May 5, 2005
Former DMC student and U.S. District
Judge Hilda G. Tagle will address
December 2004 and prospective
May 2005 graduates during the
College's Spring 2005 Commencement
Ceremonies on May 13.
U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle Speaking to Graduates During College’s
Spring 2005 Commencement Ceremonies on May 13
Former DMC student took path of higher education to become first and only Hispanic
female to become federal judge in Texas
Her mother dropped out of school after the eighth grade, her father in the fourth.
Just like her grandparents, migrant workers who picked cotton in the South Texas
heat, both her parents went to work in the fields. As the daughter of a beautician
and a diesel mechanic, U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle once described her childhood
as modest.
“Neither of my parents fathomed college,” she said. “They were
interested in providing for their family.”
At age 16, Judge Tagle became a certified beautician at her mother’s insistence.
At age 51, she became the first and only Hispanic woman to serve as a U.S. District
Judge in Texas–one of several firsts that characterizes her climb to success.
On May 13, Judge Tagle, who presides over the Southern District of Texas in the
Brownsville Division, will address approximately 350 December 2004 graduates and
approximately 533 prospective May 2005 graduates during Del Mar College’s
Spring 2005 Commencement Ceremonies scheduled for 5:30 and 8 p.m. in Richardson
Auditorium. The ceremonies mark the last event the College will hold in the auditorium
until facility renovations are completed next year as part of Del Mar’s capital
improvements program. For more information about the graduation ceremonies, call
the Registrar and Admissions Office at 698-1248.
A native of Robstown, Judge Tagle is the eldest of five children and the only
female among her siblings. She graduated from Robstown High School and enrolled
at Del Mar College in 1965. She earned her associate in arts degree from the College
and then continued her studies at East Texas State University, where she acquired
a bachelor’s degree in library science in 1969. She followed that degree
with a master’s degree in library science from North Texas State University
in 1971.
After working four years as a librarian at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in
Houston, Judge Tagle decided she wanted to follow a career in law. She graduated
from the School of Law at The University of Texas at Austin in 1977.
Judge Tagle returned to Corpus Christi, where she began her legal career working
for the city attorney’s office and later as an assistant county attorney.
At that time, she was only one of five women lawyers in Corpus Christi. In 1980,
Judge Tagle returned to Del Mar College not as a student but as a full-time
instructor and entered a private practice while teaching law classes to DMC
students.
Her hard work and reputation landed her an appointment as a county court at
law judge in 1985. She became the first female Hispanic judge to preside over
the Nueces County Court at Law No. 3 and only the second in any Texas court
of record. She was elected to the post in 1986 and 1990.
The Texas Supreme Court appointed Judge Tagle to the State Commission of Judicial
Conduct. Prior to becoming a U.S. district judge, she also presided over the
148th State District Court in Nueces County.
Before her federal appointment in Brownsville, Judge Tagle actively served on
law-related committees and participated in extra judicial activities that promoted
advancement in the legal profession and the Corpus Christi community. In 1991,
Texas Gov. Ann Richards appointed her to the Governor’s Commission for
Women.
As a former Trustee of the Del Mar College Foundation, Inc., Judge Tagle saw
her role on the board as enhancing the quality of education at Del Mar College.
In 1999, the DMC Former Students’ Association recognized Judge Tagle’s
accomplishments and dedication to higher education by inducting her into the
College’s prestigious Wall of Honor.
Judge Tagle once summed up her view about education with one word…opportunity.
“You have more options with an education,” she said. “Education
can lead to a career–yes. But more importantly, it improves your quality
of life because you have choices.”
-DMC-mce
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