OUR HISTORY |
"GRACE Transition Education Services became a licensed 'business' in October of 2017 with a trip to the Victoria County Courthouse to see the City Secretary to get our DBA... "Doing Business As" name. This was the first 'legal' time GRACE Transition Education Services was introduced but the reality is that GRACE was born in my heart many years ago.
My husband, Tony Rodriguez, and I have always participated in ministry that included education. At the beginning of my time as a teacher at Victoria ISD I worked homework center and Saturday School in the afternoon and on the weekends and we found that there were obstacles for students to get that extra help they needed. Some students didn't have transportation to Saturday School or they had to get home after school to watch their younger siblings. We wanted to break down those barriers so we began an after school and Saturday tutoring program in partnership with Parkway Lone Tree. We used Parkway Lone Trees community building and we provided students with a meal, teachers volunteered to come in and help students with their work, we had childcare for students that needed childcare and transportation for those needing transportation.
A few years the opportunity arose for me to do some Job Coaching as Transition Educator for Texas Workforce Commission. I agreed and was happy to help. I loved the opportunity to help a student find real skills that would benefit him in the workplace for a lifetime. A little while later, at the end of the workday, a very nice lady from Texas Workforce Commission came into my classroom and sat to talk with me. I had seen her in the building talking with students and I knew who she was and what she did for TWC - she was their Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. She said she sought me out because she had a young man mention my name while he worked with her. She encouraged me to get to know more about TWC-VR services as they are always in need of providers in the community. She was so passionate about helping students that I couldn't help but be excited to learn more. In no time, I began working with a small group of students towards their transition goals. It was GREAT!
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I will be honest with you, I didn't see our time as a 'job', this was our ministry. God gave us the opportunity to spread HIS love with every student that came into our path. We were becoming really exhausting and the VR-Counselor would call and ask, "Do you have a few more hours in your schedule for another student?" We could not say NO! Then one day the opportunity came for us to partner with TWC as a program and GRACE Transition Education Services was born.
I am so blessed to be the Owner and Director of this program. As I look back at the path my life has taken and the bump and turns in the road I always reflect on Gods GRACE in my life and the way he has loved me throughout the good and the bad in my life. That's where the name GRACE came from... I needed a name that reflected the GRACE GOD has shown in my life and the GRACE that is offered to each and every person on this earth. It's a constant reminder to myself, the trainers and the students that its never too late to change your path... you just need to decide and take the first steps towards the life you truly desire to have.
We are here to help!"
- Lisa Rodriguez, GRACE Owner and Director
- Lisa Rodriguez, GRACE Owner and Director