My name is Cynthia Fernandez (friends and family call me Cindy).  My husband and I share 5 children and as of now, we have 3 grandchildren.  Super proud of the young adults that we have raised.  And being a grandparent has been wonderful.  I'm "Gigi" to them.  Plus, animals have always been part of our lives and currrently we have 1 dog who I affectionately refer to as our dinosaur, and 1 cat.

I come from a family of educators.  My grandmother, my aunt, my parents and cousins are all teachers.  My favorite aunt and other cousins are administrators.  When I went to college I didn't intend to be an educator.  I earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the College of Engineering at University of Texas El Paso.  I thought I was going to be a programmer.  But I settled into a comfort zone and continued to work 13 years for the company I was with.  Moved to Houston with my family and everything we owned in 1998 when I began my career as an Analyst for large oil company.  Worked there 11 years and got laid off and decided to stay home for a while.  Substitute teaching was a flexible way back into the job market when I landed at DCMS.  I held 2 long term positions when I decided it was time to plant my feet.  In 3 months I earned certifications in Math, Science, Special Education and have added ESL recently.  I am proud to add my name to the list of family who are now teachers. 

This job has given me such great joy.  Love that I can watch the light come on as students discover.  It's really magical and you can see the joy in their faces when they "get it."  I hope that I can continue to help kids see the "light" that education can bring today and in their future.