Though the world has changed since Laredo College was established in1947, the value of an education has not.
Former Webb County Judge and longtime Laredo College Trustee Mercurio Martinez Jr. exemplifies that tenet. Laredo Junior College is where he began his higher education journey in 1956.
“My father had quite a bit of influence in my becoming a teacher, as he had been a teacher before. He graduated from St. Edward’s in 1898,” he said, recounting his father’s wisdom: “No hay nada como la educación. Es lo que te ayuda a abrir puertas.”
Over the span of the college’s history, Martinez was an LJC student, faculty member, administrator, and trustee. He emphasized that his father, Mercurio Martinez Sr., was always a major influence in his life, due in large part to the respect he had for his advice, wisdom, and work ethic. It was his father’s friendship to then-LJC President Dr. Domingo Arechiga that inspired him to study at LJC after high school, which he said looked very different than what it looks like today.
These days it’s easy to catch glimpses of Laredo College’s student life, its evolving campuses, state-of-the-art facilities, and technology used throughout its programs. Martinez painted a different picture of LJC in the 1950s and 1960s, recalling that the barracks of soldiers once stationed at Fort McIntosh had been converted to classrooms.
LJC students, many of whom were veterans looking for new doors to opportunities, turned to the college to expand their skills, which included learning shorthand, typing, and accounting. Martinez recalled overloading classes throughout his time at LJC, taking on 21 college hours per semester and earning his Associate of Arts degree in approximately a year and a half.
Martinez lauded the college’s impact on the community and its preparation to continue his education to earn a Bachelor of Business Administration from St. Mary’s University.
Upon graduation, he followed in his father’s footsteps in education and was hired as an LJC instructor, teaching Introduction to Business, Accounting, and multiple levels of typing courses.
“I actually spent most of the day here at Laredo Junior College, because I also taught at night four nights a week. I didn’t mind,” Martinez said.
He continued his education at North Texas State University, earning a Master of Business Administration with a focus on Accounting and Economics. Martinez said his love for business, economics, and accounting came from his father.
“He was an adding machine, and I was his bookkeeper; I would yell out the numbers to him when we would balance the books. I have very fond memories of all that,” Martinez recalled with a smile, noting that both his father and Laredo Junior College played a major role in his growth as a professional and as a person.
Martinez was a member of the board that jointly governed Laredo Independent School District and Laredo Junior College. He is credited with helping implement the formal separation of the joint board into two distinct governing bodies.
After years of teaching new generations at LJC and seeing the potential of the students, staff, faculty and campus, he became Senior Vice-President of the Union National Bank in 1967.
In the late 1970s Martinez left Laredo when President Jimmy Carter appointed him as the Region 6 Administrator of the Small Business Administration. He served three terms as Webb County Judge from 1991 to 2002. He has served as a trustee of Laredo College since 2004.
“As Laredo Junior College grew, I worked to promote the issuance of bonds in order to construct new buildings, some of which ended up replacing barracks with formal classrooms,” Martinez said.
As the Laredo College board member with the longest tenure, Martinez witnessed the college’s growth since those early days. With the College of Health Sciences Building, the Lewis Energy Group Academic Center, a Gateway Community Health Center Clinic at the South Campus, the Visual and Performing Arts Building, and many more, he had an early hand in the decisions that have led to LC students taking advantage of campuses designed to maximize their learning potential.
Laredo College President Dr. Minita Ramírez noted that there are no right words to fully describe the magnitude of the impact Judge Martinez has had on the institution throughout the years.
“He has been a pillar in our community and an advocate for Laredo College over the past 70 years,” she said. “His monumental support for our beloved institution, both in the boardroom and in the classroom, has been instrumental in ensuring that past, current, and future students have access to the best education and resources available. He is a friend, a mentor and a Palomino at heart. Moving forward without his guidance will be difficult, but the path he laid will continue to lead us to a future in which Laredo College thrives, our community has access to higher education, and our students make the world a better place,” Ramirez said.
With decades of experience and a keen understanding of the college’s operations, Martinez said that the support from those in the community and within the college is what makes Laredo College what it is today — an accessible higher education institution that in its 80-year history of growth and innovation has changed lives.
“I was fortunate to have been involved one way or another with the College,” Martinez said. “This is part of my identity. I pretty much had a great experience being a faculty member, an administrator, and seeing the manner in which Laredo College has really developed and made a big difference in our community.”
Judge Martinez retired in September 2026 in the presence of friends, family, and colleagues, all grateful for his dedication to Laredo College.
“Count on my friendship,” he said, expressing the timeless and cherished sentiment he has held his entire life.
