By Jessica Cuevas (March 29, 2024)
It was a Good Friday, in every sense of the phrase. The LEAP Center has been very fortunate in being able to host Judge Alberto Gonzalez every Spring semester (with a lot of help from Lt. Col. Yebra) here at Sam Houston State University. Judge Gonzales has served this country in multiple positions from being a lawyer, Judge of the Texas Supreme Court, White House Counsel, the first ever Hispanic Attorney General, and currently the Dean of Belmont Law. Judge Gonzales has an inspiring story, and it is always a pleasure to bring him to campus.
Following an introduction by Cinthia Villarreal, Colonel David Yebra played a video showing highlights of Gonzales’ career. As this video was playing, I flashbacked to my freshman year, when I first met General Gonzales. I remember watching the video and feeling inspired, as his journey reaffirmed my decision to pursue a legal career, with the “hard work and long studying” that he encouraged. This experience came to a full circle as I sat across Judge Gonzales having already been accepted into four law schools, including Belmont Law.
Gonzales discussed the fact that his parents had less than a high school education, but they inspired him to show up, work hard, do the difficult things first, and have faith every step of the way. One of the best pieces of advice he offered was to make sure you took the opportunities afforded you. They may not come along often, and you want to make the most of them.
Students asked many questions, and they were clearly inspired by Judge Gonzales’ discussion. He reminded students that conviction and perseverance are important qualities, and he encouraged students to “Dream as big as you can dream.”
In responding to a question about law school, Judge Gonzales emphasized that a legal education teaches students how to think, analyze, and advocate not only for others but for themselves as well. It presents us with many opportunities and if he were given nine lives, he would pursue a law degree in all nine, that’s how important he believes it to be.
This proved to be inspiring advice, even for those in the group who are not planning to go to law school.
And we had quite the line to sign up for photos with General Gonzales.
We were very grateful that Judge Gonzales and Colonel Yebra agreed to spend their Good Friday afternoon with us!
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 