A Passion for Lifelong Learning: Erin Valdez, ’01
Written by Stephanie Gordon
Erin Valdez, ’01, sparked joy and smiles during our hour-long conversation that touched on her homeschooled education, her time at Hillsdale College, and even her whirlwind romance with her husband. Erin is a policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, located in Austin, Texas. Simply put, she has a passion for learning, as learning has always been an important part of her life.
Erin was born in Lakeland, Florida. The family lived in trailers until Erin was 11. Her father was a HVAC technician and her mother stayed home and devoted herself to homeschooling Erin and her siblings. Her parents weren’t college graduates, but they were determined to give their children the best possible education.
“My mom learned about homeschooling from Christian talk radio in the early ’80s,” Erin said. “She and my dad wanted to raise us with their values and with a love for the Lord. They couldn’t afford private school, so homeschooling presented an attractive choice. My interest in education public policy actually goes back to our family having to follow legislation that had a direct impact on our lives. It’s why I do the work I do now.”
According to Erin, her mom worked under the auspices of a private school and submitted documents that detailed which curricula they planned to use. “Many of the books were ordered from catalogs or even rescued books from public school book depots, where quality instructional materials, such as phonics records (actual vinyl records), were being off-loaded. We benefited from my mom’s research skills and resourcefulness.”
When Erin was 11, her father was offered a job with Walmart in central Texas. Erin’s family moved across the country and into their very first home in 1990. Erin explained that it was hard to leave their familiar environment, but little did she know, her parents bought a home from another homeschooling family. She was introduced to a new world of learning with homeschooled neighbors who quickly became friends.
“Turns out, Georgetown, Texas, had a decent-sized homeschooling community,” Erin said. “One of our neighbors was homeschooled—she and I became fast friends. By the mid-1990s, classical education was starting to become more of a ‘thing’ in homeschooling circles, and I had the chance to learn some formal and informal logic.”
Erin’s parents also instilled in her the belief that volunteering and work experience are essential to employment, so she volunteered at her local library and always found herself reading National Review. This is how she learned of Hillsdale College. “William F. Buckley, Jr. was a big supporter of Hillsdale College, and it was because he thought so highly of the institution that I became interested in the school. I wanted to have the kind of education that would allow me to think with even a small share of his range and clarity.”
Erin was accepted to Hillsdale College, and in 1997 she traveled to Hillsdale to begin her freshman year. She fell in love with her Hillsdale College experience, but admitted there were challenges ranging from a fire in her dorm, Olds Residence, to her mediocre study habits for her Latin classes. She said professors like Joe Garnjobst gave her the push she needed.
“I really liked Latin, but I was not a disciplined student,” Erin admitted. “After a lackluster first semester, I knew I faced a choice—either shape up or pick a different course of study. So I made flashcards of all the vocabulary and charts for all the chapters of Wheelock’s Latin I’d limped through, and I studied them over Christmas break. I think back to Professor Garnjobst’s comment to my mom at Spring Parents Weekend: ‘What did you put in the water?!’ I was objectively having more fun in all my classes when I applied myself to the challenge, and I learned from that experience the meaning of Hillsdale’s motto—virtus tentamine gaudet.”
During her time at Hillsdale, Erin served on the Women’s Council and participated in intramural football. She also spent her junior year in Athens, Greece. “Studying classics and archaeology in Greece was a dream come true. It inspired me to pursue graduate studies in classics so that I could be a teacher. It gave me a new perspective on what a miracle civilization is—one that I’ve taken with me in everything I’ve done since.”
After graduating with a classical studies major, Erin completed a master’s degree in classics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and then returned to Texas to enter the K-12 education field. She spent ten years teaching Latin, Greek, and classical civilization at private classical schools in Texas. In 2014, she became the grammar school assistant headmaster at Founders Classical Academy, a public charter school in Lewisville, Texas.
“I was so blown away by the difference that this education made in the lives of students who could not afford private schools,” Erin said. “If such schools had been in existence when I was entering kindergarten, my parents have told me they would have done everything they could to get me enrolled. As a result, my interest in public policy was rekindled—I wanted to work to increase the educational opportunities that all children have.”
Erin began working for an educational philanthropy, traveling the country and immersing herself in the ways that families and communities were trying to educate their children outside of traditional public schools. In 2019, she returned to her hometown to begin working at the Texas Public Policy Foundation as an analyst. “I’m now a policy director of the Next Generation Texas campaign, and my portfolio is mostly focused on higher education with some work on the secondary education side,” Erin said. “My job gives me a chance to fight for more options, including classical education, for all students.”
Erin currently serves as vice president of the Hillsdale College Alumni Association Board, and said that Hillsdale stands alone as it offers something special. “The life of the school combines deep spiritual engagement, intellectual rigor, and moral formation, and it takes the mission of formation seriously,” she said. “It’s important for us, as alumni, to give back, whether it’s through regular giving, staying in touch with professors, or being a mentor for current students. As Dr. Arnn has encouraged us, we are an extension of the College’s mission in the world, and we need to take care of each other.”
When I asked her what advice she’d give current students, she said, “Work over the summer and work on campus. Learn Excel. Take the most challenging courses you can and explore ideas. Your conversations and debates with your classmates and professors will shape who you become, so lean into the experience.”
Stephanie Gordon, a lifelong Hillsdale native, is the managing editor of the Student Stories Blog. She is married to chiropractor, Dr. Matt Gordon, and has three children – Eloise, Flora, and Jack. When she has a spare moment, she enjoys paleo baking, floating on Baw Beese Lake, and breaking a sweat at the gym.
Published in October 2022