Lucia Murguia on the City She Almost Didn’t Choose | Rock Solid Round Rock

Lucia Murguia applied to her first engineering job because she needed an internship and the posting was there. She didn’t know what transportation and bridge engineering meant. Didn’t matter. What she discovered was that engineers needed someone who could walk into a room full of community leaders, actually listen, and translate what they heard back into something useful. She was good at that. Really good.

She grew up in El Paso, earned her master’s in journalism at UT Austin, and spent years moving every twelve months through grad school. When she and her sister decided to buy a house in 2021, Round Rock was not the plan. Austin was the plan. But the market kept saying no. Her sister suggested Round Rock. Lucia remembers her eyes getting a little big. She’d done Leadership Round Rock and loved every minute of it, but she’d never considered actually living here. She was certain: all her friends were in Austin. There wouldn’t be much to do for a young single professional in a smaller city.

The quiet she braced for never came. Through the chamber, she got involved. She helped co-found Round Rock YP. She built a tribe here she said she never would have imagined, “not in a bragging way, just in the way you say something when it still surprises you.” What she’d been afraid of losing in Austin turned out to be something she got to help build from scratch in Round Rock.

She leads Business Development at KPA Engineers and chairs Leadership Round Rock’s largest class in the program’s history. At the end of every session she asks, “Who learned something new today?” Every single hand goes up. Lifelong Round Rock residents included.

When’s the last time you walked into a room you almost didn’t enter, and found exactly what you didn’t know you were looking for?

Key Takeaways From This Episode

• The city you reluctantly choose can become the one you shape: Lucia moved to Round Rock convinced she’d have no community here. She ended up co-founding the program that now creates community for hundreds of others.
• Soft skills are the most transferable technical skill there is: Lucia went from journalism to engineering business development by reading a room, listening well, and connecting people who didn’t know they needed to meet.
• Grief can be a starting point, not just an ending: When Lucia lost her dog Zoey and left a misaligned workplace, she didn’t let it happen to her. She channeled that loss into starting a fresh dog food company and entered JumpStart.
• Leadership programs work best when leaders don’t gatekeep: Round Rock’s Leadership program works because nobody’s protecting their knowledge. They’re trying to hand it down. That’s why every hand goes up when Lucia asks who learned something new.
• Just show up. The plan will find you: Every major pivot in Lucia’s career started with showing up to something before she felt ready. That’s not recklessness. That’s how clarity actually works.

I can either let this happen to me, or I can have an abundant mindset.

Lucia Murguia, Business Development, KPA Engineers

Why would I want to make someone’s life difficult? Why continue that cycle when I can empower someone younger, equip them with tools I didn’t have, and help them be better than I was?

Lucia Murguia, Business Development, KPA Engineers

I have my tribe here. Not in a bragging way, just in the way you say something when it still surprises you.

Lucia Murguia, Business Development, KPA Engineers

Episode Chapters

1. [00:00] Kalahari, Tequila Martinis, and the Case for Round Rock , Lucia makes her pitch for why Round Rock beats Austin for a first-time visitor, starting with the world’s largest indoor water park.
2. [03:09] Why She Co-Founded Young Professionals , She moved here certain there’d be no community for her, then helped build the community that now connects hundreds of young professionals.
3. [04:50] The Move She Almost Didn’t Make , Austin kept saying no on housing. Her sister suggested Round Rock. She packed her tribe in the rearview mirror and braced for the quiet that never came.
4. [07:02] The Internship She Almost Skipped , She saw “transportation and bridge” and thought: not me. She applied anyway, got hired full-time, and discovered a career she couldn’t have planned for.
5. [10:21] Leading the Biggest Leadership Class in History , 30 people. At the end of every session, Lucia asks who learned something new. Every hand goes up. Lifelong residents included.
6. [14:32] Pink Ties and Hype Men , The Women Who Mean Business event went full day for the first time. Lucia on what it meant to walk in and see men being the hype men.
7. [17:26] The Worst Six Months of Her Life , Losing Zoey, her 12-year soul dog, to cancer. A misaligned workplace. What she decided to do with both losses.
8. [21:44] Just Show Up , The one lesson from Cam Houser’s JumpStart program Lucia says will stay with her no matter what.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Leadership Round Rock and how do I apply?

Leadership Round Rock is a program through the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce that takes participants on a deep dive into the city: how it runs, who leads it, its history, culture, and critical infrastructure. Sessions meet monthly over several months. To apply, visit the Round Rock Chamber website. Lucia Murguia, current chair, calls it “the entry point into my business development career.”

What is Round Rock YP Young Professionals?

Round Rock YP is a council under the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce that creates networking and events for young entrepreneurs and professionals, whether they’re longtime residents or just arrived. Lucia Murguia co-founded it after moving to Round Rock and discovering the city needed a dedicated space for younger professionals to connect.

What is the JumpStart program at the Round Rock Chamber?

JumpStart is a four-week entrepreneurship program through the Round Rock Chamber led by Cam Houser of ActionWorks. Participants go from raw business idea to first sale, pitch deck, and brand basics. Lucia used it to launch her fresh dog food business for dogs with illness-specific nutritional needs.

How did Lucia Murguia get into engineering business development?

Lucia studied journalism at UT Austin, then pivoted to marketing. She applied for an internship at an engineering firm without knowing what transportation and bridge engineering meant, was hired full-time, and discovered she excelled at connecting engineers with community leaders. Her firm created a business development role specifically for her. She now holds that role at KPA Engineers in Georgetown.

