LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Aubrie Wells was nominated by Kelly Follis, her colleague.

Ms. Wells teaches Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), and she's also a coach who has won "Teacher of the Year" at Seguin ISD. Her passion is helping students seek interest in any form of education that fits their interests. As she says, "If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life!" She wants students to love what they do! 

Making sure students are prepared for college defines her as a teacher. The goal of her AVID site team was to build a college and career readiness culture around campus. In her classroom, she has the students work on researching colleges, whether it be a trade school, community college, university, or military branch. She teaches them about financial aid, majors, minors, scholarships, and what it takes to get into higher education. She has the students calculate the cost of the schooling they are interested in and has them research scholarships they can apply for. She takes the students on virtual college campus tours, getting them excited about the possibilities.

"To help students learn about their strengths and weaknesses, she has them take career and personality tests," explains Follis. "Based on the test results, Ms. Wells has the students explore job postings in the career they are most interested in. The students choose a job listing, find out what training or schooling is required, and research the salary, hours, relocation requirements, and benefits offered with the position. This research project provides the students with real-life experiences they would otherwise not receive. She then helps the students create a resume and cover letter for the position and even conducts a mock interview."

Ms. Wells has also put together TAG lessons and a guest speaker series about being future-focused. She has broken up the weekdays as Mondays are organization-focused and Fridays are future-focused. The biggest accomplishment of this initiative is getting people from the community of Seguin to be guest speakers for students to learn about different career paths. The guest speakers have included construction workers who are currently working on building a campus in Seguin ISD, as well as Sequin ISD support staff (nurses, custodians, cafeteria workers, and front office workers). Additional speakers have included principals, K-12 teachers, a trade school teacher, Seguin Police Chief, a Judge, a Landscaper business owner, and the Seguin Fire Chief.

"Ms. Wells asks a person or a group of people to be a part of a student-led discussion about their careers and the schooling that goes along with it," explains Follis. "She selected 8th-grade AVID students to interview the speakers. The students had to create questions for the speakers before the interview and then ensure that the guest speaker had the questions before the interview. The whole campus got involved because the guest speakers were broadcast live on campus, and everyone had the opportunity to ask questions in the chat to participate in the conversation."

"Aubrie's passion doesn't end there," said Follis. "At the very end of the year, Aubrie teaches the students about creating their own future by getting them to dream big and having them create a vision board. The vision boards help students reflect on what they want their future to look like and teach them to set goals, step by step, to get there."

"As you can see by her intense planning and execution, Aubrie's goal is for each student to know that furthering their education and their skills is vital to their success for any path they choose," said Follis. "It is essential to her that each student has a clear vision of what they are interested in and what they are good at. She wants them to know that there are opportunities everywhere, and she teaches them how to look for what they want, ask questions, be curious about careers, and find people with the same career interests as them who can help mentor them."

"She is showing students how to have a passion-filled future so they can be an asset to themselves, their families, their communities, and the world.," said Follis. "Aubrie is a true LifeChanger!"