Samantha Gonzalez
Program Coordinator
Texas OnCourse
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
It got real when my public policy internship in D.C. was coming to an end and I had to decide whether I was going into law or grad school. Couldn't decide, so I took a year to do non-profit work.
I enjoyed the work in D.C. but it was difficult to find something in TX b / c my "plan" had always been law school. The non-profit work helped me realize I loved helping ppl. I enrolled in grad school.
Even though being a college advisor became one of my passions and I was able to help dozens of students get into college, something felt like it was missing from my career journey.
At this point, I had been living in different cities than my family for about 7 years. Family health wasn't good. The feeling of something missing had turned into confusion about what to do next.
I decided that solely dedicating myself to non-profit management in college access was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my career. I took some time off to be with family and gather my plans.
I found my current job which, to me, is a perfect combination of advocating for students to have postsecondary plans and work that involves legislation. I can hone my skills and continue to grow here.
Education
High School
Bishop Lynch High School
Bishop Lynch High School
Career
Program Coordinator
I help maintain and consistently deliver best in class content and resources.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Government
Upholding a Cause and Belief
Day to Day
I ensure content offered is consistently up to date. To ensure it's up to date, I conduct ongoing research of resources or announcements with either new content or edited content which helps determine if Texas OnCourse content needs to be updated or edited. In addition, when new content is needed I assist with the development and process of new modules.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Family:
"You're not going to be happy helping others in this specific field because you won't be earning as much as you'd like to. You should be a lawyer, you'll earn big bucks while helping others. Perhaps you should be an officer, they have good benefits. "
