Her Story
About Sade
My professional journey started in retail at Old Navy, where I loved dealing with customers and serving people. After graduating from Prairie View A&M University in 2010 with my bachelor's in business, marketing, and administration, I worked for Hertz rental car company, where I discovered my true passion for training and teaching people how to serve others better. A chance encounter at Walmart led me to education - I met someone in admissions who worked at Everest Institute, and within 2-3 months I was working there myself. I found that the community really wants to do better, it's not that people love being poor, it's just their circumstances - no one ever showed them how to get a career versus a job. I've spent over 15 years in admissions at institutions like Everest Institute and Fortis Institute, helping people change their lives and get certified in trades. Currently, I'm a 5th grade teacher at Knipl Education Center in Aldine ISD, and I'm about to go back to admissions with United Education Institute. Alongside my professional career, I've been an environmental justice advocate in my community, addressing issues like pollution, flooding, and lack of resources, particularly for children and elderly who are the most vulnerable. I completed my Master's in Architecture Community Development from Prairie View A&M in December 2024, and I serve as a precinct chair, helping people understand how politics shapes their everyday lives. In five years, I hope to be in a political position like city council and working on my PhD, which I plan to start in 2027. Everything I do really feels like just trying to live a better quality of life and showing others how to do the same.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sade
01What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges I see are that people in low-income communities are being skipped over when it comes to resources for flooding, upgrades with homes and houses, and dealing with pollution. We're experiencing high gas prices and high food prices, and the terrible thing is that while things are getting more expensive, our money is not increasing. So we're back to square one of trying to be a better human and trying to keep up with society and the industry. A lot of people feel like politics is so separate from their everyday life, but that's so far from the truth - politics really shapes all of our life decisions every day, and people just don't realize how close it is to home. The opportunity is in helping people understand this connection and showing them how to live a better quality of life.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important value to me is serving others and treating people the way you want to be treated. I believe you have a responsibility for others, especially for people that don't know better, or they can't speak up for themselves, or they don't know how - you just stand in the gaps for others. That's just a part of being a servant. When you know better, you do better, and everything I do really doesn't feel like work, it just feels like we're trying to live a better quality of life and trying to show others how to live a better quality of life.
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