Her Story
About Trisha
When I was younger, I had always wanted to coach sports, but as time went on, I went a different route in life through cosmetology and partial nursing. Some life circumstances happened and changed my perspective, and I decided to get back into education. I became an educational aide and worked with special education students, and then from there, I worked into a mobile device coordinator position. When that opportunity came open, I gave my letter of interest and was moved into that position. As some time went on, our director had moved on, and I was given that opportunity, and I have been there ever since. I have a bachelor's in career and technical education from Eastern New Mexico University, where I really fell in love with CTE. I've always been a big believer in being able to do things outside of the knowledge base and critical thinking of education - not that those areas don't necessarily encompass those things, but it's just a different approach to education, and I believe that it's very vital to our students and our economies. I got my master's at Lamar in Houston in business with a leadership concentration. I have fallen in love with leadership. I enjoy partnerships with outside vendors and other school districts, and I enjoy getting to lead trainings or professional developments. That's where I've really found a piece of what really makes me happy and brings a lot of joy to the work that I do.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Trisha
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Your work will always be there tomorrow, you don't have to do it all today. This advice has been crucial for me in avoiding burnout. Burnout is very, very capable of happening when you feel like you gotta do it all and be perfect, so remembering that it'll always be there tomorrow helps me maintain balance and perspective in my work.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
No is a complete sentence. And don't let anybody make you feel smaller, or try to make you smaller, because you're a strong female. As someone who coaches high school girls basketball, I believe it's not only my duty, but my joy to give back to young girls and feed into young girls, and help them understand that it's okay to be who they are, and what their success looks like doesn't have to look like everybody else's, and that's okay.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In technology, the challenges are pretty vast when it comes down to cybersecurity, and now that AI has become such a spearhead for just about everything production-wise, the safety and security on the backside of that has been a very large challenge. However, having opportunities to work with different cohorts and different professionals in that field has really helped. COVID was a very big challenge when it came down to technology. We were not quite one-to-one in the district, and so building that system and maintaining some safety and service in ways that was beneficial and effective for our students and staff was a very large challenge, given the circumstances. I think it really varies when it comes down to where we're at and where we're going, and what that system needs to look like, and so without systems, it's definitely an even bigger challenge.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My first value is for sure my faith. I stand on faith. It is what carries me through my day-to-day. Health and wellness is a big piece of that. My family is a huge value system that I have. Trust and rapport with people, and then peace being something else. In my personal life, my family and my faith are top notch, but in my professional life, I like to think that my work ethic speaks for itself. You take in what you have, and you work with what you have. But building trust and having a strong work ethic, and then finding peace in the things that I'm able to do, really goes back and aligns with my faith. Those are the values that I stand on the most. And being a service-driven person has really been something I've strived hard to encompass and do for others.
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