Henry Gonzales, UHD Adjunct Professor and Executive Director and Chief Juvenile Probation Officer of Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, started his career journey at a magnet program while attending high school. Soon after, Gonzales attended UHD, where working full-time while attending school proved to be a challenge.
“When I got into college, I was ill-prepared and so there were struggles there. It was tough, but I figured out how to manage my time quickly,” said Gonzales. After working part time in adult probation, Gonzales volunteered as a mentor for youth in juvenile probation, and he soon realized how much he loved the work. Soon thereafter, he accepted a position working late nights while attending classes.
Gonzales continued to move up the ranks from Diversion Officer to a paraprofessional position to a Probation Officer. Years later, Gonzales was given an opportunity to serve as Assistant Deputy Director in the department’s education division, a new initiative intended to merge juvenile probation with education.
Now, Gonzales applies his experience in teaching his Juvenile Justice course as an adjunct professor at UHD. “I don’t want students to just memorize things from a book, so I try to make real-life assignments. If they can apply what they are learning, it just makes a lot more sense,” said Gonzales. For students interested in criminal justice, Gonzales has the following advice: “Always do something you are passionate about. It isn’t just a job. For me, that’s been my entire career.”