Jackie Román is a dedicated educator and Veteran who strives to be an inspiration to her students. After three years in the United States Army, Román has spent the last 16 years of her life teaching the next generation of leaders.
Earlier this week Román was preparing to welcome her students back for the first day of school. She is currently a social studies and U.S. history teacher at a local middle school and also serves as the school’s culture coach.
“I work with teachers and help them implement their lesson plans for Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, Women's History Month, Black History Month, AAPI Month,” Román said. “Doing our best to make sure everybody's represented and that it aligns with the TEKS and such."
Román says she wants to have a positive impact on her students and be a good role model to them.
“I'm a very petite lady. I'm five feet tall. I just think that that's really cool for my students, especially my Latina students to see me, that I'm bubbly, or that I'm little and see like, there's not a type you have to be, to go whatever you want to do,” Román said.
Román says her experience in the Army shaped her life in many ways and she is grateful for the lasting relationships she formed.
“I think my favorite part was literally just meeting different people.” Román said. “I met my husband in the Army. I met my best friends in the Army. I met people who I'm still in contact with now.”
A Houston native, Román says that through her years teaching and serving in the Army, she has been able to see how special and unique the city is and only grows to appreciate it more and more each year.
“Even though it is a big city, there's still that southern hospitality, where people learn not to be mean, but people are a lot friendlier than they are maybe in other places,” Román said.
Friday will be Román’s first Dash game and she is looking forward to cheering the Dash, as well as being honored as the Hero of the Game. Her Husband Alex and son John will be in attendance with Román as well as several family members, including one special guest in particular.
“I think probably one of the most important things that I'm most looking forward to and most grateful is that my son gets to see me, but so does my grandma,” Román said. “I'm just glad that that I can make them proud and that they can share that experience with me,”
