By Amanda Alaniz

HARLINGEN, TEXAS –Educator’s often help change lives, push boundaries and create positive changes in the community. UTRGV alumna and Harlingen educator Dr. Jessica Hruska works to do all that, and more. 

Hruska graduated from UTRGV in 2018 with a doctorate in curriculum and education. She has worked in education for more than a decade – teaching in the classroom, and as a grant specialist and coordinator of technology and special projects. Her original plan was to become a pet doctor – education hadn’t actually crossed her mind. 

“When I graduated from high school, I really wanted to be a veterinarian,” she said. “I was originally going to go into animal science.

“However, my mom told me to try it first and see where it goes. I realized pulling calves at one in the morning was not my thing,” she said, laughing as she recalled the experience.

Then her mother asked if she had ever thought about teaching. The answer was no.

“My mom always thought I had this ‘teacher’ in me, looking at some of the things I had done throughout the years,” she said. “Teaching had not been on my radar – at all. But, I started substituting and I just fell in love with it. It was so rewarding.” 

Hruska had the opportunity to work at Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District and reconnect with some of her teaching role models, and they all told her teaching was her path.

UTRGV alumna and Harlingen educator Dr. Jessica Hruska graduated from UTRGV in 2018 with a doctorate in curriculum and education. She currently works with Harlingen CISD as its Blended Learning Specialist. (Photos Courtesy of the Charles Butt Foundation)

COMING FULL CIRCLE, AND A NEW ADVENTURE 

Fast forward, and Hruska’s career brought her back home, to where she now carries the title “Blended Learning Specialist” at the Harlingen school district. 

Blended Learning focuses on combining aspects of in-person classroom teaching with online technology to personalize instruction. Hruska is tasked with overseeing the schools where blended learning is being implemented. 

(The Charles Butt Foundation featured Hruska in one of its feature stories: Blended learning stories: How a district transformed its approach to early literacy) 

“What is unique about my current position is I am able to get into the schools, into the classrooms, help build capacity around what Blended Learning is within the leadership team and the teachers,” she said. “Education is constantly evolving, and I think we were already on that part of evolution with technology – how to incorporate into the classroom.” 

The Harlingen educator says she finds the career so rewarding, she gets goosebumps when she thinks about it. Change is happening, she said, and there is positive movement throughout the district. 

Helping students reach their full potential drives Hruska, giving her the drive to effect change.

She credits her professors throughout her UTRGV career and the lessons they provided – all of which she had carried into her current career, from personalization in the classroom to building connections. 

As she continues to grow her role within the Harlingen school district, she said, she has some advice for future educators: “Know your why.” 

“When you’re going into education, be open-minded, reach out to others,” she said, “As a student at UTRGV, your professors are there for you – so engage with them! Yes, they have a lot of knowledge. But I promise, you have something to bring to the table, too.”