BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda says her experience working as a bartender and as a server in a restaurant when she was younger have helped her relate to the constituents she now serves.
Likewise, having to apply for food stamps when struggling to get through law school whilst also raising a child.
Sepulveda shared her personal story when appearing at a “Mayors in Motion: Leadership & Entrepreneurship” event co-hosted by UT-Rio Grande Valley and One Million Cups.
The other mayor to speak at the event was Brownsville’s John Cowen, Jr. Both explained the challenges they faced growing up in South Texas.
The event, held at the eBridge Center in downtown Brownsville, celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week. It was co-sponsored by Harlingen Economic Development Corporation and Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation.
“I worked as a server, as a bartender. All these things that people in my community now do, the type of different roles that they have, I've done those, and I think it makes me more relatable to people. I understand,” Sepulveda said.
“So, if I go to a restaurant and the waitress or the server is having a hard time. I'm still tipping really well, because you never know what kind of day they're having. Maybe that's Norma and she's stressed out. She's got a kid at home, she’s trying to go to school. You never know what a person's journey is, or what battles they've got going on.”
Sepulveda won applause from the audience for those remarks.
“I share all this with you to tell you that life is not linear. You may think that you're going to go in one direction, but God might take you somewhere else. And if you're paying attention, opportunity is going to be there. And if you take that opportunity to walk through that door, you'll be surprised how well you can do in a different career path.”
Sepulveda continued: “If you are trying to invest in something right now, it might work out fantastic. Or it might be a learning experience. But if you can draw something from each of those experiences, it'll make you a better person in the long run.”
Sepulveda said becoming a lawyer was something she dreamed about. But she only achieved it in her 30s, postponing have a second child with her husband in order to go to law school. Before that she and a partner had a business she really believed in but it did not work out.
“I think for me, it has helped me to have a better understanding of where people are coming from. You know, right now there's food insecurity throughout our community. Brownsville has done an amazing job and has opportunities for their residents. Harlingen, we're working the same. I hear people say, oh, well, these people, they're on food stamps, and they should go get a job, and they should this and they should that.
“But I can draw on my own experience. My first year of law school, I had to humble myself because we were one paycheck… I walked into the welfare office to get food stamps for me, my son and my husband,” Sepulveda said, her voice beginning to croak.
“Sorry, I got emotional,” she said, composing herself. “But I share this with you because now I'm doing well. I've gone to law school, I have a practice, and I'm mayor of the city. But I've been there where we were concerned, are we going to have money to put food on the table?
“And those experiences will make you a better person. Those experiences will help you relate to the people in your community, and it'll also make you just overall appreciative of the things that you have.”
Editor's Note: Here is a video recording of the remarks Mayors Sepulveda and Cowen made at the Mayors in Motion event:
