Enrique Trejo:
CLASS OF 1988
Crockett High SchoolClass of 1988
Austin, TX
University of Texas - Graduate SchoolClass of 2006
San antonio, TX
Texas A&M University - PhilosophyClass of 2003
College station, TX
University of New MexicoClass of 1993
Albuquerque, NM
Enrique's Story
August 29, 2008
1717 Briar St.
Austin 78704
586-2552
Like most everyone, life has been quite interesting since high school.
I went to college right after high school. I went to Texas A&M University. It was the college of my father and I grew up a fan. In retrospect, I was a little too immature to start college at that time. I found myself having to leave A&M. I did a short stint in community college before returning to A&M. After a year, I wanted out. I felt like I was missing something. Something didn't feel right. A mentor suggested I leave the state and that is what I did.
I went to the University of New Mexico where I received a BA in Latin American Studies in 1993. I also had the opportunity to play football once again. I only had one year of eligibility so I was a walk-on. I was able to play in enough games to letter in football. In addition, I was talked into going out for the track team. Why not? I became a walk-on for the track and field team. I threw the javelin and competed in enough events to letter in track and field. (Boy I was in good shape then. I got fat, almost 280lbs for awhile. Now, I'm just heavy and healthy.)
I stayed at UNM and attempted graduate school. I say attempted because I did not finish. That was about four wasted years. I could not write a thesis. Man I admire people who can write a thesis. I did eventually return to Texas A&M to finish that degree I started so long ago. I guess there was something eating me about a finishing something I had started. I have a BA in Philosophy (really western philosophy) from A&M in 2003. Weird having two alma maters. I do not recommend it. I also go back to graduate school this time at the University of Texas at San Antonio in Public Administration. In fact, I start the graduate program while finishing that remaining few hours at Texas A&M. Man I did a lot of driving. Funny thing was that I wasn¿t too sure which graduate program to start so I also took classes at Texas State University in the Master¿s of Applied Geography program. I finished the MPA program in 2006 and I still need do a directed research project for Texas State. Yes it was Texas State by the time I applied. I took way too many college courses in my lifetime and the thing is that I am still not quite sure what I want to do when I grow up. If I could do it over, I would study architecture and history. Lately, I have been thinking about culinary school.
Work
I also worked but I did the A&M and UTSA thing in between jobs. I spent 4 years in Brownsville as a transportation planner working on the long range plan and GIS. That was really fun. We use to run to Padre Island every Friday afternoon after work to have dinner and walk on the beach. Also, we made a lot of excursions into Mexico. We went to a bunch of places that were off the beaten path because we lived so close to the border. Today, I am a Program Officer at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. I work in the Community Affairs side. I monitor adherence to programmatic rules and regulations. I monitor two federal programs. One is a utility assistance program and the other is a weatherization program for low income families. I travel across the state to monitor community action agencies, county governments and councils of government. I have been to many small towns across Texas. I travel about 16 weeks out of the year. That is a lot of time away from home.
Family
I have been married since 1999 to a girl from New Orleans who I met in Albuquerque. There had to be something special about her because she...Expand for more
could put up with me. She is something else. She is a lawyer whose speciality is ground water resources. Her main client is the Edwards Aquifer Authority. She was a former Assistant District Attorney in Cameron County when we lived in Brownsville.
I have three interesting children with varying abilities and talents. Alejandro is my oldest (8 yrs old). He was born with an extra chromosome on the 21st pair of chromosomes. This is typically known as Down Syndrome. This was quite a surprise ('Welcome to Holland'). He is also on the autism spectrum. He carries a toy llama with him almost everywhere he goes. He is a happy and healthy kid. He is kind of a bully though. He is a handful because he is a bully and he runs off sometimes.
My second child is Joaquin and he is 4 years old. He was born missing genes on his 22nd chromosome. It turns out that this is called 22Q11 deletion or Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome. This disorder can get quite complicated to explain and we are still learning what it means for Joaquin. The disorder explains why he needed heart surgery at 10 weeks. He is also happy and healthy but a little immune deficient. He is only learning disabled and a much different learner than Alejandro. So, I now live in a world of ARDs and IEPs with the school district. I have to admit that AISD has been pretty good.
Isabella is my youngest at 2 years. She is also the most spoiled and that is okay because she is my only girl. She has no genetic disorders. Hey, it turns out that there are no genetic disorders with me or my wife. We were just struck by lightening - twice. Anyway, I have three different learners in my house and the challenge is with me every day to teach them and address their needs.
The Philosophical section
Life has not gone as I had planned or expected since high school. I've learned that if you want God to laugh just tell him yours dreams. Well, God and I have shared a lot of laughs these last few years and we will continue to do so.
Life after high school has taught me a great deal and I do not mean all those damn classes that I've taken. The first thing I will share is that it is right to defend the most vulnerable in any society. This is reminiscent of Rawls' Theory of Justice. Looking out for the mentally disabled has reaffirmed this belief. However, this belief extends to other groups as well.
The second thing I will share is that I believe there must be a deeper meaning of 'success'. My success will not be measured by academic degrees or by monetary wealth. Success will have to be redefined by how well I can address Joaquin's and Alejandro's needs and by how well I get people to accept them. I will also need to work hard to make sure that Isabella is not short-changed in her development.
Other somewhat interesting things
I buy too many books. I read a lot but I have too many books. I make lists of the next ten books I will read and end up scrapping it because I read something not on the list. I think it is a lack of focus.
I like vegetable gardening. Now, a horticultural degree might actually be helpful because I like to garden.
I like to cook but not all the time. I'm the cook in the family. My wife is perfectly happy with prepared foods from the grocery store. I like to cook and it goes well with my vegetable garden. I enjoy the Food Network and PBS cooking shows.
I guess that is enough!
One more thing. Make it 4 children. Elias Lorenzo Trejo was born on July 31 at 10:35pm. He is healthy and we are blessed. We are also busy, busy, busy. The days just slip by so very fast.
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