Persistence in Adversity with Dr. Adame

Iliana Villalobos is a lawyer at the Villalobos Law Firm in McAllen, working alongside her parents, Attorneys Jesse and Margie Villalobos. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Iliana is a recent graduate of the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, and recently passed the Texas Bar Exam. In this episode Iliana shares ab...

Daniel Chavez, Electrical Engineer and native from Las Milpas shares about having to work since he was 10 years old. He grew up in a migrant home with many obstacles, but his biggest adversity was being poor. It was an electrical shock that triggered his interest in electricity and years later he turned it into a career. Mr. Chavez talks about his faith in God, and how He has blessed him in every...

In this episode Reene Bentacourt, judge, shares a bit of her story. She describes about growing up in the valley, her migrant family, and why she decided to study law. She relates about being a mom of three girls, adversities she had to overcome, and also provided life advice. Echale ganas mija is a motto she lives by, something her dad used to advice her since the begining, to keep going.

Kijuan Amey, shares his life experience from being a student and business owner, to falling into what he calls, depression setting and a very dark scary suicidal moment. He thanks God that He rescued him. Kijuan an Air Force Veteran and now an author, talks about a dramatic accident which left him with a broken back and blind. He provides life advice and says, you need to take action after your fa...

Teresa Capistran, superintendent, shares about growing up in the valley. She has two masters and is an educator at heart. She serves in many boards such as United Way, RGV LEAD, RGV Focus and others. Mrs. Capistran shares about her struggles growing up and talks about some of her life experiences. Some advice she provided is to "never give up, adversities will always come, and ask for help when yo...

In this episode Nincy Erazo shares about her mother bringing her and her sister to the United States from Guatemala when she was just 3 years old. She talks about the mental and physical abuse she suffered from her husband. Nincy discusses getting pregnant and then having a miscarriage and how the abuse continued. Until one day she got the courage to leave the abusive relationship. She also shares...

Another episode of the #REGARDLESS campaign. Gabriela Kolman is a graduate student currently studying literature. She's a Brazil native who migrated to the United States as a teenager after finding a way to tell her mom the abuse her siblings and her were going through. She shares a bit of her story and struggles and how she managed to make a better life for herself. Gabriela hopes to one day heal...

En este episodio Julio Dominguez, abogado, nos platica de donde viene, y lo dificil que fue para el decir que queria ejercer esta carrera. Julio tiene mas de 20 años practicando en Mexico y Estados Unidos, a dado clases de derrecho en diferentes universidades. Tambien habla sobre porque corre maratones, las carreras y obstaculos que a tenido en su vida. Nos platica lo que el exito y la persistenci...

Colleen Biggs is an Award-Winning Peak Performance Coach with over 20 years of experience, she has launched over 340 businesses, is an International Speaker, Author to 5 #1 International Best-Seller’s and the CEO and founder of L.E.A.P. In this episode she shares how she struggled in her early years as an entrepreneur and how life is not about likes and followers. She talks about the importance of...

Norma Pimentel, a Sister with the Missionaries of Jesus, has served as the Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley for over 12 years. She oversees the charitable arm of the Diocese of Brownsville, providing oversight of different ministries & services in the Rio Grande Valley through emergency assistance, homelessness prevention, disaster relief, clinical counseling, preg...

Mr. Joe Quiroga has led Texas National Bank, a Hispanic-Owned community bank, since 2007 and since then it has grown from $64 million to $780 million in assets. Prior to joining the bank, he was Vice President at JPMorgan Chase. In this episode Mr. Quiroga, a native from Mexico, shares what success means to him, talks about his background and a bit of his career. In addition, he talks about how Go...

Juan Carlos Aguirre, native of Camargo Tamaulipas Mexico and a chemical engineer, shares with us his upbringing and some struggles. He also talks about his education, describes some of his successes, and provides life advice. He practiced engineering at Dow Chemical for 15 years and later joined South Texas College as a Training Specialist, served as a director and then promoted to Dean of Continu...

En este episodio Norma Reyes De Ordorica, muy conocida como Norma Mandala, nos platica de su niñez y como llego a ser consultora. Ella habla como tuvo que proveer para sus hermanos cuando mueren sus padres, se casa de muy joven, y como llega a lo que hace el día de hoy. Ella es autora del libro Del Miedo al Amor y tiene 25 años como Consultora en Desarrollo Humano, Constelaciones Familiares, tambi...

