{"id":72453,"date":"2025-11-10T22:40:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T04:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trta.org\/?p=72453"},"modified":"2025-11-11T09:39:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T15:39:38","slug":"guadalupe-navas-journey-from-the-air-force-to-high-school-principal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trta.org\/es\/guadalupe-navas-journey-from-the-air-force-to-high-school-principal\/","title":{"rendered":"Guadalupe Nava\u2019s Journey from the Air Force to High School Principal"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Guadalupe Nava, a lifetime of service began long before he ever set foot in a classroom. After growing up in Alice, Texas, Nava enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1967. He served for four years, including a deployment to Vietnam. When he returned home in 1971, he was newly married and ready to start a family\u2014and, as it turned out, a career that would shape generations of students.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father encouraged me to go to college,\u201d Nava recalled. \u201cHe ran a small upholstery shop in Alice and kept telling me to go back to school. Finally, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using the G.I. Bill, Nava earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in industrial arts, followed quickly by a master\u2019s in education administration with help from Texas\u2019s Hazelwood Act, which provides veterans with a college tuition exemption. \u201cThe military taught me discipline and leadership,\u201d he said. \u201cYou learn to finish what you start\u2014and that helped me in everything that followed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nava began teaching industrial arts at a junior high school in Harlingen ISD, where his talent for connecting with students quickly became apparent. After five and a half years in the classroom and eight years as an assistant principal, he was selected to serve as principal at Harlingen High School South. Altogether, Nava dedicated 32 years to public education.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Nava served in the U.S. Air Force.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During his tenure, he was named High School Principal of the Year twice\u2014an honor he humbly credits to his staff. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t me; it was my teachers,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were an awesome group. I just had the privilege to lead them.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Nava, the greatest reward came not from awards but from the lasting connections he built with students. \u201cI still run into former students all the time,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ll tell me, \u2018I still have the project I made in your class,\u2019 or thank me for helping them through tough times. That\u2019s what means the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now retired in his hometown of Alice, Nava continues to inspire others, often encouraging young educators and veterans alike to keep learning and leading. \u201cYou have to have the desire to do it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not that you can\u2019t; it\u2019s that you have to want to. That\u2019s what I try to instill in people.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the Air Force to the classroom and beyond, Guadalupe Nava\u2019s story is one of perseverance, purpose, and deep dedication to his students and community.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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