Brownsville ISD holds 30th Principal For a Day celebration

Gary Long, The Brownsville Herald, Texas
·2 min read

Feb. 9—Among the dozens of civic and business leaders who served as Principal for a Day on Thursday in the Brownsville Independent School District's 30th annual celebration, former UTB-TSC President Juliet V. García held the position at her namesake García Middle School.

"Without her dream of bringing a new four-year university to Brownsville, I would not be in this position," Luis G. Segura, García Middle School's everyday principal said at a celebratory luncheon at the Ambassador Event Center. "I was able to go to school, get my bachelor's, get my master's, my superintendency, everything, because we had a four-year university here in Brownsville, and it took someone to dream."

Juliet García retired as UTB-TSC president when it and the University of Texas Pan American in Edinburg merged to become the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and where she is a communications professor.

Last summer García received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. García was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president and dedicated her career to serving students from the Southwest Border region, the White House said when it bestowed the honor.

Some of those students, like Segura, later became BISD educators.

"She was very inspirational for us, a lot of our teachers graduated from UT Brownsville, and we were very honored to have her there as our Principal for a Day," he said.

BISD has held Principal for a Day since the 1990s as a way to encourage civic, law enforcement and business leaders to take an active part in its schools.

Other honorary principals included former U.S. Rep Solomon P. Ortiz at his namesake Ortiz Elementary, Cameron County Sheriff Eric Garza at Manzano Middle School, and several representatives of the judiciary including Judge Adela Kowalski of the 484th state District Court, Judge Benjamin Euresti Jr. of the 107th state District Court and Judge Gabriela Garcia of the 138th state District Court.

Newly elected District 27 state Sen. Morgan LaMantila, D-South Padre Island, and District 38 state Rep. Erin Elizabeth Gamez spoke briefly about the importance of public education and the need for adequate funding.

Several members of the BISD Board of Trustees also served as honorary principals during the event.