The Brownwood Middle School Rising Star Teacher of the Year for 2024-25, Alisha Balderrama, is preparing for her third year teaching seventh grade within the school district. But the classroom is not where Balderrama originally envisioned her career taking her.
“My professional background and education are in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement,” Balderrama said. “I spent eight years as a full-time police officer before I made the transition to teaching. I enjoyed my time in law enforcement but as a mom to a young child, the schedule was very demanding. During my career, I had the opportunity to instruct several classes as well as teach newer officers. I enjoyed getting to share my knowledge with others and get to see the excitement when the mental light bulb clicked on. Teaching middle school has been such a fun experience all around and I am incredibly grateful I made the switch to education.”
Balderrama teaches Investigating Careers to her students.
“In my class we get to talk about the real world in a practical manner,” Balderrama said. “We not only research career opportunities, but we cover how to search, apply, and interview for jobs. In seventh grade, getting a job seems miles away but I hope that when my students get to that point in their journey they can remember something from the class to help them be successful.”
Reflecting on her time as a student, Balderrama recalled a particular teacher that had an influence on her.
“The one teacher who stands out is Mrs. Gordon,” Balderrama said. “She taught my first grade class and then moved to seventh grade where she taught RLA. Mrs. Gordon’s motto (from Horton Hears a Who) has stuck with me and I try to implement it in my classroom now: I meant what I said and I said what I meant. Mrs. Gordon is faithful 100%.”
Balderrama graduated from Deer Park High School near Houston and then went on to Sam Houston State University where she obtained a Bachelor’s of Science and Master’s of Science in Criminal Justice.
Regarding the most rewarding aspect of teaching, Balderrama said, “I enjoy watching the students find something that excites them about their futures and figuring out how we can make a plan to achieve that thing. These kids have big dreams and I’m honored to be a small stepping stone in their paths to success.”
Looking toward her future as an educator, Balderrama said, “I’m excited to grow the career fair that I hosted this year for my students. We had several community partners volunteer to spend a day sharing their careers with the students and it was a big success. My goal is to make the event even bigger this year.”
Alisha and her husband, Jeremy, have a 5-year-old son and moved to the area in 2018.
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BrownwoodNews.com will highlight one Brown County educator per day in the month of July, based on nominations received on our Facebook page, for our Teacher Feature series.