By Colt Langley/reporter

Women in New Roles speaker Janine Lund discussed the most satisfying job of her entire career Nov. 12 at Billy Miner’s group room in downtown Fort Worth.

Lund, now a marriage and family therapist, began teaching for the WINR program five years ago. She said that although she was interested in teaching for WINR, she felt somewhat unworthy.

“I had in many ways followed a very traditional life course and was not sure that I had the credibility of life experiences that the students were going through,” Lund said. “I finished high school, went right on to college, got married and had kids.”

Lund described the challenge of teaching that first semester in WINR. Using her own philosophy, Lund recalled teaching her students the idea of “Ready Fire Aim.” This philosophy was to encourage her students and her own self to try new things.

Explaining how the information and resources available through WINR and other TCC outlets were important, Lund said they are just as useful and important to the teachers as they are for the students.

“Just as important, though, is the process of WINR,” Lund said. “Process is how WINR is done.”

Trish Light, who is the program coordinator of WINR, has set the program up so that students who are fearful and nervous about attending school, stay in school and don’t drop.

“The program exists because of Trish Light’s sometimes fierce persistence,” Lund said.

Research from Harvard University has shown that students who do more than just attend class tend to have better grades. WINR was said by Lund to have these kinds of activities built into the program. Activities like All That WINR Jazz and the monthly meetings are recurring events. For more information, visit www.tccd.edu/win-r and www.win-r.org

Lund remembered one of her students who on her first day brought her transcript to class. This student’s transcript was full of withdrawals and failed courses from all the years she had been enrolling in school. Lund spoke of how much shame this student was holding as well as the courage it took her student to look at her transcript. After enrolling in WINR, this student continued to succeed in her college career.

An audience member also described her own success through WINR.

“I landed some good jobs in networking through WINR and have made really good friends along the way, some of which I have been friends with for up to 13 years,” said Letty Allwood, a 1996 WINR graduate.