LONGVIEW, Texas — A newly elected member to the Longview city council represents a lot of firsts for her community.
Michelle Gamboa made a name for herself advocating for children and being involved in community ministry.
Breaking barriers is what she hopes to achieve for her district.
Gamboa has made Longview history as being the first Latino along with being the youngest person to be elected on city council. Becoming a trailblazer. Now she hopes more diverse communities are able to step up in the city.
From local businesses in District 5, to her involvement with many organizations. Gamboa is excited to start her new role on city council.
"What really motivated me was getting involved in my community," Gamboa said. "I've always been involved with my church, with my community, and I just really wanted to make an impactful difference in our city and in our district."
A community she’s come to love after moving here from Juarez, Mexico.
She entered the public spotlight as a spokesperson for Miss Texas Latina.
"As I traveled the state and the nation, I saw that there was limited Latino and Hispanic representation," Gamboa said. "So I wanted to be that voice not only for Latinos, but for others."
One local business owner in District 5 says Gamboa was the right person to represent him.
"I've just always been impressed with her, and I started a nonprofit group called Longview Connections about six months ago," Shawn Ingram, owner of Custom Graphics said. "To get that going I needed the board, I need people to help me, and Michelle was one of the first individuals I reached out to."
Others hope Gamboa will be a touchpoint for the Hispanic community.
"We're a fortunate community that we have some diversity on the city council," Holly Fuller, Partners in Prevention Manager at City of Longview said. "Michelle is going to represent very well for our city council. What we want that to look like is reflective of our community, and so she's going to be a great representative for the Hispanic community."
She enters this new role with ambition and hopes to lay a new foundation for others like her.
"I'm so thankful, I'm very honored, and humbled by this opportunity," Gamboa said. " I'm thankful to be the first but hope not to be the last. I hope that this really inspires people from all ages, all backgrounds, all demographics to pursue their dreams."