Erica found her way to Aggieland seven years ago. Prior to joining Texas A&M University, she was raised in Missouri. She earned her Master of Education in Early Childhood Education and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from New Mexico State University. Erica is on the Brazos Valley Chapter of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TXAEYC) leadership team and is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Coalition for Campus Children’s Centers. She has been in the early childhood education field for over 25 years, serving in multiple roles including adjunct instructor for KCKCC and Blinn College. 

Erica began her career in early childhood education as a teaching assistant at the Brookcreek Learning Center in Kansas where she stayed for eight years. While teaching, she began her own family. After welcoming her oldest son, Ethan, she was promoted to Program Coordinator. In this position, she added to her bunch with her middle son, Colin. 

While she cared for her two children, Erica decided to further her career and became a business manager in a corporate childcare center. After becoming comfortable in childcare positions, she began her career as a director which she has now been for 14 years!

During her first director position, she had her youngest child, Ella. Erica and her family made a life changing decision, and came to Texas! The position of BGCC Director became available in 2017 and Erica began her journey at Texas A&M. Erica has held the position of Director of the Becky Gates Children’s Center (BGCC) for seven years and is currently serving as the interim director of Charlotte Sharp Children’s Center (CSCC). 

Outside of her director roles, her family and education keep her busy! Erica is a PhD candidate in the Teaching, Learning & Culture Department at Texas A&M University. Though she was not raised an Aggie, she has worked proficiently and receives her aggie ring in September! Whoop! 

She has been married for 25 years. She met her husband at the University of Kansas as a freshman. Ethan, her oldest, competes in swimming for the special olympics. He participated in a meet in Brenham this past weekend, winning gold in every individual event and silver with his relay team! Ethan also plays football and basketball for the unified sports program at Texas A&M University. Her middle son, Colin, is a senior at Bryan High who was a member of the track team. Her youngest, Ella, shares Erica’s love for creating art and is currently working on sketching. Her family concludes with two dogs, Lucy and Jorge. 

Erica’s favorite time of the year is approaching quickly. She enjoys watching professional and college football and college basketball. You can always count on her prepping for football Sunday’s! In addition to sports, she enjoys painting and creating messy art such as splatter painting.  Erica appreciates being outdoors, getting dirty and spending quality time with her family. Her family spends their quality time together by choosing a fall themed movie and making snacks to match the movie. She also challenges herself in the kitchen frequently. One challenge she enjoys is picking a theme, exploring and creating a global cuisine. Recently, she has been testing recipes in her french cookbook. 

With years of experience in early childhood education and a family of her own, Erica found her home at Texas A&M. 

Debbie and her husband made their home in College Station 34 years ago. He is a 3rd generation Aggie and was born in Bryan. 

After working in toddler and preschool classrooms in the Bryan-College Station area, Debbie became the Director at First Presbyterian Children’s Center where she remained for 13 years. During that time, she and her husband began their family. It seemed to be the right time for a change when they welcomed their 4th child, Matthew, who will be a freshman at TAMU this fall. 

While staying home with their son, Debbie taught a couple of Early Childhood classes at Blinn College. Their world was rocked just before her son began kindergarten when she was diagnosed with cancer. She will forever remember her son saying the day her husband and children shaved her head “Mama, we love you even without hair!” The next two years were grueling, but she is a survivor and we are proud of her!

Her four children kept her busy. If Debbie was not cheering them on at a softball game, volleyball match, football game, or golf match, she was transporting them to lessons or scout meetings. Her son earned the rank of Eagle Scout while a junior in high school and recently celebrated this accomplishment with his patrol members. 

In 2013, her oldest daughter began her journey at Texas A&M and Debbie soon became the Assistant Director at BGCC following in 2014. She graduated, married an Aggie and she has two grandsons who live in North Carolina where their father is a helicopter pilot and instructor for the Marines. Her grandchildren love coming to visit Aggieland!

The armed forces are near and dear to her heart as her father was a pilot in the Air Force. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions which saved the lives of friendly forces in Vietnam. Learn more about her father’s heroic actions here. Her mother was expecting twins when her father was deployed. Debbie lives to honor her father alongside her older twin brother. 

What led her to where she is today as a professional? As an undergraduate student at Delta State University in MS, Debbie worked with a motor development program for 3- and 4-year-olds. That sparked her interest in early childhood and led her to The University of Alabama for an advanced degree. She then met my husband while at DSU and now you know the rest of the story!