Former Mayor of San Antonio and former Democratic Presidential candidate Julián Castro participated in a Q&A on Monday in the Student Union Ballroom and over Zoom to share pieces of his life and give advice to future aspiring leaders.
President Cynthia Teniente-Matson hosted the event, and asked Julián Castro questions about his upbringing and how he rose to his positions in the political world.
Julián Castro said he grew up in a neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas that was 95% Mexican American and low income.
“I grew up with my mom and grandmother because my parents split up when Joaquin, my twin brother, and I were about 8 years old,” Julián Castro said. “After we graduated from school in 1992, we both got scholarships to come out here to Stanford.”
Joaquin Castro currently serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, according to his U.S. Congressional website. He was the 2013 co-president for the House freshman Democrats and the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for the 116th Congress, according to the same site.
Julián Castro said growing up in a household that was very focused on justice and equality, and having his mother be a Chicano activist and Democratic chairman is what interested him in going into public service.
He said he did not think he was going to Harvard Law School until his second or third year of college.
“I got an internship at the White House after my sophomore year, and I worked in the office of Cabinet Affairs,” he said. “In 2014, when I became a cabinet member, it was a great full-circle moment.”
Julián Castro was on the San Antonio City Council from 2001 to 2005, and served as the mayor of San Antonio from 2009 to 2014, according to an article by ABC. He then served as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development from 2014 to 2017 under President Barack Obama, according to the same source.
Julián Castro said he first ran for mayor in 2005, and after losing that race, he ran again and got elected at age 34.
“The thing about losing in politics is that failure is very public,” Julián Castro said. “However, you really do learn more when you lose than when you win.”
Before being invited by former President Barack Obama to join the Oval Office, Julián Castro said he worked on an organization called Pre-K 4 SA, which was raising the sales tax to fund high-quality full-day pre-K for students.
The education plan was unveiled in 2020, and Julián Castro joined other candidates running that year in calling for tuition-free higher education, universal preschool and increasing teacher salaries, according to PBS.
Expanding prekindergarten was Julián Castro’s most impactful achievement during his five years as mayor of San Antonio, according to the same site.
Leonardo Plazola, chief elections officer for the Students’ Elections Commision under Associated Students, said Julián Castro became the youngest city councilman in history at the age of 26.
“He also made history in 2012 by delivering the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, being the first Latino to do so,” Plazola said. “Castro has distinguished himself as a strong leader and successful public servant for nearly two decades.”
Julián Castro also said since there were 24 campaigns at the time for president, everyone was competing for talent.
“I’d be lying to you if I said it wasn’t a tough competition,” Julián Castro said.
President Teniente-Matson asked Julián Castro what it was like for him to be a political analyst for MSNBC and NBC News, since he mentioned giving thoughts about originally becoming a journalist.
Since withdrawing from the 2020 Democratic primary, Julián Castro has appeared as a guest on numerous Microsoft NBC talk shows during daytime and prime-time programming, according to The Hill.
“I was very paranoid the first time I did it, but I realized that in the workplace, if you have a good team around you then your job is easier,” Julián Castro said. “It made it a lot less scary.”
Teniente-Matson said being a guest anchor must have been a fun experience for Julián Castro.
“To be able to shape that conversation that is influencing so many individuals that are watching is such a lovely opportunity,” Teniente-Matson said.
Julián Castro said in terms of the future of politics and today’s world, he admires the current young generation’s idealism and aspirations for making this country better.
He also said because former President Donald Trump gave people permission to go in a different direction and galvanize this, division in the country increased.
“My hope is that we’re going in a new and better direction that is more inclusive, and one that is going to be led by young people,” Julián Castro said. “Every time we have a new generation coming up, it is a chance for us to make significant progress in the country.”
