I graduated from Cathedral High in 1971, having completed my primary school education at St. Mary’s and St. Joseph Elementary Schools. I am one of 72 members of my extended family that have walked the halls of Cathedral High School.

After my graduation from Cathedral High School, I received my B.A. from Baylor University in 1974 and my law degree from the Baylor School of Law in 1977. I served in the United States Naval Judge Advocate General’s Corps as a trial and defense attorney in Norfolk, Virginia and as a staff attorney assigned to the Commander, United States Forces in the Azores, Portugal. My last assignment was as a legislative attorney on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. I left military service with the rank of Lieutenant Commander and entered the practice of law in Texas.

In 1987, I successfully sought the office of District Attorney for the 83rd Judicial District of Texas. In 1991, at the age of 38, I was Governor Ann Richards Texas Court of Appeals for the State of Texas, at the time becoming the youngest appellate judge in the State. In 1994, I was elected Chief Justice of the Court. I retired from elected judicial service in 2006 and returned to Cathedral High School to teach and established the Center for Advanced Studies and the College Early Admissions Program.

Currently, I am the Executive Director of the National Organization for Victim Assistance, the oldest and largest crime victim program in the United States where my mission is simple: help lives heal.

“What are you proudest of?”
My role in the creation of the Cathedral Center for Advanced Studies, which will likely define Cathedral’s educational opportunities for the remainder of this century. My role as a college-level instructor at Cathedral and the establishment of the Annual Writing Symposium. Finally, and most important, the mentoring of more than 45 Gates Millennium Scholars at Cathedral High School each one of whom will fashion and improve life in our international communities of El Paso and Juarez.

“What lesson from Cathedral do you carry with you?”
Potential, by definition, is inspirational and unattainable. Don’t settle for potential, strive for empowerment, be measured by accomplishment.

“Do you have a message (lesson/observation) for a current Cathedral student?”
Learn to recognize opportunities and strategically seize the right ones. Not all opportunities are equal. Learn to define success as it pertains to life’s lessons. If you don’t learn from your experiences, you do not win, consequently, learn not to lose. I don’t lose! Learn, without any reservation, who St. John Baptist De la Salle was and how he will continue to shape your life and the lives you will touch. Learn to love and appreciate Cathedral High School, the institution, i.e., the bricks and mortar. Do not make the fatal mistake of appreciating Cathedral vicariously through your classmates and simply through its brotherhood. Your Cathedral education was far more than the brotherhood.