Spring Branch ISD February 2023

themand showing themhow to see officers as peoplebefore authoritative figures.

To further her knowledge, Officer Perez is currently pursuing amaster’s degree in criminal justice fromtheUniversity of North Texas.

‘It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot,’ Officer Georgina Perez encourages others to look past challenges While student-teaching to become a bilingual teacher, Georgina Perez found that many children needed help. Perez decided to make a career change and transitioned from education to criminal justice. She first worked in corporate law, but ultimately joined the police academy at the University of Houston Downtown. Perez notes that becoming a police officer has been her best career decision. Today, she is part of the Spring Branch ISD Police Department. She started her career with SBISD four years ago at Northbrook High,

“Working in SBISDmotivated me to further my education,” said Officer Perez. “My leadership allows me to pursue training to further my professional career, which gives me the tools to provide the best to those I serve.”

After graduation, she hopes to continue her career in SBISD and ultimately transition into a leadership role.

When asked who motivates her, Officer Perez refers back to her 11th grade math teacher, Mr. Choi.

“Mr. Choi motivated me to be brave and believe I could be successful despite the challenges we faced. He and his wife have been my mentors for the last 14 years. They have always pushed me to continue my education and even helped me pay for my college tuition and books.” Their generosity inspired Officer Perez to pursue a public service career and she hopes to one day be a source of motivation for someone, as Mr. Choi has been for her. Officer Perez likes to remind people that “it’s not the plane, it’s the pilot,” and we should not look at the difficulties or challenges, but only at our skill set and how we can use that to be successful. Collective Greatness encourages Carmelita Soto to step out of comfort zone and explore newhorizons In 2015, Carmelita Soto began working in Spring Branch ISD as a bus assistant. However, her coworkers constantly encouraged her to become a bus driver. To become a bus driver, Soto had to earn a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), a special document required to operate large and heavy vehicles. Soto notes that she was eager to become a bus driver, but obtaining the license was a challenge. Soto’s SBISD teamwas determined to help her obtain her CDL and provided her with training to excel in the road test with the Texas Department of Public Safety. She received a permit to start training in May 2019 and she received her CDL in July 2019.

later transitioned to Stratford High and then to Memorial High. Officer Perez is now at the District Alternative Education Program (DAEP) campus, where she collaborates with administrators to provide disciplinary support.

“I heard that students at DAEP needed help, and I wanted to support them,” said Officer Perez. “I attended Title 1 schools and was an ‘at-risk youth’ growing up. But through mentors and positive role models, I was able to succeed. I want to be that positive role model in the students’ lives and show them that they are not bad kids, but are just making bad choices.” Officer Perez says the best part about her job is that she continues to help students, as she would as a teacher, but now in a police uniform. She enjoys seeing students smile but she especially enjoys educating them on how she supports and promotes a healthy learning environment for Every Child. Officer Perez has faced challenges in her position. Shementions that at times students are not interested in listening to an officer. However, she has learned to de-escalate situations andencourage themto adopt a morepositive attitude. She strives to change students’ perspectives on lawenforcement by connectingwith