Black History Month: Celebrating the life and legacy of Black Women Educators – Rena’ Hoggard

 

If you had asked me, 30 years ago, what I want to be, my answer would have been a Lawyer. I attended St. Augustine College with the goal of being the best Criminal Lawyer there would be. That dream was very short lived, as I became pregnant, with my oldest son, after my first year of college. At that point, I just knew that any type of college life would be over for me. So, I started babysitting for people at my church and from my mom's job. One day, out of the blue, a family friend, from the church, said to me, "You are so good with children and I think that you would be a great three-year-old teacher. I accepted the position, not knowing anything about teaching nor what to expect. I enrolled into a Community College, taking night classes, to get my Credentials and I began to love what I was learning and was so ready to put it into practice, in the classroom. Did everything, I learned worked for me, “no”, but did I learned how to revamp and not give up.

My family and I decided to move to Raleigh, NC and I got a job at a childcare center, at Perimeter Park, in Morrisville and from there I went to Crosby Head Start, where I worked many years.  During this time, I enrolled in Vance Community College, to get my Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education. It seemed the more I learned, the more I wanted to learn and implement in the classroom.

After working at Head Start, I decided that I wanted to learn the administrative part of Early Childhood, so I applied for an Assistant Director position. I was an Assistant Director for a year and a half and then became the Director, for 7 years, at the same facility. As much as I loved doing what I was doing, I missed working with my babies. 

Then came the program, More at Four, now known as NC Pre-K and back in the classroom I went and I'm still here, this day. I have tutored and mentored many students outside of the classroom and wouldn't give up working with these young scholars, for anything.

I am married with two sons and one granddaughter. Also, I possess a master's degree in Education and Adult Learning. And in my spare time, I enjoy spending quality time with family members, traveling, reading, binge watching TV shows and movies along with volunteer work in the community.