School & Family Magazine Newstand Keller ISD Winter 2017-18 | Page 10

visit Michael. Her driving instructor would meet
her at the hospital and she would drive home
each evening for an hour to receive her driving
hours. By the time her husband was well and
able to come home, she had obtained her
Texas driver’s license.
Teacher
Besides her husband’s illness, and becoming
a licensed driver, Rhodes faced additional
obstacles during her first few years of teaching
in Texas. These years were financially troubling
in Texas public education, resulting in new
teachers becoming the victims of layoffs,
including Rhodes. She didn’t give up though,
and was hired again when an opening
became available, only to have the same
thing happen again at the end of that year.
Rhodes ended up receiving her third
opportunity in Dallas ISD at another campus,
and was able to teach there before working
in Irving ISD for three years, and ultimately
ending up in Keller. She currently has 20 years
of experience in education between her time
in the Philippines and Texas.
Soldier
During Rhodes’ second year teaching,
she decided to join the Army. She saw a
commercial about serving in the military, while
having a civilian job, and thought it was the
right thing to do.
“I’ve had so many opportunities here,” Rhodes
said. “I just wanted to give
back. I just called a recruiter
and signed up!”
While many would argue that
the American workforce was
no friend to Rhodes, she says
she earned in one day in the
U.S. what she would earn in
one month teaching in the
Philippines. She was grateful
and thus entered basic
training at the age of 36, while
going through the process
of becoming a citizen of the
United States. Rhodes officially
became a U.S. Citizen one day
before her graduation from
basic training.
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As one could expect, Rhodes didn’t just
complete basic training – the oldest in her
group, she had the highest Army Physical
Fitness Test (APFT) score, receiving an
achievement medal and the nickname
“Mother Nature.”
“I didn’t even think I could do one sit-up in the
beginning and I was the smallest in my group
– but I never gave up,” she said. She would go
on to reach 145 push-ups in two minutes and
123 sit-ups in two minutes later on as a second
lieutenant.
The following summer, Rhodes spent six weeks
in Accelerated Officer Candidate School at
Fort McClellan in Alabama as the only female
attendee from Texas. With a graduation rate
of only 70-75 percent, Rhodes was once again
not deterred, graduating and continuing on to
complete her basic officer leadership course at
Fort Gordon in Georgia the summer after that.
Throughout these years, she
had also been working toward
a second master’s degree from
Texas A&M Commerce, and
graduated just two days before
heading off to Fort Gordon. She
now serves as a first lieutenant,
soon to be captain.
Mother
At a very young age, the Rhodes
recognized that their daughter
Mischa was not speaking and
she was diagnosed with autism.
Throughout the years, Mischa
received services from in-home
programs, but the Rhodes knew
they wanted a school system
with various resources and a
strong support system for special