Bay State College Alumnus Elected to City Council
On Sunday, January 3, 2015 Bay State College alum Carlos Vidal became the first Latino elected to the Waltham City Council. Just the week before, we had the opportunity to catch up with Carlos at Café on the Common in Waltham to chat about what he’s been up to since Bay State, and to learn a little bit more about his life.
Born in Peru, Carlos’ family moved to the Boston area in the late ’80s to escape growing terrorism and violence in their home country.
Carlos entered the public school system in Braintree as one of the few minority students and had little to no knowledge of the English language.
“From a young age, everyone thought I was shy,” said Carlos. “But it was just that I was embarrassed of my accent; that I didn’t talk like everyone else.”
Carlos worked extremely hard to learn English, do well in school, and work all through high school. Upon graduating, Carlos’ friend told him to check out Bay State College.
“Coming from Braintree, I was a bit of an outsider,” Carlos explained. “It was great to see that Bay State College had such diversity. That was really important to me.”
“The location was perfect. Being right in the city allowed me to explore Boston even though I was still living at home and commuting to school. I made friends, tried new restaurants and of course, earned a college degree.”
Carlos enrolled in Bay State’s Hospitality Management program and had the opportunity to work at a local Marriot to pay his way. He gained confidence, learned the fundamentals of business, and learned how to interact with clients.
The first years out of college, Carlos worked as a business developer for a software reseller in Norwood. When the dotcom bubble burst, Carlos became a real estate agent– a job he continues to this day with Keller Williams Realty.
Something that has always been important to Carlos is staying involved in the community. And it shows. As we sit at the local coffee shop, it seems everyone knows him.
After moving to Waltham, Carlos noticed that there was a disconnect between the people of Waltham and the city government. People didn’t really know what was going on in their own town, and it wasn’t necessarily their own fault.
Carlos decided to run for City Council to be a voice for the people of the town, to build a strong community, and to help plan for a better future.
He is also the local news anchor, a youth soccer coach, community volunteer and Hispanic advocate. In other words, Carlos keeps himself busy.
“It’s important to stay involved and to stay passionate, no matter what you’re doing.”
Carlos’ story didn’t start with Bay State College and it certainly didn’t end with us, but we’re proud to be part of it. Congratulations, Carlos!