How did you come to work at Metro Transit and what do you do?
After working for the Minneapolis sewer department, I was hired at Environmental Services as an interceptor service operator. I worked there for six years then transferred to Metro Transit as a utility locator/surveyor. I locate underground utilities and survey land for future building projects, such as roads and light rail. If I find out something already there, we have to redesign.
What are your favorite activities when you’re working or “on the clock?”
Working with my co-workers, doing surveys, and using the equipment. We’re like a family. Everybody is respectful of everybody’s knowledge. We don’t have to worry about someone not doing their job. It’s all technology nowadays, and I’m a tech person and try to figure out how the software system works. It’s unbelievable how accurate it is. It makes my job easier.
What are your favorite activities when you’re not working or “off the clock?”
I am the executive director of Los Campos, a small nonprofit I started in 2016 that helps young people gain hands-on experience in storytelling, video production and community events. A video producer with an associate’s degree from Brown Institute, I enjoy giving youth opportunities to learn and build their confidence. I do it for them to gain experience when they apply for a job and can have something for their resume.
I am also a DJ at KFAI (90.3 FM). Gavilan is my on-air name. We play Tejano music – Tex-Mex -- from 1-3 p.m. on Saturdays. I interview community people, politicians, and people from nonprofits. I serve on the board and am the chair this year of the Mental Wellness Campaign for Anoka County. It does mental wellness awareness outreach and community fundraising through a Mental Wellness Awareness walk once a year in May.
What else would you like people to know about you?
I started coming to Minnesota in 1976 from Texas as a migrant worker, working in the sugar beet fields around Willmar. I moved here permanently in 1982 when I received a scholarship to St. Paul College. I also served seven years in prison for conspiracy to sell drugs, getting out in 2012. Prison changed my life. I want people to know they can make it.