{"id":7862,"date":"2019-09-04T15:29:48","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T15:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/adv\/alumni-news-media\/?p=7862"},"modified":"2023-02-17T15:11:47","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T15:11:47","slug":"show-us-your-town-houston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/adv\/alumni-news-media\/2019\/09\/04\/show-us-your-town-houston\/","title":{"rendered":"Show Us Your Town: Houston"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Show Us Your Town: Houston<\/h1>\n

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Home to nearly 1,200 alumni and friends, Houston is one of the country\u2019s friendliest and most diverse cities, say members of the University community who live and work in the East Texas city.<\/h3>\n

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Meet Your Guides<\/h3>\n

Members of Houston\u2019s growing network of alumni and friends in Houston, Gonzalez, Frazier, Burger, and Robinson meet for a photo in Buffalo Bayou Park, a 160-acre green space that stretches along a 10-mile waterway in the heart of the city. Opened to the public in 2015, the park is one of the country\u2019s great urban green spaces, says Robinson.<\/p>\n

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Longtime Texan<\/h5>\n
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J.J. Gonzalez \u201911 is a real estate lawyer whose family has taken part in livestock shows throughout Texas, including Houston\u2019s iconic rodeo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Music Maven<\/h5>\n

A sixth-generation Texan and Houston native, arts manager Todd Frazier \u201892E knows the secret hot spots for music in the city.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Houston Home<\/h5>\n

On her \u201csecond rodeo\u201d in the city, executive leader Barbara Burger \u201983 says she\u2019s found a home in Houston.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Family Favorites<\/h5>\n

Corporate finance manager Ebon Robinson \u201801S (MBA) and his family seek out Houston\u2019s many parks and museums.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”35px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”35px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]Barbara Burger \u201983<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my second rodeo in Houston,\u201d says Burger, who arrived six years ago from Northern California. \u201cI love it here\u2014it\u2019s an incredibly welcoming, inclusive place. When I came back, everyone made me feel right at home.\u201d A University trustee and the president of Chevron Technology Ventures, Burger first lived in Houston from 1997 to 2000.<\/p>\n

Burger is also a member of the Houston Network Leadership Cabinet, a growing group of alumni and friends committed to celebrating their connections and building their network. \u201cI embrace where I live, and here in Houston, there is so much to do and there are many ways to make a difference. I\u2019ve seen that in my role at Chevron, in the community, and as part of the Rochester alumni network here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHouston is growing so fast, and will soon overtake Chicago in terms of population,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople come from everywhere\u2014for jobs and opportunity, and because the city is, on average, very affordable. The expression \u2018dream it, do it\u2019 is really the mind-set here.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Todd Frazier \u201992E<\/strong><\/p>\n

Frazier is system director of the Center for Performing Arts Medicine at Methodist Hospital, part of the Texas Medical Center. Known as TMC, the complex brings together clinical and research programs of Rice, Baylor, the University of Texas, and other universities, as well as prominent hospitals and health care organizations into the world\u2019s largest medical center.<\/p>\n

A native Houstonian and a sixth-generation Texan, Frazier says his favorite places represent the soul of the city, a perspective that first blossomed at the Eastman School of Music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left Eastman wanting to broaden the definition of professional success beyond the traditional orchestral and teaching roles,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is why I have been so committed to developing music programs within the health care environment\u2014there is such great potential there.\u201d<\/p>\n

J.J. Gonzalez \u201911<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gonzalez grew up in McAllen in the Rio Grande Valley, just a few miles from the Mexican border and five hours south of Houston. He moved to Houston to expand his law practice in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of Houston are what make it such a great city,\u201d says Gonzalez.<\/p>\n

A scholarship student who served as 2011\u2019s class president, Gonzalez was active on campus in fraternity life and LGBTQ initiatives. He spent a semester in Ecuador and did a Take 5 program in which he studied Islam.<\/p>\n

\u201cRochester changed my life,\u201d says Gonzalez, who practices real estate law. \u201cA lot of the things I love about Rochester, I love about Houston. Both are filled with exceptional, inspiring people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ebon Robinson \u201901S (MBA)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like Burger, Robinson is on his second tour of Houston, having arrived last year after spending four years in Brazil with Chevron, where he\u2019s business finance manager.<\/p>\n

Houston has the kinds of opportunities in energy and finance that Robinson was looking for when he enrolled at the Simon Business School.<\/p>\n

\u201cSimon didn\u2019t offer this as a concentration, but they saw potential in it, gave me a scholarship, and believed in me,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m forever grateful.\u201d He also knew of Rochester through his grandfather, Harry Bray \u201938, one of the University\u2019s earliest African American graduates.<\/p>\n

When Robinson isn\u2019t spending time at home, he and his family can be found at their favorite Houston locales.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”50px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]