SAN ANTONIO — Every morning at a certain time, Lisa Segovia watches her 3rd graders shuffle.
“Alright guys, you know what the time means? Switch,” Segovia addressed the classroom, “You have one minute”.
As she calls on them to move, she knows it is her calling to be at Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary.
"One of my closest friends at Braunly decided that you've gotta come to this church. She said I found one and you have to come check it out,” Segovia recalls, “I got plugged in immediately into a small group and into a children's ministry and it changed my life.”
Lisa Segovia wins KENS 5 Credit Human EXCEL award for Edgewood ISD
Segovia immediately knew it was time to say goodbye to her advertising job and to start a new life surrounded by children. At 27, she decided to get her education degree from UTSA, the same college she had dropped out of after graduating from Churchill high school.
“Midlife, deciding to change,” Segovia said, “I guess it just changed my whole outlook on what I wanted to do."
And so she turned the page to a new chapter in her life. For the last 14 years, she has dedicated her time to children.
"I love when she always makes the room beautiful,” one of her 3rd graders said.
In the corner of the classroom, Segovia has a small space she calls the library. There you can see stuffed animals to help motivate the kids.
One 3rd grader said it makes her feel comfortable when she’s reading “when we go and read books we can read to the animals,”.
Segovia’s passion for kids is noticed beyond the classroom.
In 2010, once again fate came calling after she started volunteering at a camp for foster children.
"I became a single parent foster mom and since then I've adopted 2 of my boys.”
And Segovia keeps on giving.
From volunteering at homeless shelters to helping build homes with Habitat for Humanity,
She spends much of her time out in the community. Segovia says she has witnessed it come back full circle, right back to her classroom.
"There is a habitat build site that's within our area. it's down the street and a lot of our kids come from that work site,” Segovia added, “through my church I’ve arranged a couple of builds where we take 25 people out there and go help in the community and we literally build houses for the kids who come to LBJ."
It’s her way of showing these kids just how powerful it can be to help one another.
"I think each teacher has a responsibility to build a culture in the classroom and it spills out into the school. "
Segovia is also a mentor teacher at Edgewood ISD. She serves on the school leadership team to help identify big picture goals and develop strategies that would help the staff on campus.