetas”, el dijo.

Nonetheless, he also has plans to become a certified HVAC technician in the near future.

It’s not unusual to hear Espino talk about a wide range of topics with students.

Sebastian Wong, a political science and economics senior at UTRGV, met Espino four years ago and has been friends with him since. Wong said Espino “is very intelligent.”

“We always have conversations about religion, spirituality, life in general and we much agree in the same stuff even though he is a Christian and I’m not,” Wong said.

Rene Luna, an international business sophomore, also noted the variety of topics.

“Tú llegas, saludas, y pues el tema que salga. Puede ser el clima, el espacio, la religión, política, o la violencia en México, ya que él sabe cómo ha estado la situación recientemente”, Luna dijo. “Y pues si, se habla de infinidad de cosas, como quien dice debatiendo, pero cada quien respetando su punto o concordando en cierto modo”.

Asked to describe Espino to someone who doesn’t know him, Wong replied that Espino is “very friendly, very polite, very outgoing, and someone you can rely on in terms of conversations, spiritual things, and overall a person that you can talk to, you can identify with him in terms of culture, family values and society values.”

Luna dijo, “Muy buen amigo, muy buena persona, muy buen motivador, excelente persona. En el poco tiempo que llevo de conocerlo, he notado que es muy amigable, muy abierto, siempre está allí para ayudarte”.

Luis Arturo Gonzalez Davila, a mechanical engineering sophomore, also said how “Espino spreads his happiness by talking with people, giving advice and supporting students to keep trying to reach our goals.”

“I’ve known him since I started using the shuttle and since then, I can tell that we are good friends and not just me. I bet there are more people that can say the same,” Gonzalez Davila said.

Daniela Venegas, a program adviser for the Office of Student Involvement, said one can count on Espino to brighten the day.

“You can be having a bad day and Manny is there,” Venegas said. “First thing when they open that door, you see Manny smiling; that changes your attitude.”

Espino said when he retires, he will feel accomplished knowing he had an impact on some students.

“Amo lo que hago”, Espino dijo. “Yo estoy aquí porque amo UTRGV. I love my job. Cuando me retire, estaré satisfecho y feliz porque voy a saber que esos muchachos, que yo un día hablé con ellos, que un día les di una palabra de aliento, que un día los motivé, que son grandes personas y que realizaron sus sueños. De una manera u otra, me voy a sentir realizado porque yo estuve allí con ellos”.