LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Nicole Colvin was nominated by Chotsie Bickerstaff, a member of the community.

The small town of Jasper, deep in east Texas, lacks much of what larger cities can provide their public schools. However, it has one of the state's most caring and driven educators. The zeal and love Ms. Colvin has for student success are unmatched.

Ms. Colvin is the Director of the Deep East Texas College and Career Academy (DETCCA) which includes Jasper ISD, Burkeville ISD, Kirbyville ISD, Newton ISD, Spurger ISD, and Woodville ISD.  In her role as the Director, Ms. Colvin has demonstrated an uncompromising vision for the growth of opportunities that provide so many options for the families in Jasper and the surrounding area.

There are numerous examples of the love and care that Ms. Colvin has displayed for this community. One notable example includes a time before her current role at DETCCA, when she made it her mission to help a homeless senior complete all his college applications and paperwork to ensure his enrollment. She even went as far as covering some of the costs. This experience catalyzed her desire to move into her current role at DETCCA. She made it clear that all she wanted to do was help the children of this town succeed. She felt that these students were so close to getting to the next level in life; they only needed an extra push to help them achieve more than they believed they could.  

Ms. Colvin understood the economic hardships of the area she loved so much and knew that it was difficult for many families to support their children with the tuition costs of dual credit classes. Several times, Ms. Colvin would pay an overdue tuition bill out of her own pocket to keep a student in their dual credit class. She saw how many families struggled with the issue of financing their child's education and decided to work to eliminate that from being a barrier for any student that wanted to pursue dual credit courses. In 2021, Ms. Colvin created the Ed Few Memorial Scholarship in honor of her father to lay a foundation that could support low-income families to cover the cost of dual credit classes. For the fall of 2021, the initial semester of the scholarship, Ms. Colvin raised over $6,000 in funds for the students taking dual credit. In the following semester, she was able to raise over $20,000 and was able to award $13,880 in scholarships.

Throughout 2021, Ms. Colvin worked hard to expand DETCCA and provide additional programs and certifications for the students of Jasper and the surrounding five school districts. Ms. Colvin was integral in creating the Firefighting Academy and EMT program, which kicked off in the fall of 2022. Her drive for growth didn't end there; she worked with The Lamar Institute of Technology (LIT) to provide a dual-credit welding program. The program, which is entirely compensated by LIT, increased by 475%, adding over 100 students.

In her role, Ms. Colvin quickly understood the need for grants to achieve the goals of DETCCA. In 2022 alone, Ms. Colvin secured over $1.5 million in grants to support the programs at DETCCA. The increase in funds for equipment, facilities, and salaries is nothing short of extraordinary for this area of East Texas. With this level of support, her vision of growth for DETCCA is limitless. Ms. Colvin is working on expanding the opportunities that DETCCA offers to include Licensed Vocational Nursing (LVN), a profession in high demand in this area.

"When Nicole Colvin started at Jasper ISD, we quickly discovered that her number one goal was to make sure students knew they could do anything they wanted to. They just had to do the work, ask for help when needed, and ultimately, dream big," said John Seybold, Jasper ISD Superintendent. "She serves our high school students through our DETCCA program. Nicole strives to build relationships with students to understand their situations and to eliminate barriers to help them find success through dual credit and career certification opportunities. She is changing lives for the better through scholarships, community support, and resources, and she does it all with a servant's heart. Nicole truly desires to make our community a better place, and we are beyond grateful to have her inspiring our students."

"Throughout my 40 years of professional experience in education, I have been fortunate to meet several people who have impacted student opportunities. Few have done it with the vision and passion that Nicole Colvin possesses," said Chris Coleman, the East Texas dual credit coordinator for LIT. "Her vision and determination have provided the Deep East Texas College and Career Academy with a shot of energy, affording students of this region opportunities that only much larger communities could match. I have witnessed Nicole's unyielding focus in uniting the six partner districts, working towards a common goal of academic as well as career and technology education opportunities for their students. One example was her vision this past summer to encourage more student participation in the career and technology courses offered to students through the LIT dual credit program. Her plan led to a partnership where LIT now offers a pilot program in which all our DETCCA dual credit welding students receive free tuition for those courses. This initiative has increased the number of dual credit welding students from 18 in the Fall 2021 semester to 147 currently enrolled for Fall 2022. This type of opportunity allows these students to complete the program before leaving high school, receive an industry-standard certificate, and walk in the LIT graduation ceremonies before their own high school graduation. Each of these areas provides DETCCA students with a tremendous opportunity to advance their career through the certification, avoid the high cost of career training, and become a far more employable commodity in the working world."

"The enthusiasm that Nicole shares for not only Jasper, but the surrounding school districts, is unmatched," said Amber Meyers, DETCCA College and Career Success Coach. "Her belief in the success of our students is unwavering, and it shows. Our community is in better hands with her involved. Nicole has worked countless hours to bring new opportunities to the area, and there is much more to come. It is a privilege to work for her and learn under her guidance."

This tiny slice of East Texas is blessed to have someone like Ms. Colvin, who puts her heart into everything she does. She attacks every day intending to improve the circumstances of the students in Jasper and the surrounding area. The seeds she is sowing will serve the school and community of Jasper for many years. Ms. Colvin is a true LifeChanger!