What is Women Who Mean Business Round Rock?

Women Who Mean Business is an annual event hosted by the Round Rock Chamber celebrating women in professional leadership. In 2026, it ran as a full-day event for the first time, featuring speakers including Kat Osman, incoming GM of the Vaults professional softball team. Male attendees wore pink ties and served as hosts, which Lucia described as her favorite moment of the event.

More From Rock Solid

If this episode resonated, hear Grief, Resilience, and the Courage to Be Seen with Geneva Walker and Caroline Harris Davila on Running for Office at 27 , both guests showed up for this community before they felt ready, and both built something lasting from it. Browse all Round Rock business leaders on the Rock Solid directory.

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Full Episode Transcript

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Bryan: Welcome to Rock Solid. This week I’m joined by my friend Lucia. I’m so excited to finally have you here. You’re not originally from here, came from a border town, moved here, bought a house with your sister.

Lucia: Yeah.

Bryan: You got your master’s at UT, then chose Round Rock. If someone was visiting from El Paso for the first time, where would you take them?

Lucia: I recently had my best friend from elementary school come with her three girls. They wanted Austin and I said, “No, there’s so much in Round Rock for young families.” I prioritized Kalahari, world’s largest indoor water park. Downtown Round Rock, Purely Provisions. The food and nightlife is amazing. Mom and dad got their drinks, girls got to play.

Bryan: An espresso martini by chance?

Lucia: Yes, but I like it with tequila. I had a goal: be the favorite aunt.

Bryan: You’re part of the Young Professionals Council. Why is YP so important to you?

Lucia: I was moving every year through grad school. When my sister and I decided to buy a house in early 2021, housing prices were astronomical. We kept getting outbid. My sister doesn’t want to flip a house. She mentioned, “What about Round Rock?” My eyes got a little big. I had nothing but great things to say about it from Leadership Round Rock, but I’d never considered living here. We found our perfect home, but I remember thinking all my friends are in Austin. All my tribe is there. There’s not going to be much to do for young single professionals here.

Through the chamber, getting involved, and then co-founding Round Rock YP, it’s become something I never would have imagined. I have my tribe here, not in a bragging way, just in the way you say something when it still surprises you.

Bryan: The energy at the event this morning was palpable. Round Rock is its own city, not just a suburb.

Lucia: Exactly. Top 10 city to live in.

Bryan: You started in journalism but moved into engineering business development. How did that lead to Leadership Round Rock chair?

Lucia: I went to UT Austin for journalism. Halfway through I decided I didn’t want to do it anymore. Business intrigued me because even if you don’t know anything about a topic, you can learn. I found a marketing internship at an engineering firm. The posting said “transportation and bridge” and I thought: I don’t know what that means, not me. But I applied, got it, was hired full-time. The soft skills, the people skills, that’s where I thrive. Gorrondona and Fields raised me, gave me the opportunity to connect engineers with community leaders, and created a business development role for me. My entry point into that career was Leadership Round Rock in 2018.

Bryan: The class of 2018.

Lucia: The best class ever.

Bryan: Now you’re chair of the largest Leadership class ever, 30 people. What’s the biggest surprise?

Lucia: Dusting off public speaking, I’ve surprised myself. But what I love most is seeing people really pay attention and soak it in. Every month: community involvement day, city history day, chamber day, county day, critical infrastructure day. At the end of every session I ask, “Who learned something new today?” Every single person raises their hand. Lifelong Round Rock residents included. Nobody’s trying to gatekeep anything. We’re trying to better our community. My purpose is to continue what the people before us built, and to set it up so it continues even when I’m not here.

Bryan: The Chamber also holds Women Who Mean Business. First year as a full day. What does it mean to see the pink-tie guys showing up?

Lucia: I loved it. Seeing the gentlemen with their pink ties opening doors and handling registration, just seeing those roles shift makes an impact. I’m a firm believer: why would I want to make someone’s life difficult? Why continue that cycle when I can empower someone younger, equip them with tools I didn’t have, and help them be better than I was? Seeing them being our hype men filled my heart. And Kat Osterman, just drop that name.

Bryan: The GM of the Vaults, Round Rock’s professional softball team. Next level.

Lucia: Such a force.

Bryan: You recently went through a difficult time, a loss, and it led you to JumpStart. Can you share that?

Lucia: In September I lost my soul dog. She was my constant for twelve years, through every move in grad school. Her name was Zoey, a lab mix. She passed from cancer. That was a trying time. And at the company I was at, there were also conflicts, values not aligned. I realized I could either let this happen to me, or choose an abundant mindset. You were one of the first people I shared that with, and I remember you telling me I needed that mindset.

So I channeled that love for Zoe into starting a fresh food business for dogs, customizable for those with illness-specific needs. When I found out Zoe had cancer at age six, feeding her fresh, protein-rich, non-processed food gave me six more years with her. Through the chamber, the timing lined up for JumpStart, four weeks with Cam Houser. I went from raw idea to first sale, pitch deck, brand basics, everything. From communications major to business development to entrepreneurship.

Bryan: What’s the biggest lesson from JumpStart?

Lucia: Just doing it. Just showing up. Cam would say: just do it, even without your packaging or your logo. It doesn’t have to be pretty. With an abundance mindset, if I just show up, something is going to come of it. So just show up.

Bryan: If people want to connect with you, what’s the best way?

Lucia: I’m a phone gal. Instagram as Lucychu. And professionally on LinkedIn.

Bryan: Thank you so much.

Lucia: Thank you. This feels like full circle. Thanks for having me, Bryan.