Be Remarkable: Parents praise CSISD life skills educator Elizabeth Engelhardt
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – If you want to get the life skills students fired up at A&M Consolidated High School, just mention their instructor Elizabeth Engelhardt.
“I didn’t realize it was my dream job until I got here,” Engelhardt said on campus when we surprised her. “I thought it was going to be elementary school kids the whole time for my career, but this is my dream job with all these kiddos and there’s so much fun we have.”
Mrs. Engelhardt is a mom of two, she’s been an educator since 2001, and this is her third year at A&M Consol. She quickly fell in love with her students who have a wide range of needs that she helps with beyond school hours.
“God has given me a passing that I need. My parents were foster parents when I was growing up and I Have been around students with disabilities all my life,” said Engelhardt, who credits her family with being patient and understanding the demands that come along with her job.
She has been called “an angel on Earth” by parents who say she is making their lives easier by being there to help with after-school events, event personal challenges, and tragedies.
“When my father passed away, she came to help Alex, my son, with all of that,” said parent Veronica Chisum, who nominated Engelhardt. “After all of that, I was like ‘yeah, she needs to be rewarded.’
“She goes above and beyond every single day. She even started a club where their general education peers can hang out with them and participate in sports! Even during summer and breaks she invites her students to activities in the community,” said Chisum.
Engelhardt is now a coach on a Special Olympics team that includes many of her students, and she says she is looking forward to seeing four of the current juniors walk across the graduation stage next year.
The “Be Remarkable” award is a joint initiative between KBTX-TV and Daniel Stark Injury Lawyers.
If you have someone you want to nominate for our Be Remarkable campaign click here!
