Student Promotes Global Mindset

by Shirley Jinkins
Fort Worth Star Telegram
1/16/05

ARLINGTON – Robert Gonzales, 26, has found a way to make a difference on a global scale, as president of the 2-year-old University of Texas at Arlington chapter of Americans for Informed Democracy.
The 48-member chapter is a local host for a videoconference with Sri Lankan officials on tsunami recovery. The conference will take place on Jan. 26, one month after the overwhelming disaster that has taken more than 150,000 lives in 11 countries.
Other organizers of the conference include Yale and Northwestern universities, the University of Pennsylvania, as well as the World Banks of London and Washington, D.C. “Our chapter’s goals are basically to educate ourselves and bring everyone to the table, allow everyone both here and abroad to form their own opinions about our common issues and about each other,” he said.
Last semester, AID hosted a videoconference with Pakistani students, and Gonzales is optimistic that such projects will become commonplace.
Gonzales said he was never active in campus organizations until AID because his life away from the classroom has been full.
He served three years in the Army before beginning his college education and has been married for five years.
Lana Gonzales graduated from UT-Arlington and obtained a postgraduate degree from Notre Dame University. The couple’s two daughters were born while she was in school.
Now an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Lana is expecting their third child. The family is active in Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth.
Robert Gonzales, a senior political science major, would like to teach high school history, but his immediate plans include graduate school and staying with AID in an advisory capacity.
“When I do something, I give it 110 percent,” Gonzales said, summing up his family’s philosophy as well as his attitude toward AID.
He wants to see the UT-Arlington chapter flourish within the national community of AID groups.
“I push for these kinds of organizations now, because of the girls,” he said. “It’s for them, and shaping how this is all going to affect their lives.”
Gonzales’ friends in AID say they have watched his leadership qualities blossom.
“Robert is able to get along with just any type of person,” said Alia Selim, a junior international business major and Fort Worth resident. “He’s not overbearing, and he takes everybody’s voice into account.”
Selim said Gonzales will make a fine teacher and be able to relate to students of any grade level.
Bianca Canales of Euless, also a senior political science major, knew Gonzales before the club’s formation.
“In fact, I was going to go to the organizational meeting, so I dragged Robert along as well,” Canales said.
The group’s goals of opening a dialogue between American students and international leaders appealed to Gonzales and Canales.
“Robert was able to pick up on everything,” Canales said of Gonzales’ transition to the group’s presidency. “You can ask him a question on any topic, and if he doesn’t know the answer, he’ll find it for you.”
Gonzales said he doesn’t regret spending the first three years of school disconnected from student organizations.
“I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, in its own place and in its own time,” he said.
IN THE KNOW: Robert Gonzales
Age: 26
Avocation: president, UT-Arlington chapter of Americans for Informed Democracy
Education: Senior political science major, UT-Arlington
Latest project: Sri Lankan Tsunami Conference, a videoconference with Sri Lankan officials about relief efforts hosted by UT-Arlington chapter, Americans for Informed Democracy. It will be from 7 to 9 a.m. Jan. 26 in Room 104, Building B, School of Social Work, 211 S. Cooper St.