Figuratively, then literally, Noel Astorga followed in his mother Gloria’s footsteps.
First, he took the same career path as she did as a math teacher in their hometown of El Paso, Texas. Then, he walked behind her on the graduation stage at Lamar University after they completed the Master of Education in Educational Administration online degree program in 2011.
“I really enjoyed the entire experience, watching him as a student along with me and learning together,” Gloria said. “We finished the whole degree together and walked together. When we met the professors in Beaumont, they said, ‘Wow. We have a mother and son duo here.’ They even introduced us that way. I told my son how intelligent he is. It was neat to be a student along with him.”
Now an assistant principal at Marian Manor Elementary School in the Ysleta Independent School District, Noel relished the opportunity to learn alongside his mother.
“We were a support system for each other,” he said. “We became homework buddies. We would watch the videos together based on what homework assignments were given. Obviously, she had so much more experience in the classroom than me.
“We started getting mentors for ourselves, principals that we put trust in. She had a few in her pocket, and I had a few in my pocket. We talked to them and came back to each other and talked about what they said. It was a system within ourselves.”
Gloria retired from teaching after 35 years as a math teacher — all at Ysleta ISD — at the end of the 2016-17 school year.
“I really enjoyed doing my master’s with my son and with Lamar University,” she said. “The only thing that I regret is that I didn’t do it earlier. I wanted to do my master’s degree, but I waited too long. I waited because I always thought my options were kind of hard. The online format was the difference.”
Planting the Seeds
The Astorga family, from left to right: Homero, Gloria, Noel, Maggie, Uriah and Jason
Noel has always been close to his mother, so he took an interest in her career as a child and developed an affinity for math.
“Mom sparked my interest,” he said. “I vividly remember her giving me the multiplication flash cards when I was a little boy. Memorizing those things helped me go through grade school, high school and college. I had a good grasp of math because of her. I wanted to spark somebody else to do well in their education.”
One reason Gloria became a teacher was so she could be home at a reasonable hour to help her husband, Homero, raise their three children. She taught sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Noel’s siblings, Jason and Uriah, both work in the medical field.
“I wanted to pursue something in math because I was really good at it,” Gloria said. “I chose teaching. I liked when the lightbulb would turn on and the students caught on to what was happening. Noel was never my student in the classroom. He was always smart, so I didn’t need to teach him.”
Both Gloria and Noel earned bachelor’s degrees from the University of Texas at El Paso, 18 years apart. Noel taught at the high school level and got his first assistant principal position in Socorro ISD. He is in his third year as an administrator.
“Both of us wanted to use a master’s degree to become an administrator of a school,” he said. “We wanted to use it as stepping stones in our careers. When we heard about Lamar University and that you do the program at home and schedule your time, we said, ‘You know what? This is perfect for us. We can do it together.’ The support we got from the professors at Lamar was phenomenal. All of the classes were very organized.”
Time on Their Side
With both Noel and Gloria working full time as teachers during the online M.Ed. in Educational Leadership program, the flexibility of the format made it manageable for their schedules.
“It was wonderful,” Gloria said. “I was still working. I really liked it, because when I had a chance to sit down and do my homework, read an assignment or watch videos, I could always do it at my convenience.”
Noel especially enjoyed the ability to do schoolwork any day at any hour of the day.
“It was really flexible to my time,” Noel said. “I had a workload and had to do my things. I could fit whatever they were asking me to do in the chunk of time that I had. I could do it on Tuesdays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I wasn’t restricted to a certain day of the week. There was enough of a window to finish it all, which worked out beautifully for us.”
The curriculum also provided thorough insight into administration for the duo.
“Everything about the program is good,” Gloria said. “You learn a lot about what principals and assistant principals go through and have to deal with daily. Not only that, the price is good and it’s very flexible with your time. It was very enjoyable. We had a lot of fun.”
Noel and Gloria also leaned on each other for motivation throughout their time in the program, which helped both of them push through to the finish line.
“The flexibility of the program is tremendous,” said Noel, who hopes make the transition from assistant principal to become a principal in the future. “It was one of the main keys for us. It would be her house one week and my house the next week. We both had a phenomenal experience. Anybody who goes through this online program will get a well-rounded experience in the next step of their career. We learned so much.”
Perhaps most of all, they bonded even more and shared an incredibly proud moment together on graduation day.
“Our last name starts with an ‘A,’ so we were one of the first ones to go,” Noel added. “My mom went before me and was a little bit nervous. We were all excited. It was a really cool experience.”
Learn more about the Lamar University online Master of Education in Educational Administration.
