LAREDO, Texas - Legendary workforce development leader Blas Castañeda has been mentoring students for 49 years.
The retired president of CTA Global Solutions will join with Area Health Education Center to hold his Annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony on March 27.
This event recognizes the exceptional academic accomplishments of students participating in CTA’s mentorship career development program.
The ceremony takes place at Falcon Event Center, 7718 McPherson Road in Laredo, starting at 6:00 p.m. on March 27.
“The mentorship career development program pairs experienced community leaders with high school seniors to provide career preparation, foster personal growth, and develop essential skills for university success. Through guidance, support, and networking opportunities, the program aims to assist students in successfully navigating the university admission and enrollment process,” Blas Castañeda told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service.
“CTA Global Solutions and AHEC are committed to empowering the next generation of leaders by providing scholarships to deserving students who have demonstrated academic excellence and a dedication to their future careers.”
Castañeda became a well-known figure along the Texas-Mexico border when he chaired the Texas Border Coalition’s education and workforce development committee. His career included more than three decades in the higher education realm as chief external affairs/economic development officer at Laredo Community College.
Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to the Texas Workforce Investment Council. Gov. Ann Richards appointed him to the Texas Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness. He holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in International Trade. His resume includes an eight-year tenure as Laredo city councilmember and he was an active member of the Eagle Ford Consortium Tri-Chair Workforce of South Texas.
The Guardian secured an in-depth phone interview with Castañeda. The Guardian asked him why he started a mentoring program.
“In the neighborhood where I grew up, barely anyone going to college. The whole reason for that was mom and dad didn't have the money to pay for the college. So that was one of the reasons. The other reason was, when I was growing up, everybody had to go work. We used to go up north and work every year for, oh, maybe close to 20 years, working in the fields picking tomatoes and corn and lettuce and cherries and even pick up cotton. So we there was a major inopportunity to go to school,” Castañeda said.
“When I graduated, I had taken three years of welding. We were state champions for three years. So, I learned one thing. I learned that if we put our minds into it, that we could do basically anything wanted to. So, very early in my career, if you go back and track my resume, you'll find that I started raising money for scholarships.”
Castañeda said that when he started out his money raising ability was very limited.
“I said, I need to do something bigger than what I'm doing. So, one of the things that came my mind… I’ve always been an explorer. I explored the idea of bringing Tejano music to the civic center and other places. And the musicians would pack the places. So, we would raise $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000 in profit from that. So, I did that for, oh, I must have done that for almost 18, 19, maybe 20 years. That money helped pay for the scholarships.”
Castañeda said that as time went on he took his fundraising to the state level.
“I started getting more and more busy at the college. And I got appointed by different governors to different state boards. So, I was always traveling. But I never lost my interest in continuing to do scholarships to honor students that we could send to university.”
Castañeda added: “Over the years I have helped tons of students get to university. Today, they're engineers, they're nurses, they're bankers, they've got their own business, all over the place. A lot of them are here in Laredo, but a lot of them went out, and they're in different parts of the country. So, I'm very happy that my 49 years of community service really paid off for a lot of people.”
Here is an audio recording of the Guardian’s in-depth interview with Castañeda:
Editor's Note: For more information about the CTA Global Solutions/Area Health Education Center Annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony call Blas Castañeda at (956)286-1920 or Dr. Julie Bazan, AHEC’s executive director, at (956) 712-0037.
