Ronda Dozier's journey has brought her back to her first love, but not before she ascended to heights of achievement she once thought were impossible. Early tragedy put her on a path to becoming a business owner, teacher and higher-education administrator - even earning a doctorate - none of which she could have predicted more than 35 years ago as the young mother of her first child.
That's when her first husband died in a car crash on a drive between Texarkana and the Houston-area oil fields where he worked, leaving her to care for their 6-month-old daughter alone.
She knew she had to take charge of her fate but when a friend suggested college, it came as a surprise.
"Higher education was an afterthought for me," she said. There was no history of college education in her family.
Her dream was to be a hair stylist, so she enrolled in Texarkana College's cosmetology program in 1982. It was a decision that would shape the rest of her life.
After she graduated, she opened a salon in Wake Village that was successful for 18 years. But along the way, she found herself wanting more.
"I love a challenge," she said.
Ronda got an instructor's license in 1999, also through the TC cosmetology program, and has been teaching at the school ever since - though with some significant career detours.
"When I came to Texarkana College, I was promoted quickly," she said. Former school President James Henry Russell recognized Ronda's leadership potential and would come to call her "the face of TC."
She has served as TC's Workforce Education Department chair, director of enrollment management services, and dean of workforce education/business and community education. Many former students still call her Dean Dozier.
The quick ascent is unsurprising, considering Ronda's all-in attitude.
"Any job I get, it's like I own the company," she said.
Charged with ensuring the readiness of workforce students - those enrolled in TC programs such as automotive technology, construction and culinary arts - Ronda soon realized that teaching technical skills was not enough. Many students needed to learn life skills as well.
"Not everyone was raised like I raised my own kids," she said. "Nobody rises to low expectations."
Ronda instituted policies such as requiring workforce students to wear industry-standard uniforms and to take a course on how to succeed in the workplace. She started TC's food pantry because she noticed that some students had trouble affording enough to eat. For students with transportation difficulties, she acquired and distributed bicycles.
It's all part of her passion for helping others succeed.
"I enjoy seeing other people do well," she said. "It's not about me."
She never stopped advancing her own education, earning a bachelor's degree in business management in 2013, an MBA focused on management and strategy later that year, and a doctorate in leadership and higher education a year ago.
The intensity of Ronda's graduate studies led to a feeling of burnout, and she ultimately left administration and returned to her first professional love, the interaction with students and the immediate gratification of teaching cosmetology. Since 2017, she has been the coordinator of TC's cosmetology program, right back where her journey began.
Ronda also works part-time as a business-student evaluator for Western Governors University, the online school from which she earned her master's degree. At 57, she cannot imagine retiring completely, she said, and if the right WGU faculty position becomes available, that could be her next step.
Life is simpler for Ronda these days, and she is enjoying spending more time with her husband, Johnny Dozier, and the rest of her family, especially at a lakeside property she nicknamed after herself.
"All that matters to me now, other than changing lives through education, is spending time with my family at The RondaRosa on Lake Bob Sandlin every chance I get," she said. n