McMurry Nation

According to the Department of Education, the 25 Teaching Ambassador Fellowships are awarded to the “Classroom Fellows.” They will serve their regular teaching contracts with their districts and will be paid to perform additional Fellowship duties for the Department of Education. As practicing classroom teachers, these Fellows will share an important perspective for—and will gain more knowledge about—education policy and program development. They will share their experiences with other Fellows and with the Department of Education at designated times throughout the year. It will allow outstanding teachers, such as Ms. Hoover, an opportunity to contribute to the greater debate about education in America while still performing vital roles in their classrooms and schools.

The selection of JoLisa may have been a surprise for her, but it did not take McMurry University by surprise. Those who have watched her grow as a leader on and off campus have always known she had something special. JoLisa came to McMurry to officially begin the career path that would lead her to the steps of the White House, but that path actually began many years before. Even JoLisa’s earliest entrepreneurial endeavor involved children. As a teenager, she established a self-described “baby-sitting empire” and provided childcare services to over 30 families in her hometown. One of those “clients” was McMurry ex ’69, Martha Warren. “If JoLisa couldn’t babysit for us, we simply stayed at home.” Martha and her sister Charlotte Martin ’71, (currently serving as Executive Assistant to the Athletic Director at McMurry) helped encourage JoLisa to consider and eventually enroll at McMurry for her undergraduate studies. While pursuing her degree, she was actively involved in Theta Chi Lambda women’s social club, Chanters, theatre, and was also a preceptor for the pilot program that would later become The Servant Leadership Center of the Southwest.

JoLisa earned her master’s in educational psychology from Texas A&M University. Currently a 4th-grade teacher at Grandview Hills Elementary School in Leander, Texas, she was named the 2005 Houston Regional Winner of the H-E-B Excellence in Education Award, Leadership Elementary category. She has spent four summers working with children as a Kid’s Club Wrangler at Wind River Ranch, a Christian family guest ranch in Estes Park, Colorado. She worked as a Sea Camp counselor at Texas A&M in Galveston and has an extensive background working with children’s music ministries. She has done consultant work and presentations for the Bryan, Amarillo, San Marcos and Leander Independent School Districts and the Texas Department of Agriculture. She is also credited for her assistance in Noah McCullough’s book, The Essential Book of Presidential Trivia.

When asked what was unique about her McMurry experience, JoLisa said, “There were so many people who encouraged me.” She felt that they went beyond what was expected of them as teachers and helped her grow in all areas of her life and her spiritual walk. There really was a “personal touch” from her instructors that made all the difference. The faculty and staff at McMurry taught and served with “such kindness and genuine concern” for their students. This uniqueness made a lasting impression on her approach to education and gave McMurry a special place in her heart for the role it has played in her professional development.

She has continued to serve the University through participation on the McMurry Servant Leadership Advisory Council. Since 2005, she has served as the Vice-Chair, Secretary and the Chair of the Council.

Throughout her teaching career, JoLisa has taken the “service with a personal touch” that she received at McMurry and has very successfully applied it to her students. “One thing I have learned during my 16 years of teaching is that the most important lesson you teach is to inspire students to be persons of character and to love learning,” she said. “I teach students that they can either be a ‘lifter,’ someone who makes those around them better, or a ‘leaner,’ someone who drags others down.” The goals of Servant Leadership are clearly displayed in her words and on every line of her resume.

On July 16, 2008, JoLisa Hoover and the other Teacher Fellowship honorees had a private meeting with First Lady Laura Bush and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Through this Teacher Fellowship, the entire nation is going to learn what McMurry University has known for a long time – McMurry University can put you on the path to anywhere you want to go. Don’t be surprised if it leads you to the White House—just ask JoLisa Hoover!