By Gina Covell Many family members have common interests. While the Pieniazek family is no exception, it seems they have more in common than most. Ray Pieniazek; his wife, Gail Watkins Pieniazek; and his brother, Ryan, followed the same educational and career paths. All three attended Texas A&M University, earned bachelor's and master's degrees in agricultural education, and received scholarships from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
"I consider it a real honor to have received my scholarship from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo," said Ryan. "I still brag to my students that both my brother and I earned scholarships, in hopes that they will be inspired." Ray and Gail both received their scholarships in 1983, the year scholarship amounts were increased from $6,000 to $8,000. Ray graduated from East Central High School in San Antonio, and Gail graduated from Klein Forest High School in Spring, Texas. The two even attended the same scholarship banquet but did not meet until they attended Texas A&M University. Both received bachelor's degrees in agricultural education in 1987 and master's degrees in education in 1988. "I probably would not have gone to college if I had not earned my scholarship," said Gail. "I grew up in a blue-collar family in which neither of my parents were college educated, and attending college was really not discussed in our home. It was not discouraged, but it was not really encouraged or pushed either. As long as we were good kids and grew up to be good citizens, our parents were proud of us." Gail admitted that, without her scholarship, she probably would have remained a veterinary technician, which is the job she worked while in high school and during breaks from college. Gail's father passed away while she was a high school junior in 1982. Ray and Ryan lost their father as well when Ray was attending college and Ryan was in high school. "I am indebted to the Houston Livestock Show," said Gail. "Because my mother was unable to give me much financial support, I was very frugal with my scholarship funds, and that helped with the brunt of my educational expenses. There are five children in my family, and I am the first one to receive a degree." Following graduation, Gail accepted her first job at Clear Brook High School -- a new Class 4A school at the time -- where she literally began the agricultural program. She worked as the agricultural science teacher there for nine years. "After the birth of our second child, I decided that all of the extracurricular activities required to be an agriculture teacher made it difficult for me to be as supportive as I needed to be for my own family," said Gail, who went back to school and earned a master's degree in counseling from the University of Houston at Clear Lake. She now serves as a counselor at Clear Brook High School. "This way I can continue working with students. Being an ag teacher gets in your blood. Ag students are some of the best kids in the world, and I enjoyed teaching these kids. I also like knowing that there are ways for them to go to college and pursue their dreams." "I always assumed that I would have a career in agriculture," said Ryan, who also graduated from East Central High School and received a Show scholarship in 1990. "I admired my agriculture teacher, Dennis Ellebracht, more than any other teacher, and I just knew that I wanted to inspire kids like he did me." Ryan now teaches at Krum High School, just outside of Denton, Texas. "One thing I stress to my students is that if they maintain good grades and get involved in many activities, they may receive scholarships as well," said Ryan. "I also tell them that the money is out there to help them, but only if they work hard to earn it. Sharing my own experience about paying on graduate school loans until the year 2009 also inspires them to apply for scholarships." Much like his brother, Ray said, "If it wasn't for my involvement with the FFA, I would not have known what I wanted to do. My ag teacher really prepared us for life with the competitions and leadership, and that made me want to become an ag teacher so that I could do the same thing for other students." He added, "I love working with kids and enjoy seeing them succeed in winning contests, gaining self-confidence and watching them reach the goals that they set for themselves. Kids are different these days. Many are from single-parent homes and need extra attention from outside sources to keep them going and to boost their confidence." Ray tells his students, "Life is like a merry-go-round. When you fall off, just get back on again. One day will be your day. Never give up." Ray began his career with a one-year stint at Poth High School, a Class 2A school 45 miles south of San Antonio. He taught biology for half of the sophomore class, which consisted of 32 people. The entire school had 189 students. Ray then relocated to the Clear Lake area, where he married Gail and accepted a job at Clear Lake High School. He still teaches meat processing and food technology classes there. He and one other agricultural science teacher are in charge of 150 students. Ray and Ryan's father and uncle were involved in FFA as well and were strong supporters of the field that the young men chose. Ray and Ryan have a sister and another brother, who won $31,000 for the Reserve Grand Champion Turkey at the Show. "That was a big moment for our family," said Ray. "That win was also very ironic, because the day that we were to leave for Houston, our best toms were injured when frightened by a tractor, and we had to bring our second-string hens to the show. It was so great that they won." Ray and Ryan's mother was a homemaker, and their father worked for a veterinary supply service. "I was picked on for not being in ag, because my father made me act as the courier from the supply store where he worked to my school's ag class," said Ray. "The students wondered when I would stop being the delivery boy and just join the class. I finally did, and that is how my career in agriculture began. "One of the ways that my Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo scholarship helped me is that I was able to be very much involved in organizations in college," said Ray. "I was involved in collegiate FFA, meats judging, college of education advisory council, Saddle and Sirloin Club, and ag education advisory council." Ray is a committee volunteer, and Gail and Ray are both lifetime members of the Show. They have two children: Jared, age 6; and Johnna, age 1. When asked what they wish for their children's futures, they both answered, "We would be very excited for our children to be involved in agriculture but want them to choose their own way."
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