After years of serving students in Throckmorton, Gay Hibbits returned to college, earned her teaching certification, and is preparing to lead a classroom in the community she has always called home.
For years, Gay Hibbits poured into students in Throckmorton Collegiate ISD as a paraprofessional and teaching assistant. She was a familiar face in the halls of the school where she grew up, raised her family, and built a life deeply rooted in her community. She loved helping students succeed, but she also carried a dream of one day leading a classroom of her own.
Like many rural educators, life, work, and family responsibilities made that dream feel out of reach. Going back to college seemed daunting. But through Collegiate Edu-Nation’s Teach Where It Matters initiative and the Grow Your Own program, supported by AmeriCorps, Gay found both a pathway and a team that believed in her potential.
While continuing to serve students, Gay worked tirelessly to earn her degree and teaching certification. It required perseverance, sacrifice, and determination—but she never walked the journey alone.
This spring, Gay achieved a milestone years in the making: she graduated from West Texas A&M University and earned her teaching certification. This fall, she will return to the same community that shaped her—not as a paraprofessional, but as a classroom teacher serving the next generation of Throckmorton students.
At Collegiate Edu-Nation’s Rural Empowerment Conference, Gay shared her story with educators, administrators, workforce leaders, and community partners from across rural Texas. Her testimony offered a powerful reminder of what is possible when communities invest in their own people.
Her message was simple, heartfelt, and inspiring:
“Kristin and Katie at Collegiate Edu-Nation support you every step of the way. Don’t think it’s too late to go back and accomplish this dream. I sure didn’t.”
Gay Hibbits shares her journey from paraprofessional to certified teacher during the Rural Empowerment Conference. This fall, she will return to Throckmorton Collegiate ISD to teach in the community she has proudly called home her entire life.
Gay’s journey is more than a personal success story. It demonstrates how Grow Your Own programs strengthen rural communities by creating opportunities for local talent to become local educators. Students benefit from teachers who understand their communities because they have lived in them, served in them, and chosen to stay in them.
This fall, when Gay steps into her classroom as a certified teacher, she will represent more than the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. She will embody the power of rural opportunity, perseverance, and community investment—and prove that it is never too late to become the teacher your community needs.
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Across rural Texas, districts are facing teacher shortages and searching for sustainable ways to build a strong local educator workforce. Stories like Gay’s show what’s possible when communities invest in their own talent and create pathways for aspiring educators to return, stay, and serve where they are needed most.
If your district is interested in learning more about Teach Where It Matters and how the Grow Your Own program can help develop future teachers from within your community, please contact Kristin Luft at kluft@edu-nation.org. Together, we can create more stories like Gay’s—and ensure every student has access to excellent educators who are deeply connected to the communities they serve.
