National Hispanic Heritage Month – Major General (Ret.) Luis R. Visot
Stephanie Crider (Host)
This year, in observance of national Hispanic Heritage Month, the US Army War College Press interviewed Army War College Foundation board members.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the podcast guests and are not necessarily those of the Department of the Army. The US Army War College, or any other agency of the US government.
I’m talking with retired Major General Luis R. Visot today. Visot is an assistant dean and chief of staff at the University of South Florida’s College of Education. He retired as chief of staff, US Army Reserve Command, in 2015. Thank you for being a part of the War College Press Hispanic Heritage Month podcast.
Thank you for being a part of the War College Press Hispanic Heritage Month podcast.
Episode Transcript:
Luis R. Visot
Thank you so much for this opportunity.
Host
How has your heritage impacted your work?
Visot
You know, I think that it goes back to how I was raised, you know. And understanding my mom being from Mexico and my dad being from Puerto Rico, how important it was for us to celebrate not only the value, but the values of being Puerto Rican and being Mexican at the same time.
Host
What’s your biggest professional accomplishment to date?
Visot
It’s the combination of being able to fulfill two roles—one serving in my higher education role, while concurrently also serving in the United States Army, which was a challenge, you know, being able to balance both responsibilities. And I’m eternally grateful that both organizations and both environments were very supportive of each other. Especially my civilian job, which is my primary job, dean of University of South Florida, and the state of Florida that allow me the opportunity to be able to serve in the military as a Reserve officer, especially during those times of deployment, while at the same time very, very grateful to my wife who supported me while I was deployed and the extended annual training exercises that we had to attend, too. I think when you balance those two careers, it’s being grateful not only to your employer, but also being grateful to your family.
Host
Would you be willing to share a pivotal moment in your life and how it changed you or your life trajectory for the better?
Visot
I think most importantly, it allowed me to develop my leadership skills. You know, I think that I was able to balance both my human skills with my technical skills. I think my Army experience gave me a tremendous amount of insight into my technical aspects of my leadership development while my higher education gave me Insights into my human development of my leadership skills, so I was able to utilize back and forth one or the other. I always get the question how were you able to do it? How were you able to transition from one skill set level to the other? I said it was really simple for me because I knew that a certain work environment required a certain set of skill sets, while at the other one I was able to transition to the other. So, it was a really simple way for me to be able to learn from each while at the same time be able to apply both sets of skills concurrently.
Host
This year’s Hispanic Heritage Month theme is prosperity, power, and progress. How has this theme played out over the course of your career or your life?
Visot
You know, I think it’s really all about humility; not only humility, but also being a servant leader as we know it. I am not much one to think about, as a Hispanic person, being powerful per se, but just really acknowledging the set of values that my parents have espoused upon me, one above all being pride, the second one being the value of family. When you combine those two things, it really allows me to be always grounded with a huge level of humility in terms of the kinds of things that I always do but always thinking about what’s best for the other person, always being considerate of the other person, so that’s how I carry my life. That’s the way that I have been taught—being respectful of others, which kind of complements what the Army values have been. Always thinking about how I carry my life is really complementary of not only the values that my parents have taught me in terms of family and pride, but also just as important of the Army values.
Host
What are you currently working on that you’re excited about?
Visot
The most important thing that I’m presently working on is preparing for my next chapter. I closed two chapters. I closed my higher education chapter in 2015. Then I closed my Army chapter in 2015, too. Then, after I got my doctorate, I decided to go back to University of South Florida. You know, at what point in time do I want to close this current chapter? And what am I going to do with that particular chapter? My wife, Cindy, and I are trying to figure out what are we going to do with this next stage in our life? And it’s just really where are we going to travel. And I think one of the other things I want to do is, part of my legacy is, how can I be a good example? How can I be a good role model? And one of the things that I aspire to be is a good mentor. That’s where I’m really focusing my time and energies—developing my mentorship skills so I can be of good service to others.
Host
Where can our listeners find out more about you and learn about your work?
Visot
People can look into my LinkedIn. That’s the only social media that I use.
Host
Well, thank you so much. Do you have anything else that you want to share, any concluding thoughts?
Visot
No. I think most importantly, I just want to thank the United States Army War College for this opportunity to be able to share some of my own thoughts and ideas, and I’m just deeply humbled and honored to share some of these thoughts and a proud member of the United States Army War College Foundation. Had it not been for the Foundation and the Army War College, I probably would not have had the opportunity to share these brief thoughts and ideas, so thank you so much for your time.
Host
This was a real pleasure. I appreciate you making time for me today.
Visot
Absolutely. So, Army strong!
Host
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The US Army War College celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th. This year, to observe the occasion, the US Army War College Press recorded a series of interviews showcasing War College leadership, faculty, staff, and students. Listen in to hear their insights, anecdotes, and more. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the podcast guests and are not necessarily those of the Department of the Army, US Army War College, or any other agency of the US Government.
The US Army War College celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th. This year, to observe the occasion, the US Army War College Press recorded a series of interviews showcasing War College leadership, faculty, staff, and students. Listen in to hear their insights, anecdotes, and more. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the podcast guests and are not necessarily those of the Department of the Army, US Army War College, or any other agency of the US Government.