Edgar Hernandez a native of Alton Texas enjoyed playing sports with his friends as a child. After graduating High school, he joined the US Army where he served 7 and a half years. He shares about 9/11 and how in February 2003 his unit 507 Maintenance Company 5/52 Air Defense Artillery was deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom. On March 23, 2003, his unit was ambushed by Iraqi soldiers in Al Nasiriya...

Jaime and Cristina Farias are former school teachers, and a normal couple like many who struggled for a long time on how to control their spending and pay bills on time. After Jaime was laid off from his job, things got more difficult. After securing a new job, Jaime and Cristina were determined to take control of their finances, so The Money Funnel System was born. Jaime has a Degree from Texas A...

Dr. Maria Harper-Marinick, a Dominican Republic native, holds a Master and Ph. D. degrees in education from ASU. She has been a teacher and a mentor to many, is a national leader in higher education and a strong advocate for access to opportunity, equity, and student success. In this episode she discusses her background, what drives her and provides life advice. Dr. Harper-Marinick served the Mari...

#REGARDLESS Series Igdalia Covarrubias, grew up in a small agricultural town located in the San Joaquin Valley region of California and is now a PhD student at Ohio State University. In this episode, she shares her story of abuse and how she overcame adversity to pursue her dreams. From growing up in poverty to being awarded 11 scholarships in high school, including the prestigious Gates Millenniu...

Alex Sarabia, Valedictorian of his Roma High School Class and a DELL Scholar, shares his story growing up in the Rio Grande Valley. He describes his childhood growing up in a border town and provides insight on the skills necessary to succeed. Alex has been a psychology professor for over 10 years and a licensed professional counselor (LPC) for over 8 years. He possesses two Bachelor’s Degrees in...

Dr. Robert Vela, President of San Antonio College and 2021 Aspen Institute Prize winner shares about his childhood growing up in Alice Texas and having his grandmother as a major influence in his life. Dr. Vela dives deep into his memories as a young boy, his adversities and struggles as he fails his first semester in college. He describes misconceptions and stereotypes of men and how that shaped...

Dr. Ali Esmaeili, Dean of Mathematics, Science, IT, Bachelor Degree Programs, and University Relations talks about his struggles growing up, his adversities and how he overcame them. He shares life advice and the characteristics of a visionary leader. Dr. Esmaeili with 30 years of higher education experience describes his passion for the students he serves and how he sees himself in them. Dr. Esma...

Growing up in Puerto Rico to parents who never attended college, Dr. San Miguel didn’t have many role models. But her passion for science propelled her forward as she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Biology, a master’s degree in Biotechnology, and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration, all despite challenges, stereotypes, and skepticism. In this episode, she shares her story of perseveran...

Rosalinda Serna, author, discusses her adversities, her mom life, her journey as an author and how she overcame the loss of a child. She has self-published 3 children's books: Glorious Wings, Four Eyed Freddy and His Amazing Glasses, and Momma Who Made. Rosalinda is a wife, mother of 3 children and also a blogger at Traditional Mom in a Modern-Day World. Also, she talks about her upbringing, marry...

An Asherton Texas native, Dr. Martinez has dedicated himself to education, and been a strong role model for Latinos in academia. When he was 14 his family joined the migrant farm worker stream, but his parents’ commitment to education paid off. He received a PhD from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Dr. Martinez shares about his childhood, his adversities, persistence and the importance of g...

Pat Bubb, a passionate educator, describes her early years in her career and all her efforts in grant writing to start the Tech Prep program. She led many initiatives and partnered with chambers of commerce and economic development agencies in numerous efforts to create better opportunities for Rio Grande Valley (RGV) students. For more than 30 years she directed RGV Lead, a Texas non-profit corpo...

Julian Alvarez the III, Commissioner Representing Labor of the Texas Workforce Commission shares about growing up in the Rio Grande Valley, the adversities he faced and his definition for success. He also touches on his diverse experiences while working as the Texas Regional Director for U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson and as a State Trooper for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Mr....