When Celia Hernandez took an AVID college preparatory class her freshman year, she had no idea just how much of an impact it would have on her life and her career.

Today, Hernandez teaches her own AVID college class at Paredes Middle School, helping students learn to be academically and socially prepared for success in high school and then college.

She attributes her love of teaching to a teacher she had while at Reagan High School, which is now Northeast Early College High School.

"Becoming a teacher of my own had to do with my AVID teacher Ms. Lindsay Carey," Hernandez said. “Seeing her commitment to her students not just in class but outside of class really made a big impact on me."

AVID is a college-preparation program designed to ensure students are academically and socially prepared for high school and college success. Students learn how to write college essays, take organized notes and prepare for tests.

Hernandez said that her relationship with Carey blossomed right away.

"I immediately felt like she understood me, my goals, my aspirations, and I also was able to talk to her about what was going on at home," Hernandez said. "We quickly built a strong relationship and continued that relationship even after graduating."

Carey, who taught AVID at Reagan for six years and now teaches at McKinney High School, knew that Hernandez was different from some of her other students.

"Celia was always more mature," Carey said. "She just really handled all of her business well. She was involved in band and was able to organize and balance everything. She got everything done and never made excuses and worked really hard."

At first, Hernandez was passionate about becoming a band director. She graduated from Reagan and attended the University of Houston, staying in touch with Carey throughout.

"Even when I was in college, my teacher Ms. Carey was there for me," Hernandez said. "I was updating her on my life, and she was updating me on hers. We were there for each other throughout, and that really had a tremendous impact on me."

After two years at the University of Houston, Carey asked Hernandez to attend an AVID conference and help her with a presentation.

"She came with me to do a presentation on failure and how it's necessary to fail to learn from it," Carey said. "And that was a realization to her that, ‘hey, I would be good at this.’"

Soon after attending the conference, Hernandez transferred schools and focused on becoming a teacher. She received her teaching certificate from Texas Tech and knew she wanted to teach at Austin ISD.

"Whenever we talked about being a teacher in general, and we talked about working in other school districts, I said no," Hernandez said. "I want to stay here at Austin ISD. I wanted to teach at AISD because all three of my schools growing up were at AISD and all of my teachers had a huge impact on me, and I wanted to make that same impact for other students in the district."

Herandez began teaching mathematics at Paredes Middle School and soon after became an AVID teacher there as well.

"As soon as I found out, I texted Ms. Carey, and she told me she was so proud of me and that I would do amazing," Hernandez said. "She told me if I needed any help at all, she would be there to support me which meant a lot to me."

When Carey got the text from Hernandez, she could not contain her excitement.

"I was the proudest teacher-parent ever," Carey said. "I couldn't have been more proud if my own child said they wanted to follow in the family business. The level of pride I felt for her was tremendous, and my heart was so full. She was my first student to become an AVID teacher."

Now, Hernandez uses her own experiences to create a learning plan for her students.

"I try to provide structure and all the resources the kids need who don't necessarily have that support from their family," Hernandez said. "They are typically first-generation college students, and I tell them that it's going to be a lot of work [...] but I'm here to support you."