Video credit: Maria Elena Hernandez
Friday, November 20, 2020
By Maria Elena Hernandez
Marcus Villagran, UTRGV Economic Development Veterans Business Outreach Center specialist, was recently awarded the Veterans Business Outreach Center Boots to Business Instructor of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. (Courtesy Photo)
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – Marcus Villagran recognizes the sheer determination in the veterans and active duty service members he helps every day as a UTRGV Economic Development Veterans Business Outreach Center specialist.
"They have that soldier mentality, that, 'Hey, no matter what, this is going to happen. We're going to take care of it,'" Villagran said.
A veteran himself, Villagran knows the mindset because it's a reflection of his own.
"I've always been the type of person that, whatever goal I set, I'm not stopping until I get it," he said. "This is why I love doing what I do, because that, in essence, is our demographic.”
The love for his job and for his work in helping interested veterans become entrepreneurs, recently earned Villagran the 2020 Veterans Business Outreach Center Boots to Business Instructor of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
"It's a huge honor," said Villagran, whose coverage area includes South Texas, El Paso, Midland, Austin and Houston.
Veronica Gonzales, UTRGV vice president of Governmental and Community Relations, whose division oversees the UTRGV Veterans Business Outreach Center, congratulated Villagran on his work.
“Marcus Villagran’s recognition as the Boots to Business Instructor of the Year is a testament to his personal commitment to our veterans and to the outstanding work of VBOC,” Gonzales said.
As a Boots to Business instructor, Villagran provides entrepreneurial education and training to active duty service members, veterans and spouses. He was especially busy providing trainings recently during National Veterans Small Business Week.
The business outreach specialist spent about six years in the U.S. Army serving as a combat medic.
"I knew, as soon as I left the service, that I wanted to give back to the veteran community in some sort of way. Lo and behold, here I am," he said.
Villagran said he is proud of the work he has done with fellow veterans, and of each step that has helped them reach the goal of owning their own business one day.
"It's not just veterans who are starting businesses, but also veterans who are thirsty for knowledge. And we’re able to provide them that foundation," Villagran said.
To learn more about the Veterans Business Outreach Center at UTRGV, utrgv.edu/vboc.
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.