TAFE is dedicated to promoting teaching as a career and supporting aspiring educators in Texas. TAFE provides opportunities for high school and college students interested in pursuing careers in education to connect with mentors, gain valuable experience through internships and workshops, participate in competitions, and engage in community service projects.
Jimmy Carter’s TAFE teams (TAFE Red and TAFE Gold) competed in area and regional competitions, bringing home numerous awards and qualifications due to their hard work and dedication.
Junior Audrey Brown has been in TAFE for three years and she has received significant praise for her awards.
“The event that I competed in was Exploring Non-core Subject Teaching Careers,” Brown says. “I was able to follow around Mr. Silva (the communications teacher on campus) and make a PowerPoint about what he does inside and outside of the classroom as a non-core teacher and present it at state. It was a lot of fun!”
Through this presentation, Brown qualified for the nationals.
Unlike in previous years, the team doesn’t plan on attending nationals this year due to the La Joya ISD not allowing out-of-state trips. But despite not going to nationals this year, the TAFE national qualifiers are still proud to have been bestowed the honor of being national qualifiers and know that the title can help them with future endeavors.
“When we recruited our kids, they were a little bummed out because of the news. I told them that the district just wouldn’t allow it despite advancing to nationals,” TAFE sponsor Brenda Treviño says. “However, they are still national qualifiers at the end of the day. They get the title, they get to put in their resumes, and they get to feel pride. And through all the competition they’ve experienced, I’m extremely proud of them and their accomplishments no matter what.”
Despite the setback, TAFE’s national qualifiers take pride in their accomplishments, knowing their achievements and talents will serve them well in future pursuits. With this in mind, the TAFE team continues to work hard to compete and bring back more titles, allowing them to always have something to look forward to in their own lives and something to be proud of in their current high school years.