Forging his own path: STC student hopes to be successful on his own terms
South Texas College student Rene Omar Luera has many goals in life, but the most important one is his commitment to achieve success on his own terms. The Weslaco native, who lives for music, currently plays drums in the local band BSA, but he doesn’t have your typical rock and roll dreams. Instead, he’s happy marching to the beat of his own drum and hopes to earn a degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting to secure a long-term career in the music industry.
“My biggest dream in life is to be successful in my own way, which will come by achieving real independence and freedom and doing what I want to do with integrity,” he said. “I think that this will only be possible once I earn my education. A college degree is an essential step in the right direction, and I think it helps people do what they love and not sell themselves short. Once I graduate, I hope that my education allows me to become the owner of a music-related business so that I can travel and see as much of the world as possible.”
Luera will be able to see more of the world this summer, when his band embarks on their first European tour. And while the band has already toured around the U.S. and Mexico, this is an experience Luera says he is really looking forward to, especially because it will allow him to continue to broaden his network of friends and to buy rare copies of records to add to his extensive vinyl collection.
An avid musicphile, Luera enjoys spending hours at home creating experimental mixes using the various genres of music he has in his record collection. He also loves learning about the universality of music, and as a member of STC’s Border Studies Club, he helped his group organize an event to educate the community about the beauty of conjunto music. The event featured a lecture and performance by the South Texas Conjunto Association and an exhibit of artwork by artist Roel Sandoval Flores. Luera says that helping to bring the event to fruition been one of his proudest accomplishments at STC so far.
“Everyone who attended learned a little bit of the history of conjunto music, its origins, and why it is such an important part of our culture,” he said. “Not to mention, they had the opportunity to find out more about the uniqueness and the traditions of the people in the Rio Grande Valley. Activities like this one add to the value of our education, and as students, we are fortunate to have these types of opportunities that enhance our learning experiences. My time at the college has been truly rewarding, and it’s true what they say about STC - it certainly is far from ordinary.”
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received? I would have to say that the best piece of advice I have ever received was to ALWAYS be myself. Pretending to be something or someone you aren’t and putting up a front is dishonest and deceiving. I think that most people will find the acceptance they are looking for when they are being themselves. Often, it is the most common and frequent advice that really sinks in and anyone can find useful in their everyday lives.
What inspires you the most? Human kindness. True, honest, and genuine good people inspire me the most to try everyday to be a good, genuine person myself. Despite many unfortunate situations in the world today, it is very gratifying to know that there is still a great deal of good in others and drives the hope of a better future.