Meet a Roadrunner: Miguel Gutierrez '15, former executive chef, pursues dream at UTSA
Miguel Gutierrez ’15 aims to help juveniles in the criminal justice system
Miguel Gutierrez ’15 aims to help juveniles in the criminal justice system
Share this Story(March 2, 2016) – Meet Miguel Gutierrez ’15. This criminal justice alumnus knows that hard work and persistence lead to success.
Born in Brownsville, Texas to a low-income, single-parent household, Gutierrez moved to San Antonio in 2007 to pursue a better life and build a career. Shortly after arriving in the Alamo City, he landed a job as a waiter for a popular Japanese steakhouse.
Over time, Gutierrez was promoted at the restaurant. Eventually, he was named its executive chef. In this role, he managed the restaurant’s kitchen and its employees, ensuring that only the highest quality of food was provided to customers.
“I would work six days a week and sometimes seven – sixty hour weeks,” said Gutierrez.
In time, he began to wonder about career possibilities beyond the kitchen. He enrolled at a local community college with the hope of finding his true passion. He says that decision led him to UTSA.
Gutierrez developed an interest in criminal justice. It was something he had always wanted to better understand; his father spent time incarcerated when he was young.
"I chose to study criminal justice, because while growing up, I had to learn about jail, probation, parole and the court system," Gutierrez said. “Learning about it didn’t really intimidate me.”
A hard-working and regimented student, Gutierrez was a member of two honor societies while at UTSA including Alpha Phi Sigma, a national criminal justice honor society. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a minor in public administration in December. He is now enrolled in the UTSA criminal justice and criminology graduate program.
With personal experience to lean on, Gutierrez wants to help juveniles involved in the criminal justice system. His dream is to someday become the chief of juvenile probation so he can create intervention programs that will help turn kids’ lives around. He says that his is UTSA education is helping him develop that career one class at a time.
“The criminal justice faculty at UTSA motivated me and wanted me to succeed,” he said, adding that if it weren’t for their mentorship and help, he might not have considered a graduate degree program. “I’m grateful for their guidance.” When Gutierrez isn’t in class, he works at a local non-profit organization that provides homeless prevention services to the community. He and others are teaching life skills and college preparedness to at-risk teens. The UTSA student also volunteers at the Salvation Army and the San Antonio Food Bank.
In the spirit of paying it forward, Gutierrez is likewise counseling at-risk youth. They discuss hardships, how to overcome them and how to grow from challenges and failure.
"Just because you failed at something before or have to overcome a lot doesn't mean you can't achieve later on,” Gutierrez said. “It's up to you to make something out of yourself.”
By Michelle Skidmore
Senior Communications Specialist, College of Public Policy
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Events
This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.
