The University of Texas - Pan American
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Branyan Decarlo Garcia, Pre-Med major.
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Living in Edinburg, Texas in the early 1900s, Leonides Gonz�lez and his wife, Genoveva Guerra Gonz�lez, were determined to provide a good life for their family. The industrious Leonides worked as a car salesman, fruit and vegetable buyer, garage owner, and deputy sheriff. However, in 1933 during the Great Depression, he died at age 45 leaving behind eight children and a widow who had neither formal schooling nor a job. The perseveringly hard-working young mother was able to take care of her family with the help of her oldest daughter, Consuelo, who taught school. Genoveva's other children also contributed; each began working part time at an early age. For Gloria Gonz�lez Guajardo and her siblings, their mother's "iron-willed efforts to keep the family together made a big impact on all of us. We all saw the sacrifices she made."
Because of their parents, the Gonz�lez children learned to appreciate education. "Our father always made a point of telling us how important it was to graduate from high school, get a college education and get a good job," recalled Dr. Hugo Ren� Gonz�lez. "He was a hard worker, and we learned from him that hard work was necessary if you were going to succeed in anything." Genoveva made certain that her children attended Edinburg's "Anglo" schools, where the facilities were better and the teachers more proficient. Furthermore, she insisted they speak English at home to reinforce lessons learned at school.
Embracing the values instilled by their parents, siblings Olga Gonz�lez Smith, Elpidia Gonz�lez Smith, Gloria Gonz�lez Guajardo, Luis Leonel Gonz�lez, Angel No� Gonz�lez, Hugo Ren� Gonz�lez, Consuelo Gonz�lez Hinojosa (deceased) and Belinda Gonz�lez Reese (deceased) successfully pursued degrees in higher education and enjoyed long, productive careers. Five became educators-a coach and school superintendent, three classroom teachers and one school counselor. Three chose health professions-a registered nurse, a vascular thoracic surgeon and a physician specializing in family and industrial medicine.
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The Gonz�lez children (top from left) Dr. Luis Leonel Gonz�lez, Angel No� Gonz�lez, Dr. Hugo Ren� Gonz�lez
(bottom from left) Olga Gonz�lez Smith, Elpidia Gonz�lez Smith and Gloria Gonz�lez Guajardo.
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The siblings all began their college educations at then-Edinburg Junior College, now The University of Texas-Pan American. As Olga Gonz�lez Smith explained, "Our family is eternally thankful that we had Edinburg Junior College when we graduated from high school. Since there were eight of us, we could not afford to go elsewhere to college and pay room and board plus higher college fees." Her sister Gloria Gonz�lez Guajardo added, "We were fortunate; Edinburg Junior College provided some of us with jobs that helped pay for our tuition and books."
Their mother's indomitable spirit and their father's exemplary life inspired the Gonz�lez siblings to establish the Leonides Gonz�lez and Genoveva Guerra Gonz�lez Endowed Scholarship for pre-medicine and/or education students at The University of Texas-Pan American. Their son Dr. Luis Leonel Gonz�lez spoke for all of his family when he recently said, "My parents, whom we honor with this endowment, understood well the importance an education plays in achieving success. It is our desire to help others reach their goals."
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Leonides Gonz�lez and his wife, Genoveva Guerra Gonz�lez.
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