Outstanding students bring passion into classroom
Tuyen Nguyen has always dreamed of being a teacher, and when she graduates from Texas A&M University-Victoria on Saturday, she’ll be another step closer to turning that dream into a reality.
“It’s exciting to see how close I am to reaching my goal,” Nguyen said. “I had a great experience in my residency working with fifth-grade students, so I would love to become a fifth-grade math teacher.”
Nguyen of Katy is the Outstanding Undergraduate student for the College of Education & Health Professions. She will receive a Bachelor of Science in early childhood through sixth grade on Saturday. Daniele Teixeira is the Outstanding Graduate student and will earn a Master of Education in Special Education with a concentration in autism.
“Tuyen and Daniele are two amazing women who have a passion for teaching,” said Rachel Martinez, dean of the College of Education & Health Professions. “I am thrilled to see them receive this recognition for all of their hard work and their dedication to improving the lives of their students.”
Each semester, professors from A&M-Victoria’s four colleges select outstanding students to be honored during commencement. A&M-Victoria will host three commencement ceremonies on May 16 at Faith Family Church, 2002 E. Mockingbird Lane. The first ceremony will be at 9 a.m. to recognize students from the College of Education & Health Professions and the College of Natural & Applied Science. The second ceremony will start at noon to celebrate students from the College of Business. The third ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. for students in the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences. A live stream of the ceremonies will be available at https://www.tamuv.edu/commencement/.
Nguyen started attending A&M-Victoria after she transferred to the university from Lone Star College in the Houston area. At the time, the university was part of the University of Houston system and had an instructional site in Katy.
“I was looking for a teaching program, and I’d heard good things about the university,” she said. “The opening of the Katy location came at the right time in my life. As a new mom, I was worried about commuting to Houston, so having a campus close to home made it possible for me to continue my education while raising my boys and becoming part of a strong teaching community.”
Her love for children and her career choice were solidified when Nguyen was serving in her church’s children’s ministry. At first, she was working with the church’s youth program, but when she moved into the children’s area, she began to see how circumstances in life that children experience can impact how they develop as they grow up.
“I saw such a need for many of these children to have a supporting adult in their lives,” she said. “Being a teacher isn’t easy, but if I can impact the life of even one child, that’s something that’s worth the effort.”
As a first-generation student, Nguyen was unfamiliar with the process of applying and transferring into the program, but once enrolled, she was able to take online courses and attend face-to-face evening classes. The smaller classes also helped the students to feel as though they were in a tight-knit community. In addition, the faculty members put lots of time and effort into encouraging their students, she said.
“Dr. Baldwin was especially supportive – she treated us like we were her own kids,” Nguyen said. “And Dr. Kubelka was the kind of inspirational teacher who reminded us why teachers matter so much to students.”
Looking back on her time and all the effort it took to earn her degree, Nguyen hopes that her son will remember her hard work and be inspired to pursue his own dreams with the same dedication. She also is grateful to her husband and mother-in-law for their support and understanding as she worked to make her dreams come true.
For Teixeira, this is the second degree she will receive from A&M-Victoria. She finished her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2020. At the time, her husband was a member of the university’s mathematics faculty, and many of his coworkers encouraged her to consider getting a master’s degree. She loved the idea of teaching, but she said she couldn’t see herself teaching college courses to other adults. That’s when a member of the education faculty suggested that she should teach elementary school.
“I’ve always loved kids, even when I was growing up with my family in Brazil and helping my mother with a house full of kids every day,” she said. “I’m really shy, so I didn’t like the idea of teaching adults, but I’ve loved working with children and high schoolers.”
At first, she signed up for the VOICE program, the alternative certification program that allows students with a bachelor’s degree to obtain certification. In addition, the program allows students to apply their coursework toward a Master of Education degree. As she was earning her certification, Teixeira had the opportunity to work in a program that served children with autism. That experience inspired her to pursue a master’s degree in special education so she could better serve those children and their families.
As she prepares to walk the stage, Teixeira and her family are also preparing for some major life changes. The family is moving to the Dallas area for her husband’s new job, and she is looking forward to finding a position teaching special education there. Looking back, she is grateful to her family for their support, especially to her mother, Regina Mourao; her daughter, Gisele; and her husband, Ricardo. She also is thankful for the support and advice from Martinez. After all this effort, she is excited not only for her own accomplishment, but also for how this effort has inspired Gisele to pursue her own education.
“When I got my psychology degree, I saw how proud she was, and now that she’s 17 and seeing me get a master’s degree, she’s started talking about how far she wants to go academically,” Teixeira said. “She’s been so happy, proud and supportive throughout all the years of effort and studying, and to see her excitement for her own future makes us very happy as parents.”
Texas A&M University-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the colleges of Business, Education & Health Professions, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Science. A&M-Victoria provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as online classes that students can take from anywhere. The university supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.