Pub. 60 2019-2020 Issue 6

8 InterviewWith Incoming Chair/President April Ancira You come from a car family, and the automotive industry would have been the obvious choice. Did you always aspire to be part of the automotive industry? I wanted to do something different because I was shy and preferred be- ing quiet. When I was very young, my parents thought I might go into public service. Becoming a veterinarian was also on the table because I pretty much only really spoke to animals. However, I did work for my dad between the ages of 16 and 18 because I wanted money for clothes. I was paid minimum wage – I was the only person in the dealer- ship making minimum wage. I also worked as a waitress. I loved it and learned a lot about people. During the summer between earn- ing my bachelor's degree and starting my master’s program, I wanted to sell cars to earn money for school, and I found that the whole experience had a different aspect than it had before. My first sale was to a man named Patrick Karem. It was such a good experience. We sat outside, with me sitting on concrete, and I wrote up the paperwork. He bought a car the next day. Then I sold another car. After selling four cars in two days, I was in love. I think that was the deciding factor that the auto indus- try was for me. My master’s degree took three semesters to earn, and while I was studying, I also worked through all departments at the dealership. I especially liked the service depart- ment. Still, I saw potential there to improve the department, and I decided that someday I would fix the problems I saw there. I liked parts, too. After I graduated, I became an operations specialist and used my newly acquired com- puter skills to build reports. We currently still use a lot of the reports I made. Is your entire family in the auto industry? My dad has five daughters. The first two older sisters dabbled in it, but they have both passed away. My other two sisters chose different career paths. So it’s me, my dad, my husband and my uncle who all work at the dealership. It’s all very organic. Describe your educational back- ground. What did you study? I have a bachelor’s degree from Trin- ity University and a master’s degree from the University of Texas, San Antonio. Our president, Darren, is also a Trinity graduate, by the way. I learned how to overcome my shy- ness while I was at Trinity Uni- versity. When I was there, I was looking at the classes I needed. I thought, “What’s the scariest class I can take?” The answer was a speech class. I took it, and it was awful at first. I struggled. But I was hooked by the end of the class. My final assignment was about my journey as I learned to speak to others confi- dently. That class gave me so much confidence that now I won’t shut up. Afterward, I became a cheerleader at Trinity. My dad thinks that I got my confidence from being a cheerleader at Trinity, and that did help, but I credit the speech class. Now I even do stand-up comedy. I initially chose marketing as my major at Trinity, with a focus on advertising and content. But then I fell in love with trading on the stock market, so I switched my major to finance and economics. I wanted to go to Wall Street and make my mark there. This goal was realistic because my dad had a cousin who had a relationship with the manage- ment at Smith Barney, and could have helped with securing an inter- view when I was in my senior year in college. But then 9/11 happened, de- fense spending increased and there was a U.S. debt crisis. The opportu- nity was gone there, but I found my passion for the auto industry. As a woman in this business, why do you think there are so few other women? The main issue is probably schedul- ing. This business is hard for women even though there are more and more stay-at-home dads. When I