2007 Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit:
“Portraits of Alumni Achievement”

Carlos Luna ‘01

“The discipline and desire to succeed that my father taught us is
the most important quality that I possess.”

Carlos Luna ‘01, MSED
Coordinator of Bands
Laredo Independent School District

While working with his father on the family farm, Carlos Luna learned a work ethic that did not just apply to harvesting crops. He learned the meaning of personal sacrifice for a cause greater than himself, and he applies to his students today.

When he was a junior in high school, his father was in an accident that rendered him bedridden. Being the oldest, Luna missed school in order to work the farm and tend to the livestock. Because he put the needs of his family ahead of his own educational pursuits, his parents rewarded him with financial assistance for college.

His love of music led him to pursue an undergraduate degree in music, but it was his desire to bring awareness to the importance of music education that led him to pursue his master’s at TAMIU. The patience and determination he learned as a young man when he planted, cultivated, and harvested crops, is now applied in planting the love of music in his students - cultivating their talent, and harvesting the bounty of the melodies they make under his direction.

Luna’s strong advocacy in music education has earned him respect and praise among music educators across the state.