Brownsville Achieves Progress in Education and Unemployment

Micheal “Mike” Hernandez III is a respected presence in the Dallas business community who has guided D & M Leasing for more than three decades. Having grown up in Brownsville, Mike Hernandez III has a longtime commitment to South Texas and leads a nonprofit focused on revitalizing Brownsville's economy, which is one of the poorest performing nationwide.

Despite the region’s economic struggles, Cameron County does have much potential, as it features a port city situated on the Mexican border. A recent article in the Brownsville Herald drew attention to a RentCafe report, which analyzed census numbers from more than 300 cities across the United States. 

With Odessa, Texas, ranked first, Brownsville achieved ranking at number nine in the “Most Prosperous Cities in the United States” list. Midland achieved a 10th place ranking, while major Texas cities such as Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston did not even appear on the list.

One reason for Brownsville’s high ranking is that the list does not rely on conventional wealth metrics, but rather progress achieved in a half dozen “prosperity indicators.” As well as home value, these include income, population, poverty rate, higher education, and unemployment.

The city has witnessed a 30 percent population expansion since the last census, with the unemployment rate dropping 28 percent and the poverty rate by 9 percent. At the same time, that percentage of the population holding at least an undergraduate degree has increased by 35 percent.

Unfortunately, despite tech-driven inroads in diversifying the local economy, the median household income stands stubbornly at less than $35,000 in a state where the median household income is more than $56,000.

Texas A&M’s Long History of Creating New Opportunities

Michael Albert “Mike” Hernandez III, now partially retired after decades of service and leadership to D & M Leasing in Dallas, Texas, channels his personal wealth into nonprofit efforts to improve the lives of youth and families in his hometown of Brownsville and beyond. Through his Brownsville Scholars program, he gives college-age young people from the severely under-resourced community free tuition to Texas A&M University for four years of study. Mike Hernandez III is himself a graduate of Texas A&M, where he studied industrial distribution.

Texas A&M offers a rich variety of academic and extracurricular activities to some 60,000 students. The school’s proud history goes back to its establishment as Texas’ first publicly funded state higher education institution, in the days of land-grant colleges of the mid-1800s.

In the midst of the Civil War, the United States Congress passed the Morrill Act, which contributed public lands to individual states to found colleges teaching agriculture and allied trades, as well as traditional academic subjects. In 1871, Texas followed up on this promise of an opportunity to democratize education by approving the creation of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas.

Famous supporters have included the 41st President George H. W. Bush, who elected to house a presidential library on the Texas A&M campus.

Many Texans Lack Access to Education Needed for 21st Century Success

Thanks to Texas businessman and philanthropist Michael Albert “Mike” Hernandez III, a total of 10 young adults have been able to attend Texas A&M University on full scholarships this year. Mike Hernandez, a native of the South Texas city of Brownsville, has reached out to the underserved community where he grew up to fund new opportunities for youth who otherwise would have little chance of making their dreams come true.

The Brownsville Scholars Program is supported through a $1 million contribution from Mr. Hernandez, the semi-retired head of Dallas-based D & M Leasing. Each of the recipients will be able to complete a four-year degree through the program.

Studies have shown that Texans in general lag behind in their ability to access higher education and the higher-paying jobs that come with it. In 2015, for example, only one-third of Texans of working age had completed two or more years of postsecondary education. The problem is acute for low-income residents and adults already in the workforce. Within the next few years, about two-thirds of available jobs will require a college education.

And Brownsville is especially affected. According to the United States Census Bureau, less than two-thirds of the city’s adults possess a high school diploma, and only about 17 percent hold a four-year college degree – numbers that donors like Mike Hernandez can help change for the better.