SAN ANTONIO – The latest Pickup Lines segment features former U.S. Rep. and CIA officer Will Hurd, who says no matter where life has taken him, San Antonio has always been home.
Hurd grew up in Leon Valley, attending Leon Valley Elementary, Earl Rudder Middle School and John Marshall High School, where he played basketball on a team that was once ranked among the best in the state.
“I’m a townie,” Hurd said. “San Antonio has always been home.”
Now living in Helotes, Hurd joked that the two places he never expected to live were Afghanistan and Helotes — yet Helotes is where he’s spent the most time.
Hurd attended Texas A&M University, studying computer science and crossing paths with KSAT’s Ernie Zuniga while working on a student-run radio show in the 1990s. But his college experience was forever marked by tragedy.
In 1999, Hurd was the student body president during the bonfire collapse that killed 12 students. More than two decades later, the memory still brings him to tears.
“I still can’t hear ‘Amazing Grace’ without crying,” Hurd said.
After college, Hurd joined the CIA after hearing a guest lecture from a former officer, turning down higher-paying tech jobs. His service took him undercover to India and Pakistan, where he learned Urdu and Hindi and operated under aliases.
“I’ve been shot at. I’ve been chased,” Hurd said. “That kind of stress trains you for life.”
Frustrated by politics from the outside, Hurd left the CIA to run for Congress in Texas’ 23rd District, one of the most competitive in the nation. A Black Republican representing a heavily Latino district, he served six years before stepping away on his own terms.
After Congress, Hurd returned to technology and national security and briefly entered the Republican presidential race, driven by a desire to serve future generations.
Today, Hurd is chief strategy officer at CHAOS Industries, helping develop radar systems for modern warfare. While the job keeps him traveling, he said his most important role is closer to home.
“Being a girl dad changes everything,” Hurd said. “I can never have a bad day anymore.”
Watch the full Pickup Lines with Hurd in the video player above.
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