Series Archives:Featured Teacher

Written by: MaryJane E. and Janet G.
Since its inception, Felicia Charles has been an integral part of Jimmy Carter Early College High School (JCECHS), teaching dual enrollment biology. Her unexpected journey into teaching began with a simple thought: “Why not?”

Initially, on a path to becoming a pharmacist, Charles was advised by her counselor to enroll in the Secondary Certification Program with the Education Department.

“I landed in this career because of a scholarship I had,” she said. “This scholarship paid for four years of college. When I was in my 3rd year, I already qualified to graduate, but my counselor told me I would give up most of my scholarship.”

Though she planned to take the PCAT exam, Charles fell in love with teaching instead.

“I loved the superintendent’s vision for the school,” she said. “At that time, I didn’t know of any other campus that was an ECHS in the valley, so I was excited to be part of it.”

Charles has grown alongside JCECHS.

“I have been teaching as long as Jimmy Carter ECHS has been open (14 years),” she said. “During that first year of opening our doors to the first graduating class of 2014, we worked diligently to apply to be an Early College High School.”

Her enthusiasm led her to abandon the PCAT.

“Needless to say, I never attempted the PCAT because I loved what I did and didn’t feel the need to explore that initial career goal.”

Despite the challenges of adapting to new environments annually, Charles remains committed to creating a supportive classroom environment.

“What truly makes teaching special for me is the opportunity to connect with my students on a personal level,” she said. “Building these relationships not only enhances their learning journey but also makes my own experience as an educator incredibly enjoyable.”

Her unyielding dedication to her students and her positive personality embody the essence of a great teacher. As we approach Teachers’ Appreciation Week, it’s a fitting time to honor Ms. Charles and all dedicated educators for their unwavering commitment to shaping future generations.

Thania Robles is a dedicated teacher at JCECHS. She completed her education at Lamar University and UTRGV, and Robles is known for her commitment to her students.
Before stepping into the classroom as an educator, Robles pursued her academic goals with vigor.
“I got my bachelor’s at Lamar University and later on got my masters at UTRGV,” Robles said.
Robles was driven to education by wanting to effect change in her community.
“I saw a need for better educators and education in the RGV, and I wanted to be a part of it,” she said.
Her passion for teaching stems from a lifelong ambition to advance educational standards and positively impact her community.
“Yes, because I wanted to help grow the field of education and help my community,” Robles said.
Despite the rewards, Robles acknowledges the profession’s challenges, particularly in engaging students.
“The apathy from students and to get them to care for their education,” she said, highlighting the motivational hurdles she faces.
Reflecting on her career, Robles has occasionally pondered other professional avenues but remains satisfied with her decision to pursue teaching.
“Sometimes I would think maybe I would be better in a different field, but no, I don’t regret coming into teaching,” she said.

The Unexpected Teacher: From Engineer to Educator

Accredited with a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, a Master’s in Business Administration, and a Master’s of Science in Mathematics Teaching, Mila Obnial shares her journey into what led her to become a teacher.
Upon migrating to America, Obnial was unable to continue pursuing her career in engineering leading to her teaching career.
“When we migrated over here to America, it was my husband’s decision for us to stay here in the valley,” Obnial said. “I can only work as a teacher because as an engineer, there wasn’t much opening for me, so in other words I didn’t have any option but to teach.”
However, from an unexpected circumstance, Obnial grew to love teaching. Beginning her teaching career in the Philippines by teaching college students, allowed Obnial to feel better by having teaching be her best option.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching,” Obnial said. “I have always loved to teach.” “Teaching Mathematics was good since it is related to engineering because most of the subjects in engineering are mathematics, so I thought that I could do it well.”
Obnial holds a strong passion for teaching and is sure most of her students see that in her.
Obnial seeks to keep her student’s best interests in mind. She studies different approaches in teaching and adapts her approach depending on the type of students she has. However, this does not mean she doesn’t face any challenges.
“I had to study the culture of the students that I had, so that was a great challenge,” Obnial said. “Another challenge was knowing what to do with students who are always present but don’t pass the class, or students who have been very good at math, but don’t come to class. Those are the difficulties that I faced. I had to adapt to whatever was best for the students.”
No matter what challenges Obnial faces, she can find rewarding moments throughout her teaching career. Students who claim to not like math, but end up putting a bit of interest in it, are students who make teaching a much better experience for Obnial.
“Those are positive things for me to move on,” Obnial said. “If I could only have one student per semester, who would turn out to have almost no understanding of mathematics and end up passing their TSI and getting a good ACT score, that would be a blessing for me.”
Rewarding moments have shaped Obnial’s teaching career and her perspective on education. It isn’t just academic success that Obnial values. Through her teaching journey, she realized the impact of building relationships with her students.
“I would rather have a student who would remember me as a person, maybe not as a teacher, but as someone whom they can talk to and rely on,” Obnial said. “In other words, it is a relationship that is being built that I would prefer over the things that they learned in class.”
Obnial’s journey from an engineer to an inspiring educator shows that with passion, perseverance, and an unexpected turn of events, she grew to love her journey as an educator and enjoyed every step of it.

From orange picking to a Whataburger employee to a business teacher, hard work is a staple of Torres’ life. Her academic journey is one of dedication, novelty seeking, and time management.
Since she was 13 years old Torres picked oranges with her family on Saturdays and Sundays while simultaneously going to school during the week.
“My biggest challenge is that I never had the privilege of only focusing on my academics,” Torres said. “When I was 17, I decided that I didn’t want that for me, that I’m not somebody who wants to work in hard labor.”
Torres holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s in business administration. Becoming an accountant was her initial goal, and she became a Lone Star National Bank auditor. It was not until one of the state auditors came to audit the bank that Torres realized teaching was a skill of hers.
“It was after I got out of school that I wanted to be a teacher,” Torres said. “I did accounting as an auditor for seven years, and while I was there, someone told me that I’d be good as a teacher. So, I said, ‘Let me give it a shot.’”
Torres was hesitant to apply her accounting skills to teaching because she thought no school offered any business classes other than business information management. Still, to her surprise, some schools provided marketing, management, and accounting positions.
Torres now works as a BIM teacher, practicum of entrepreneurship, and as a dual enrollment business instructor at Jimmy Carter Early College High School. She said her past taught her about hard work and that there is no bad job if it pays the bills, and you give it your 100%.
“I like to say business is one of the best careers you can go into,” Torres said. “It’s so vast. There are endless possibilities.” “Every business out there needs an accountant, a manager, and people who studied business. And if you want to be a teacher, that’s also a possibility for you. Just like me.”