As Ellis County clerk, Krystal Valdez serves as the clerk for the county courts and commissioners court and is tasked with keeping records of the proceedings. She serves as the record holder of deeds, birth and death certificates, issuing marriage licenses and documenting assumed names, wills and probate.
“When I was young, I knew what I wanted to do when I got older,” Valdez said. “I knew that I wanted to get good grades. I knew that I wanted to be successful. I had a path and that path was changed when I had my son while I was in high school.
“It was not the same path but it was different,” she said. “It was tougher and was not ideal but I got there. I try to show my kids that it does not matter what circumstances you are in so long as you have good support. As long as you have people that love you and support you and want you to succeed, you will be successful. You can do whatever you want to do.”
Valdez said she and her husband have taught their children it takes many people working together to accomplish a goal. They take them to community events and include them in important conversations – as her parents did her.
“My dad would talk to me about politics growing up,” she said. “In high school, I was so excited to get to vote for the very first time. That is how it was with our son when he was able to go vote and that is what we are trying to instill in our daughter: the importance of voting, being a part of the process and standing up for what you believe in.”
Valdez said she’s humbled by the support she receives on a daily basis not only from the community but from her husband, Eric.
“I think that we balance each other out in a lot of ways,” she said. “I think that most marriages do that. He is very outgoing and very energetic. I am a little bit more reserved. We bring out the best in each other and help each other.
“I think that what helps us is our religion, our Christian faith. We met at church, St. Joseph’s,” Valdez said. “We are both supportive of each other in whatever we want to do. Just having him there, especially when I was running (for office) or at speaking events, that gives me comfort.”
Valdez wants young people to know there are many paths to success.
“I hope to let young (people) out there know that there is nothing that they can’t overcome,” she said. “There is no obstacle that they can’t overcome to be successful and do what they want to do.
“I just hope they see that I didn’t have this perfectly straight line to success,” she said. “I had valleys and mountains and all these different things that I had to go through to get to where I am. It can be done. I hope that is what my impact is.”
