Dr. Robert Vela, President of San Antonio College and 2021 Aspen Institute Prize winner shares about his childhood growing up in Alice Texas and having his grandmother as a major influence in his life. Dr. Vela dives deep into his memories as a young boy, his adversities and struggles as he fails his first semester in college. He describes misconceptions and stereotypes of men and how that shaped the rest of his life. Dr. Vela encourages everyone to dream big, use the magic sauce to succeed, be genuine, and a role model to others. “My mission is to be an educator; you have something special in you, find a way to connect with someone that truly cares about you, and believe in yourself,” Dr. Vela.

Dr. Vela possesses over 20 years in higher education administration, he currently serves as President of the National Community College Hispanic Council, an affiliate council of the American Association of Community Colleges, where he also serves on the Commission for

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and has many other organizational involvements. He holds many honors such as the 2019 Malcolm Baldrige Award for Performance Excellence, and 2015 Distinguished Alumni from Texas A&M University-Kingsville.