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Israel Galvan
Israel Galvan grew up on the Texas coast in a family of Mexican-American fishermen. Although he graduated from high school with honors, his family could not afford to send him to college, so he joined the navy, where he spent nearly five years on submarines. He studied electronics, computers, and navigation, and served in the Vietnam War. When he left the navy, the G.I. Bill of Rights gave him an opportunity to go to college. At the University of Houston, Israel studied electrical engineering, got married, and became involved in Democratic politics.After graduating from college, he was hired by IBM in Austin to work as an engineer in the product development division, researching and developing new products for public use. Outside of work, he attended graduate school, had a daughter, and continued his involvement in the Democratic party, working for Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election. In 1977, Israel moved to Houston to take over a family business. Two years later, he formed his own engineering company, GHG Corporation. His company, as shown in the BreakThrough program, designs new technology for use in space.
Today, Israel remains active in many areas. Although his businesses make millions of dollars each year, he remembers what it was like to be poor. From his experience as a young boy in a fishing community, he knows what happens to people when they lose their opportunity to make a living. He spends much of his time working with the city of Houston and with businesses in the area to make sure that people do not lose their jobs. His company recently received a federal contract to help re-train workers who have lost their jobs because of new technology. Because some of his company's inventions have eliminated jobs, he wants to be part of the solution to unemployment, not part of the problem.
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