Cardboard shuffles on the table as ribbons of glue glide across it, binding hours of hard work together as the Texas Association of Future Educators students work diligently to perfect their projects for the upcoming competition season. The numerous categories of competitions allow each competitor to display their passion for education.
The TAFE club advances to the state conference, held from Feb. 25-28, 2026, in Dallas, Texas. They plan to enhance their projects to judges which determines if they advance to nationals. During the months of preparation, TAFE sponsor Lisa McCloskey steers her students towards a successful win at state.
“[TAFE] is an organization meant to prepare future educators for their career,” L. McCloskey said. “[They do] a lot of volunteer work related to working with kids to help students gain that experience. We help with field days, fundraisers, school festivals, the ACE after-school program and more.”
TAFE students often sell snacks at lunch to fund their trips. Fundraisers allow the club to travel at a reduced cost so more members can travel.
“We have 26 students going to compete [in the state conference] and five adults who will be judging and helping out,” L. McCloskey said. “Students will compete in the same type of events as they did at area (such as Public Speaking, Job Interviews, Researching Learning Challenges and more), but they will compete against students from all over the state of Texas.”
TAFE president Adalynn McCloskey guides her team to ensure their success as they prepare for state. While leading her peers, she hopes to push through to eventually make it to nationals.
“I help the students with their projects, answering any questions they have and guiding them through the process. I also help with a lot of the planning, whether that is planning for trips or meetings,” A. McCloskey said. “To qualify to state, you have to create a project required for your category and present [it] to judges who will then score you on your presentation and project [itself at the area conference].”
Such competition requires lots of hard work and effort. Goals help to set the standards high while planning the competition season.
“My students have many goals throughout the year,” L. McCloskey said. “We discuss making sure they are keeping their resume up to date and finding any opportunities possible to gain volunteer hours in the area of education. They set goals about observing different grade levels at different schools so they can gain as much experience and insight into education before they enter college in the future.”
A. McCloskey keeps a plan as she continues to develop new ideas to keep her peers involved.
“My goal throughout the year is to meet with students who have made it to state and help them strengthen their projects,” A. McCloskey said. “I want to try and get as many students as we can to advance to nationals.”
School proves to be a stressful environment. However, L. McCloskey ensures her students thrive in and out of the classroom.
“My goal is to expose students to the positive aspects of being a future educator because the world tends to show us all of the negatives”, L. McCloskey said. “This is year 28 of teaching for me, and I would not change my path in life because the people I have met and lives I have crossed along the way have made me rich. One of my favorite quotes is ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world.’ As an educator, I get to do that every single day.”
