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Texas border affairs

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Darrius Wolfe is a recent graduate of Texas Southmost College, an achievement that seemed impossible just a few years ago.

The 25-year-old earned an associate’s degree in business management this month during the college’s opening ceremonies held at the Jacob Brown Auditorium.

“It still seems unreal,” the Colorado transplant said. “The way my life was going, I expected to be in jail or even worse at this point in my life, but being where I am now as a college graduate is a new lease of life . ”

Wolfe said he was born and raised in Colorado, but moved to Brownsville as a teenager after his parents divorced and as events unfolded he started to get into trouble.

“I was acting,” he says. “I went to school and had two or three jobs, but I was going around in circles and messing it up. Fortunately, my lawyer and now mentor Ruben Herrera came on the scene. ”

Herrera has a private law firm in Brownsville and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of TSC. He said it was a proud moment when he saw Wolfe graduate.

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“He did it … I always knew he could,” Herrera said. “He was lost when we were first introduced, and now I’m so happy to see him find purpose and meaning to live a life away from trouble. I am so proud of him and I think he will go far.

Wolfe said he thanks Herrera for saving him and for opening his eyes to what his life could be like if trouble didn’t kick in.

“Ruben restored my morale, opened my eyes and shared his formula for hard work,” Wolfe said. “For him, I did my best to walk in a straight line and when I saw him at first I didn’t know he was an administrator, I was sure to let him know that this moment, this degree was because of him. ”

It took Wolfe nearly five years to get his associate’s degree, longer than most, he said. But because money was scarce, he worked as a shrimp trader to save money and pay for his education, ending this trip with A’s and B’s.

“I had to put my dream on hold so many times that I always thought it would be impossible. I thought I had ruined my life, ”he said. “But here I am, ready to work, to find financial and job security, and to continue my education.”

In the meantime, Wolfe puts his business degree to work for his father’s company – Wolfe Sandblasting and Industrial Painting – and plans to become a real estate agent.

“I have to keep my momentum going,” Wolfe said. “I strive to be successful and there is no other place to go but to climb. I want to continue to make my family and Ruben proud. It is my gift to me and to them.

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