The lessons Enrique Munguia learned in North East ISD classrooms and on the mat as a member of the Johnson High School Wrestling Team helped shape the 2018 graduate into the successful leader he is today.

A finance program manager at Google, Munguia attended the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin after graduating from Johnson. While at UT Austin, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s in professional accounting. He also interned at top companies like Goldman Sachs and served as president of the Longhorn Wrestling Team for three years.

But he would be the first to tell you that none of that success happened overnight. It took years of discipline and dedication – attributes he acquired while an NEISD student.

“My NEISD education laid the foundation for who I am today,” Munguia said. “I was fortunate to have amazing teachers and a supportive community from elementary school through high school.”

Those amazing teachers include Elisa Compton, who teaches honors and AP Chemistry, and Munguia’s mother, Irene Tucker, a special education teacher at Steubing Ranch Elementary School.

“Mrs. Compton’s passionate teaching taught me that when someone is genuine about something, students can tell and will work harder for someone who truly cares,” Munguia said.

Munguia learned grit and determination when he joined the wrestling team his sophomore year. A friend encouraged him to join since Munguia was already involved in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, and he hasn’t looked back since. He continued to wrestle throughout college and now channels his competitive spirit into No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

“The lessons I learned from wrestling, such as accountability and discipline have helped me in every aspect of my life,” Munguia said. “Wrestling taught me how to lead, how to persevere through adversity and how to stay committed to a goal long after the initial motivation has faded.”

That’s why he wants to give back to the community that helped mold him. Munguia created a scholarship for high school wrestlers in San Antonio, offering $1,000 to two wrestlers who demonstrate excellence in wrestling, academics and character.

“NEISD was instrumental in why I was able to succeed at the University of Texas, intern at Goldman Sachs, earn a job at Google, and now give back to the city of San Antonio that gave so much to me,” he said. “A strong community goes a long way.”

What’s your NEISD story? We would love to hear it. You can share your story at neisd.net/tellyourstory.

“Getting to give back to the same community that helped shape me has been such a meaningful and full-circle experience.”

From students to staff!

Check out this incredible team at Huebner Elementary School. All of them were once students in the Churchill High School cluster of schools. Now, they are working and teaching in the same community that helped shape them.

“Growing up going to Harmony Hills, Eisenhower, and Churchill was such a special part of my life,” said Huebner teacher and Churchill graduate Stephanie Rooks. “I had so many amazing teachers - Mrs. Allen, Mrs. Plowman, Mr. Eaton, Coach Witte, Mrs. Stewart, and so many others - who really inspired me and encouraged me to be my best every day. From early on, I knew I wanted to be a teacher just like them! There’s just something really special about the Churchill cluster!”

North East ISD is lucky to have so many former students who return to our District to provide our current students with the same incredible educational foundation they received when they were students here.

“It’s an honor to spark a love of reading and learning in our future Chargers, just like my teachers at Eisenhower and Churchill once did for me,” said Huebner librarian and Churchill graduate Natalie Watts.

Building the future by giving back to their community #theNEISDway

What’s your NEISD story? We would love to hear it. You can share your story at neisd.net/tellyourstory

When Malikai Wickley attended Krueger Middle School, he loved building rockets. He’s now majoring in engineering at the University of Southern California (USC), where their engineering team recently designed and built a rocket that has reached further into space than any non-governmental and non-commercial group has ever flown before. 

He recently returned to Krueger to share his story – to inspire the next generation of engineers. Since his time at Krueger, he’s accomplished some pretty remarkable things.

He has built an autonomous robot that can perform assembly line tasks faster than a human.

He has helped create elaborate sets and mic stands for big bands like Florence and the Machine, Flume and Machine Gun Kelly.

He has built an F1-style race car that he will drive and race for USC.

He is proof that if you work hard, you can accomplish great (and cool) things. 

It’s a story worth sharing with current students who are starting exactly where he did.

When Wickley was at Krueger, he was part of the Krueger School of Applied Technologies (KSAT) magnet program, which is now called the Space and Engineering Technologies Academy (SETA) magnet program. SETA students have the opportunity to take courses focused on aerospace engineering, aviation technology, computer science or mechanical engineering and manufacturing. So Wickley recently spent an entire afternoon sharing how this program helped set him up for his current success.

“KSAT was some of the better engineering I did until last year in engineering. I really feel like I pushed a lot of edges at KSAT. It was continuous engineering all the time. Everything we were learning was viewed from an engineering perspective, and in engineering school, you’re not taught to think like an engineer. You’re taught everything that an engineer should know, and you’re expected to fill in the gaps. But here I was taught this is how you do it. That has been invaluable.”

From building rockets at Krueger to building autonomous robots for major companies, Malikai is proof that our students can accomplish anything they put their mind to.

Inspiring the next generation of engineers #theNEISDway.

Big or small, everyone has a story to tell. Visit neisd.net/tellyourstory to share yours.