{"id":3177,"date":"2018-07-16T14:50:12","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T14:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3177"},"modified":"2018-07-16T14:50:12","modified_gmt":"2018-07-16T14:50:12","slug":"los-fresnos-superintendent-gets-his-start-at-tstc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3177","title":{"rendered":"Los Fresnos Superintendent gets his start at TSTC"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – It all started in 1987 at Texas State Technical Institute, now Texas State Technical College, for Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Gonzalo Salazar.<\/p>\n

Fresh out of high school, the Brownsville native enrolled in what is now Architectural Design and Engineering Graphics, to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming an architect.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor as long as I can remember I wanted to be an architect,\u201d said Salazar. \u201cAnd I was finally in college, I felt accomplished. This is was my shot to pull my family out of poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing up one of eight siblings, Salazar helped his parents pay bills and put food on the table, so while enrolled at TSTC he worked fulltime at a service station in Brownsville.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in a position many of our students are in,\u201d he said. \u201cI was a disadvantaged student, with an unreliable car that made it difficult some days to get to class.\u201d<\/p>\n

So when a customer, who was a border patrol agent suggested he join the force, Salazar took it to heart and withdrew from TSTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the border patrol was a great idea, but getting in turned out to be a long, drawn out process. A lot of waiting,\u201d said Salazar. \u201cAnd I had to do something while I waited.\u201d\"Gonzalo<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Salazar, through encouragement from his parents, enrolled at the University of Texas at Brownsville, now the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), and earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in 1996 in Bilingual Education and Spanish and in 1999 a master\u2019s degree in Educational Administration.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s safe to say, Salazar never got to the border patrol, but instead found a different career path that was fulfilling and rewarding.<\/p>\n

Immediately after earning his bachelor\u2019s degree he accepted a job as a fourth grade teacher at Dr. Cash Elementary School in San Benito, later joining the Los Fresnos CISD family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was guilt about leaving TSTC that\u2019s why I never went back,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I feel that everything that has happened was God\u2019s plan for me. Education was my calling, it just took me time and some failures to realize it.\u201d<\/p>\n

With more than 20 years of experience in education and 18 years with the district having served as an assistant principal and principal for Los Fresnos CISD, the district\u2019s Board of Trustees appointed Salazar superintendent in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve really had a fantastic and very rewarding career, and it all started at TSTC,\u201d said Salazar. \u201cI may have abandoned one dream to find a new one and although I\u2019m not designing buildings, I\u2019m still designing.\u201d Salazar added, \u201cWe\u2019re designing futures here at Los Fresnos CISD. And what we do shapes the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salazar said as superintendent he works to maintain a partnership with TSTC and other higher educational institutes because of the impact college has on lives.<\/p>\n

Not only did TSTC kickstart Salazar\u2019s college career, but it also touched his son\u2019s life when he graduated from the college with an Academic Core certificate before even graduating from high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing how life comes full circle,\u201d said Salazar. \u201cThis was a proud moment for me. TSTC and all higher education creates pathways for our students and gives them the chance to forge a brighter future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salazar said the advice he shares with his children and his students about education is the same thing his late grandfather and father shared with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandfather always said, \u2018You must work hard to get out of poverty and, although life will give you challenges, education holds a promise,\u2019\u201d said Salazar. \u201cAnd like my dad always said, \u2018The years will go by anyways, have something to show for it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

With that being said, it took Salazar nearly seven years to complete his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from UTRGV, but he finally crossed the finish line this summer officially becoming Dr. Gonzalo Salazar.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to continue modeling lifelong learning and to continue making a difference in the young lives that cross my path,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – It all started in 1987 at Texas State Technical Institute, now Texas State Technical College, for Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Gonzalo Salazar. Fresh out of high school, the Brownsville native enrolled in what is now Architectural Design and Engineering Graphics, to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming an architect. \u201cFor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3177"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3179,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3177\/revisions\/3179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}