Transitioning

She says she’s been counseling Tivy students about their college and career plans for the last year, as the school’s advisor. For the 13 years before that, she was the school’s lead counselor. “In that position I developed comprehensive counseling programs to fit the students’ needs. I had three other counselors, a college and career advisor, a registrar, and a secretary. KISD really provides the support needed for a complete program.”

She says this year her job was to focus students on what life after high school looks like, and how to get where they want. For some students, that may mean planning for college; including making a degree plan, selecting a school that’s the best match for the plan, and figuring out how to pay for an education. That may mean applying for financial aid, which starts with “FAFSA,” the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, as well as looking for other sources. It can also include finding employment, or counting on family support.

Other students may find a trade school more suitable, she says. There is a demand for plumbers, carpenters, and other trades, which pay well, but may not require going into debt. There is also the possibility of going directly into the workforce, either civilian or military. Tivy High School has several certification programs which leave graduates ready to go.

“I have one student from several years ago,” Young says. “She graduated from the THS Culinary Program, and went to work for McDonalds. Now she’s worked her way up to where I’m encouraging her to open her own franchise.”

She says when she counsels a student they look at the student’s grades, their background, what extracurricular activities they participated in, and what they are passionate about. “I want to provide them with a roadmap. In a typical class 40 to 60 percent will go to college or a trade school, several will enter the military, and some will go straight into a profession in the workforce.”

Young says she was born in Corpus Christi, and raised until the eighth grade by her mother, Kathleen Coleman. Kathleen was an artist, taking after young’s grandfather Sherman Coleman, who was a surgeon and artist. “My grandfather was well-known for both,” she says. “He was commissioned and designed a couple of prominent statues in Corpus, as well as a number of other works. My grandmother was Jacqueline Coleman.”

Kathleen married rancher David Edwards in 1986, and joined him on his ranch near Sinton. “In education, I got the best of both worlds,” Young says. “In Corpus I attended a private school, but in Sinton I went to the public high school. Sinton High is 3-A, so I got to participate in multiple activities, including cheerleading, volleyball, basketball, cross-country, and track. I graduated in 1986, in a class of about 100.”

She says her career goal was to become an attorney, like her aunt, Leslie Coleman. Young started college at the University of Texas in Austin, majoring in Spanish and aiming for law school. She also was a UT cheerleader for three years. But then she had a son, Matthew, and changed direction and schools, transferring to Texas A&M Corpus Christi. She earned a bachelor of arts in political science, then a master of science in counseling, graduating in 1996.

But she says “One day in 1992 the San Patricio County News, in Sinton, published photos of the football staff, which included Brian Young, who was also the basketball coach. I was sitting with my parents, and looked at his photo. I said, ‘He’s handsome. That’s the guy I’m going to marry.’ My brother, Jason Edwards, happened to be the team’s manager. Brian invited me to a basketball game that January, and we ended up getting married when I graduated in May of 1996.”

They also moved to Kerrville in 1996, she says. Brian was recruited by then Tivy basketball Coach Donnie Lawrence. Young became a bilingual kindergarten teacher at Tom Daniels Elementary, where she served for two years.

Then she moved into counseling at Starkey Elementary for four years, and became a director of special programs at KISD’s central office for five years. In 2007 she became a counselor at Tivy, just in time to share Matthew’s senior year until he graduated in the spring of 2008. Now he lives in Victoria, and is engaged to Karen Crump. They’re planning to get married in April.

She says their second son, Dillon, graduated from Tivy in 2016, played basketball at St. Edward's University in Austin, and is working on a masters at Texas A&M University. Their third son, Jackson, graduated during the first COVID year, 2020, and is playing basketball for Hawaiʻi Pacific University in Honolulu.

“So we watch a lot of basketball.”

She says her father, David, passed away from COVID in August of 2021 at 81 years old, and so her mother, Kathleen, has moved to Kerrville.

Young says her family has been fortunate to have the support of family, as well as the Kerrville community.

She says during her counseling career, “There’s nothing I haven’t heard. Part of counseling is teaching students that things will happen in life, good and bad, but they have the capacity to overcome and persevere. A lot of students don’t know what their gifts are, and both in KISD, and in the future as a private counselor, I want to help them find their purpose in life.”