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62 "ere's no question that this younger generation has waited a little bit longer to buy a home, but I'm confident that the American Dream remains of owning your own piece of the world and being able to build a life in your home and to pass that on to your children and then your grandchildren," Castro said. "ere have been so many changes in our country and in our lives as human beings over the last hundred years, but that idea of having a place to settle down to plant your roots and to leave to your kids, that still remains." ROOTS IN TEXAS A better life for future generations was the dream of Castro's grandmother, an immigrant from Mexico who was orphaned at age six. Despite having only a fourth grade education, she taught herself to read and to write in both English and Spanish by the time Castro and his twin brother, Joaquin, were born. In a story Castro loves to recount, his grandmother won $300 for first prize in a menudo contest the day before the twins were born—and used the money to pay the hospital bill. e Castro twins were raised by a single mother, Rosie, a political activist who fought for the civil rights of Mexican-Americans as a leader of the La Raza Unida movement in the 1970s. Castro has stated that his mother's work as an activist was what inspired him and his brother to pursue careers in public service. On the surface, Castro grew up a "regular" kid in San Antonio in the 1980s and early 1990s. He and Joaquin both enjoyed playing sports. Julián played football and basketball, and both he and Joaquin were stars on their high school tennis team. Despite his "regular" outward appearance, however, it was clear early on that Julián possessed a unique drive for personal excellence. e competitiveness that propelled them to win in high school athletics carried over into education for both of the Castro brothers. Wanting to accelerate their high school education and get to college as fast as possible, both of them skipped their sophomore year and graduated at age 17. From there, together they went on to receive undergraduate degrees from Stanford University and Juris Doctorate degrees from Harvard. ey later started their own law firm together in 2005. All the while, Julián was forging his own meteoric rise up the political ladder, beginning with his election to the San Antonio city council at age 26 in 2001—the youngest city council member in the city's history. (His mother once ran unsuccessfully for the San Antonio City Council in the early 1970s.) In 2005, he ran for mayor of San Antonio but was unsuccessful. Undeterred, he ran for mayor again in 2009 and won. "I first got interested in public service because I felt very, very blessed in my own life with opportunity, and getting involved in public service was this compromise with myself "We will continue to do what we can to make credit available for responsible families who can pay their mortgage, because homeownership is still an important tool to build wealth in our country and pass that wealth on."

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