When it comes to his career, Manny Silva likes to keep things interesting. Whether he is working as a developer at AT&T, rescuing stranded motorists with AAA, or driving a truck across the country with his dog, Silva enjoys what he’s doing and keeps one eye on what’s next.
“I’ll probably switch up and find another venture at some point,” he said. “I can’t tell you what the future holds, because there’s so many cool and exciting things out there.”
Silva graduated in 2000, and spent the summer afterward working at the pipe yard in Dublin. Then one day that November, Silva drove up to Austin to visit some friends. He discovered he loved the city, and within the month he had quit his job in Dublin and found a place to rent in Austin.
Once he was settled in, Silva started taking night classes at the University of Texas, Austin. He was trying to build up some new skills, and decided to take a computing class. He ended up liking it so much he applied for an internship at AT&T.
“I fell in love with computers at a young age, but I never thought I had the smarts and intelligence to actually do it,” he said. “But once I got into the field as an intern, it all came together.”
After his internship ended, Silva stayed on at AT&T, eventually earning a full-time job in one of their research and development labs. His job was to help develop AT&T U-verse, a telecommunications package that included TV. “I got to watch it actually grow into what it had the potential to be,” he said. “It’s like raising a baby. You start from the very beginning and watch it grow.”
Silva worked on U-Verse for a few years, then transferred within the company to work in the cell phone division, where he tested new cell phones as they came out.
“We would get the latest and greatest cell phones from the manufacturers, and then we would test against the AT&T network to make sure there were no faults or bugs in the operating system, and that the cell phones would hand off tower to tower and were up to AT&T standards.”
If Silva and his team discovered any bugs, they would work to fix them through coding.
Silva spent more than ten years testing cell phones before he decided to look for a job that would allow him to spend more time outside and away from the desk. “I saw an ad in a paper for AAA, and I just applied for it,” he said. “They couldn’t believe it, because I’d spent so many years in a cubicle and in a lab environment — they thought I was just messing around.”
But Silva got the job, and ended up enjoying it. “I got to cruise all around Texas rescuing people on the side of the road,” he said. “ I saw the desert. I got to go up to the woodlands, the Hill Country, the panhandle, and it was great to be outside.”
He worked for AAA for two years before moving back to Dublin in 2018. “My brother has a trucking company, SMZ trucking, and I work for him now,” Silva said. “He’s been the owner and operator for 12 years, so I just jumped in to help him out.
As a driver, Silva transports loads of pipe up to Wyoming or Nebraska, and then brings hay back down to the local dairies. Wherever he goes, he brings his dog, a husky.
“She’s the cutest thing in the world,” he said. “Our favorite thing is going to the roadside parks. She gets to play in the part, and I love history and a lot of the roadside pullouts have a whole bunch of history, so I get to sit there and read the history of what happened there. It’s a lot of fun.”
Silva is also enjoying being back in Dublin. “I was born and raised here,” he said. “Austin has a special place in my heart, but home is always Dublin.”
Many of his family members live there, including his father, Manual Silva. His mother, Juanie Silva passed away nearly four years ago. “My parents were my biggest inspiration,” he said. “They’re the ones that kept pushing me. Whenever I was down and out — and there were times where life kicked me in the butt — I got to go back to them and ask them questions. They were the ones that kept me going. Your parents back you up through life and when they are gone you miss that. I took parts of it for granted, and now I wish I had it all back.”
Silva’s brothers and sisters and their families also live in town.
“My family is my backbone,” he said. “My brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. Everybody that’s in my life, that they’ve played a significant role in how I got to where I’m at. I’d love to thank each and every one of them because they brought so much joy into my life.”
When Silva has free time, he enjoys getting together with his family, playing with his dog, and spending time outdoors. He is also a photographer, taking pictures of landscapes with his camera or his drone, which he uses to take aerial photos.
Silva’s advice to Dublin graduates is to believe in themselves, no matter what other people say. “A lot of people told me that I wasn’t going to amount too much of anything,” he said. “I’d like to say that I’ve proved them all wrong, especially working in the research and development lab of AT&T. Everybody said, ‘You won’t do it, you can’t do it.’ And I did. I did it with a lot of hard work and determination.”
Persistence, he said, is key. “Live life and enjoy life, but always keep working to meet your goals,” he said. “When you do, it’s nothing but the biggest high of your life.”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other graduates, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.