2007 Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit:
“Portraits of Alumni Achievement”

Eugenio Garza ‘82

“When I look back on the long nights and weekends that I spent studying,
I realize that the time is worth its weight in gold.”

Eugenio Garza, Jr. ‘82, BSCJ
Port Director
Homeland Security
U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Eugenio Garza, Jr. knows that personal experience can be a great teacher. His father had been employed by an oil and gas company that moved to Oklahoma and was forced to take an early retirement. With a household of eleven, his father struggled to make ends meet and the family went north to work as migrant farm workers. It was not an easy life, but this experience gave Garza the motivation to finish high school and attend college.

Inspired by the Border Patrol officers he observed as a farm worker, his dream was to become a police officer. He was drafted by the United States Army, and later entered the Air Force. It was there that he was given an opportunity to receive the training as a military policeman to fulfill his life’s dream. With encouragement from his family, especially his father, he rose through the ranks. He then pursued his degree in Criminal Justice and landed the post he fills today. A believer in lifelong learning, Garza is now pursuing his Masters of Science in Criminal Justice.