U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) noted the “massive opportunity” available to students in the Rio Grande Valley during an entrepreneurship talk Friday in Sabal Hall on the Brownsville campus.
The “Leadership Talk with Vicente Gonzalez” was hosted by the International Business & Entrepreneurship Student Association and the Accounting Society.
“I love coming to UTRGV,” Gonzalez told an audience of about 60 students. “I love talking to young people that are coming through the educational system, that are … aspiring to do great things and, more than anything, aspiring to do them here in the Rio Grande Valley.”
He said even though most people may know him as a congressman, a lawyer or an entrepreneur, he was a high school dropout.
“It was through a strong community and opportunities that I was able to go back to school through a GED and go to a community college and, then, the university … and then I went to law school. And it really changed my life. I became a lawyer and, for 20 years, I practiced law, you know, across the state and across the country.”
He represented policyholders and the “small guy” against big corporations as a lawyer.
“Nine years ago, I decided to take that same fight to Washington and I really just left my legal career behind after 20 years,” Gonzalez said.
He encouraged students who want to become entrepreneurs to take advantage of the available opportunities in the Valley as people “are exporting to the United States and the world from the Port of Brownsville.”
“It’s pretty amazing the opportunities that we have right here, things that you can’t do from other parts of the country,” Gonzalez said. “A massive opportunity is for you guys to be able to really learn and engage and find out … what industries and what type of businesses are we trying to move from China and Asia to Mexico. … There’s going to be massive growth in that sector.”
On Tuesday night, voters reelected Gonzalez to a second term in Congress as a representative for District 34. Previously, he served three terms representing District 15.
Ervey Gonzalez, president of IBESA and a global trade management graduate student, said the event was an opportunity to learn from Gonzalez and his experiences as an entrepreneur and congressman. Gonzalez, who is not related to the congressman, said Gonzalez does a “very good job” using presentation and communication skills.
“I think just seeing, you know, how he speaks and how he presents himself … could be something I could apply to my life,” he said. “… I could learn from him in that sense.”
Russell Adams, UTRGV chair of international business and entrepreneurship, said the goal of the leadership talks is to expose students to different leaders and different perspectives.
“I think that they learn several good things,” Adams said, referring to the talks. “I think one big one is [learning] the importance of getting both sides of the story. … Anything you can do to expand your horizons is going to make you more valuable and more successful.”
