Each year, Mount Pleasant ISD campuses select Employees of the Year. Chosen by their peers, these employees were recognized by the MPISD Board of Trustees at their May 22 meeting and will be honored at the MPISD End-of-Year Breakfast on May 26, 2017.
The Early Head Start Employee of the Year is Ruth Sustaita. She was born in Mexico, coming to Mt. Pleasant in 1995. She is a 2004 MPHS graduate and is currently working on her Associates in Education at Northeast Texas Community College. She has worked for the District since 2013.
Sustaita loves “working with children and being able to make a difference in their lives.” She adds, “I love to see their improvement throughout the school year and how much they are able to learn at such a young age.”
Sustaita and her husband Hector Salazar, a 2003 MPHS graduate, have three children: Jarred, Hector, Jr. and Heslie.
The Child Development Center Employee of the Year is ERSEA Coordinator Phyllis Hurd. Before joining MPISD in June 2002, she worked in law enforcement, as a purchasing clerk and a site facilitator and data entry specialist at Region VII, Kilgore.
What Hurd likes most about her job is “working with children and the staff I work with. I enjoy that there is respect and people really care about each other on my campus.”
Hurd has been married 28 years. She has one son, one daughter and five grandchildren.
The Employee of the Year at Annie Sims Elementary School is Pam Collier, the assistant to the gym coach. Pam was born in Omaha, Texas and grew up in Cookville. She attended elementary school at Cookville School before transferring to MPISD. She graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in 1981, received an Associate of Science from Northeast Texas Community College, and is currently enrolled at Texas A&M Texarkana.
Pam was the owner/director of ABC Playschool in Mt. Pleasant for 16 years. She sold the business and joined the staff of Early Head Start where she stayed for five years before moving to Annie Sims. She has been at Sims for the past five years.
When asked what she likes about her job, she said “obviously, the children. There is no greater reward than bonding with a child and making a difference in their life. We have such a dedicated team of teachers at Annie Sims and I am lucky to be a part of MPISD where we are all family.”
Pam has three children and six grandchildren.
The E.C. Brice Elementary School Employee of the Year is Paraprofessional/Migrant Daniela Contreras. Born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, she attended E.C. Brice Elementary, graduated from MPHS in 2011 and earned her Associate of Arts in Teaching from NTCC in 2016. She is currently working on her Bachelor’s in Education at Texas A&M Texarkana.
Before coming to work for MPISD in 2016, Contreras worked for Communities in Schools at NTCC.
About her job, Contreras says, “I love the fact that I am involved in the community and the lives of all the students that attend Brice. The fact that every day is a different experience helps me learn and think in new ways. I love to establish relationships with unconditional acceptance and respect with my students. Every day is a blessing. I thank God for placing me here.”
Contreras’s family includes her parents Vicente and Sofia, her brother Jonathan and sister Blanca.
The Frances Corprew Elementary School Employee of the Year is School Nurse Mitzi Cameron. She was born in Odessa, Texas and grew up in Mt. Pleasant. She is a graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School and Texarkana College.
Before joining Corprew this year, she worked as a Clinic Nurse with Susan Branham, NP Mental Health and as the Director of Women Ministry Association with Argo Missionary Baptist Church.
“Seeing to the needs of all Corprew’s wonderful employees and students,” Cameron said when asked what she likes most about her job. “This is my first job as a school nurse and the Corprew family has made me feel so welcomed and loved. I have truly enjoyed my time with the students and they encourage me to be a better nurse and person with the challenges they face. It is humbling to receive many hugs, high-fives, and to wipe away so many tears. I am the one who is truly blessed.”
Cameron and her husband Howard have been married 34 years. They have three daughters and five granddaughters.
The Employee of the Year at Vivian Fowler Elementary School is Third Grade Interventionist Gabriela Vargas. She was born and raised in Mexico, attended school and University there and studied to be a lawyer. She has been at Fowler for 11 years.
When asked what she likes most about her job, Vargas said, “I have the job of my dreams, on the best campus in the best District in all of Texas. I am fortunate to have the best principal, who has supported me and has confidence in my work, being able to teach and transform the lives of my children. My job is difficult but very rewarding and I believe His grace has put me here.”
Vargas is married to Luis A. Vargas, a carpenter by trade.
The Employee of the Year at P.E. Wallace Middle School is Cafeteria Manager Blanca Avellaneda. She was born in Mexico and raised in Zapata, Texas, moving to Mt. Pleasant in 1991 where she started school at Frances Corprew Elementary. In 2008, she joined MPISD as a food service employee at Wallace Middle School and was named Manager there in 2014.
When asked what she likes most about her job, Avellaneda said, “I love working early and being able to leave early. I enjoy my co-workers and building great memories. Most importantly, I feel blessed to meet our campus students as they go through the lunch line and feel accomplished knowing I can provide each one with a great nutritional meal.”
Avellaneda and her husband Francisco have four daughters and one grandson. They are also raising a younger sister and brother.
The Mount Pleasant Junior High School Employee of the Year is Principal’s Secretary Karen Lozano. Born in Mexico, she came to Mount Pleasant when she was 10. She graduated when she was 17, attended NTCC, and earned an Associate of Arts in Teaching.
She began working for MPISD when she was 18 and says MPISD is the only employer she has worked for. She has worked at Central Administration, Vivian Fowler Elementary and, for the last seven years, at Mt. Pleasant Junior High.
When asked what she likes about her job, Lozano said “I love working with loving and caring people. The work environment couldn’t be any better.”
Lozano and her husband Carlos have been married for two and a half years. He is employed by Lowe’s Distribution Center.
The Employee of the Year at Mount Pleasant High School is Athletic Trainer Justin Hargrove. Born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, he graduated from MPHS in 1994 and Howard Payne University in 1998. He joined the District in 2004 as the Assistant Athletic Trainer and was named to his current position in January 2007.
Hargrove says the best part of his job “is helping athletes overcome and return to competition after injury, and the front row seat to all games!”
Hargrove and his wife Kay, the MPHS Principal’s secretary, have a son Devon and a daughter Madison.
“While each of these nine MPISD employees have very different job responsibilities, they share several common traits,” said MPISD Superintendent of Schools Judd Marshall. “They are each dedicated to the education of all children in Mount Pleasant ISD. They love their jobs, love the people they work with, and love the children on their campuses. Mount Pleasant ISD is lucky to have them as employees.”
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