Genesis Cortez
Genesis Cortez

Genesis Cortez: A New Beginning That Continues a PVAMU Family Legacy

On Dec. 14, 2019, Genesis Cortez will become the third member of her family to earn the honor of becoming alumni of Prairie View A&M University. She will receive her Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Whitlowe R. Green College of Education.

“All of my siblings have graduated from Prairie View A&M,” Genesis said. “My brother, Darwin Cortez, graduated from the College of Business and my sister, Dania Perez, graduated from the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences.”

The youngest Cortez credits her siblings for her choosing to pursue a degree at PVAMU. “They both spoke great things about the university,” she said.

But she soon learned that attending college presents major life challenges, especially when deciding on a major that not only matches your academic preparation but also fulfills and fuels your passion.

“My biggest challenge was deciding that nursing was not for me and taking a year off to determine a new career path,” Cortez recalled. “I later ended up meeting with College of Education Advisor Dr. [Clarissa] Booker, and I realized teaching young children was my true calling.”

Finding new paths seems to be part of the Cortez DNA. Her parents are from El Salvador, and she and her siblings were born in Los Angeles. The family relocated to Texas in 2005 when Genesis was 8 years old. She attended school in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (Cy-Fair ISD) and graduated from Langham Creek High School. Her ability to adapt to change and still excel is evident in her academic success in the College of Education.

“My greatest achievement at Prairie View A&M was [being inducted into] the College of Education’s prestigious honor society, Kappa Delta Pi.” KDP is an international honor society in education. Membership is by invitation only to juniors with a 3.00 GPA or higher. “Since joining the College of Education, I have received straight A’s. I was also the first student to pass the Core EC-6 exam in my graduating class.”

As the youngest Panther in the family, Cortez’s academic path helped to create an educational legacy that will be an inspiration to future educators studying at PVAMU.

“One thing I will always remember about my Prairie View experience is the closeness you feel with your classmates as you each take a step closer together towards graduation,” Cortez shared. “Every student looks out for one other by helping with homework and sending any work or notes missed in class. This has taught me to look out for people that are working toward the same goals, and I will surely be practicing this with my coworkers.”

Cortez will not have to wait long to put her lessons learned into action. She has accepted a job offer as a pre-kindergarten teacher at Emery Elementary School in Cy-Fair ISD, where she did her student teaching.

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By Michael Douglas