I'm the GM of a Luby's in the same ZIP code where I grew up and went to school. My first hospitality job was working concessions at the Astrodome when I was a teenager, which was pretty much perfect for a kid who loved sports. Once the concession stand closed during the game, I could sit down and watch the fourth quarter of an Oilers game or the ninth inning of an Astros home game.

Later, while studying computer science at the University of Houston, I started working at Bennigan's. I waited tables, bartended and eventually moved into management. Bennigan's closed in the summer of 2008. Shortly after that, Luby's called and offered me a job as an assistant manager.

Since then, I've worked in more Luby's restaurants than I can probably count. I've opened stores, reopened stores, watched stores close, stepped in where I was needed and even left Luby's for a couple of years before finding my way back. All of that taught me something important: life comes full circle, so never burn a bridge. You never know who you'll work with again, who might need your help or who might open the next door for you. I've always wanted people to know that I'm somebody they can count on.

I learned that from people who did the same for me. Early in my Luby's career, I worked for a manager named Nacho. At the time, I was paying a lot of attention to another manager who was older, outgoing and charismatic. I kept wondering why he wasn't getting opportunities before me. Finally, Nacho pulled me aside and basically said, "Why are you worried about him? You're doing great work. Focus on what you're doing and getting yourself to the next level." I hadn't really seen myself that way. I was so busy noticing what everyone else was good at that I hadn't stopped to recognize the impact I was making. I never forgot that conversation.

Today, developing people is one of my favorite parts of the job. Over the years, I've helped employees move into management, and now I want to help managers become General Managers, and eventually become an Area Leader myself. Because somebody did that for me. Somebody saw something in me before I fully saw it myself. Now I get to be that person for somebody else.