Thank you for your interest in our campaign! Here is a little bit about Samuel and why he would be honored to represent House District 107:
East-Dallas Born and International Upbringing
Samuel was born and spent much of his childhood in East Dallas while his father was a professor at Southern Methodist University. His family later moved to Cairo, Egypt where his father taught at the American University in Cairo. During that time, he was blessed with the opportunity to travel the world (17 countries on 5 continents) and minister to refugees and orphans, exposing himself to countless cultures and worldviews in the process. This upbringing equipped him to better understand and represent our incredibly diverse district and gave him a deep appreciation of the liberties that we enjoy as Texans, with a strong desire to give back through public service.
West Point Graduate and Army Veteran
His experiences overseas – in particular living in the Middle East during the 9/11 terrorist attacks – combined with his family’s long history of military service, inspired him to join the Army. He had the privilege of graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a double major in Civil Engineering and Mathematics and served and deployed as an active duty Army officer. During his time in the Army, he had the opportunity to lead a platoon of ~45 Soldiers through several challenging missions, deploy to Liberia to oversee medical facility constru
ction operations during the Ebola pandemic, work as a project manager with the Fort Hood Directorate of Public Works, and serve as a battalion intelligence officer. Military service taught him about personal sacrifice and selfless service, the importance of integrity and standing alone on principle, problem solving under pressure while sleep deprived, and leading a diverse group of people to accomplish a common objective in the face of adversity.
Professional Engineer and Small Businessman
Since leaving the Army, he and his wife Lydia returned to east Dallas county and purchased a home in Mesquite, Texas where they live today with their three children (Marcus and twin daughters Ella and Emilia). He used his skills as a licensed Professional Engineer and Project Management Professional while working for a land development engineering firm in the DFW area and then had the opportunity to put his applied mathematics skills to use in building a small investment research and modeling business. Working in engineering project management and investment research have given him a first-person understanding of how the public and the private sectors interact, how jobs are created and destroyed, and an empathy for small business owners and entrepreneurs across our district and state.
Family Man and Community Leader
Throughout his time in the military and the private sector, he and his wife have been involved in numerous community organizations, including crisis pregnancy centers for women, Bible clubs for children, youth sports leagues, homeless shelters, education programs for impoverished inner city youth, prison ministry, and teaching church Sunday school classes for adults and children. As a result of these opportunities, they have a passion for bettering our communities and an empathy for the least fortunate and most vulnerable members of our society.
Committed to Service, Honor, and Excellence
Given his first-hand exposure to diverse cultures, experience serving and leading in our nation’s military, faith in Christ, commitment to integrity and continued public service, understanding of how the public and private sectors interact to create and destroy jobs, and deep passion for the families, communities, and values of our district and state, Samuel will – with God’s help – represent our district with excellence and honor in Austin. He will fight every day to make your life better by listening to the concerns and needs of constituents and putting principle over party and people over politics.