Cindy Coronado, gifted specialist

TKC: What has been the best part of your job?

CC: The kids. Being around you guys and helping you solve problems. You make me happy.

TKC: What advice would you leave for students?

CC: Stay off social media. Get rid of it. I don’t have it, and I’m happy. It makes me sad, because there’s so much going on in the world around you, so you just need to turn off your phone sometimes. And never compare yourself to anybody else. Just be true to you, and be the best version of yourself. Who cares what anybody else thinks? Follow your heart, follow your dreams.

TKC: What made you want to work at a school?

CC: I had a bunch of different majors in college. I can’t even put my finger on what made me take an education class, but once I did, I was like ‘This is really cool.’ [The class] was really interesting to me and I was like ‘I could see myself doing this.’ Plus, I’m a golfer and I really like my summers off.

TKC: What were you like as a student?

CC: I followed the rule book like you can’t imagine. I did really well in school. I worked hard, and succeeding was always something that was inside of me. I always wanted to put my best foot forward. I never took my education for granted.

TKC: How has teaching changed since you started as an educator?

CC: Well obviously, technologically speaking, when I started there were no laptops. Interestingly enough, people haven’t changed. Their hearts and their minds haven’t changed. It’s the external factors that have changed. The biggest thing as a teacher is trying to figure out how to meet the current needs of the current climate.

TKC: What’s something your students would be surprised to know about you?

CC: I’m an open book. I think everyone knows everything about me they need to know. I just talk all the time. Everyone knows my family is everything to me, and I’m super close to my kids. I guess I don’t watch much TV. The only thing I watch on TV is sports and cooking shows.

TKC: What will you miss most about KHS?

CC: The kids. Just being there every day with you guys, having fun, talking about your weekends and helping — being able to help you solve a problem or figure out what you want to be when you grow up or apply to college. It’s super rewarding. My job is the best job in the whole entire world. It’s hard to picture my days without being here. I look forward to going to work. I know it’s weird, but it’s true.

TKC: What are you going to do after this?

CC: I don’t know yet. I definitely will do something with kids. Whether that be a job or more of a volunteer position, I’m not gonna take kids out of the equation.

TKC: Describe your career at KHS in one word.

CC: Amazing. [I am] very thankful for the opportunity. It kind of fell in my lap and I said ‘Sure, why not?’ And I’m a creature of habit. So after being at Tillman for 26 years, and I was also at Nipher a little bit, someone said ‘Do you want to do it?’ and I just took the leap of faith. And I am so, so glad I ended a 33-year run here at this school. It is the best. We are all lucky to be here.

TKC: Do you want to add anything else?

CC: The hardest decision I ever made was to leave. So that goes to show something. And I question it every single day, but I know it’s time. I have other things to do. But I will miss this place and the kids.