A desire to get out of her comfort zone and try something else led Gisela Davila to become the BAAS coordinator at Odessa College.
Davila had been with Ector County ISD for 25 years, most recently as principal of Buddy West Elementary School. There were four positions at Odessa College when she applied. Davila, who started in September 2022, wanted to choose one that would challenge her the most and decided on the Bachelor’s of Applied Science coordinator.
“I told (President) Dr. (Gregory) Williams, I think this position is going to challenge me the most because I know absolutely nothing about it. But I’m excited to to learn about it. … I’ve loved it and I’ve learned so much,” Davila said.
Her job includes attending transfer fairs and talking to people about the programs OC offers. She noted that the associate and bachelor’s degrees cost the same at OC.
“I try to get all of the information so I can follow up with them later. I just had a parent meeting with OCTECHS students, because all of the OCTECHS students will graduate with their associate’s. I tell parents, you know, this is amazing … they are already halfway there. … I tell them two more years, and they’ll have a bachelor’s degree as 20-year-olds, which is amazing,” Davila said.
What she wasn’t as familiar with was the planning, registration and guidance part — what to take, what not to take, when to take it.
“When I went to school 30 years ago, you didn’t have such a thing as advisors. You would go out and grab a catalog and you would … just kind of circle the ones that you thought you needed and you were like, okay, these are the ones I’m taking,” Davila said.
She added that the support that’s available for students now — from academics to the pantry and other resources — is amazing.
“I tell my students, take advantage of all of the resources and help that we have available for you. It’s free; go get it,” Davila said.
The majority of bachelor’s degree students are adults that are already working and they’re returning to get their bachelor’s degree. Some are reluctant to walk to the stage at graduation, but Davila encourages them to do it because they’ve earned it and their families have earned it.
Most bachelor’s degree students come back for work-related reasons — they want to advance to a higher position.
“Some of them their employers are like, hey, if you go back to to get your bachelor’s degrees, we’ll pay for it; or we’ll cover the cost … Some of them just want to do it as a personal goal. We have some students that are working on three different degrees at the same time. … A lot of them say I feel like this is the perfect time because I’m more mature. I know what I want. I’m more focused. There’s different reasons,” Davila said.
She said the students’ stories motivate her to keep doing what she’s doing.
“I just want to help students advance in their career and just make it easy for them and find ways for them to finish. I just finished planning a little over 200 students, so what I did exactly was plan from the beginning to graduation. I feel like if they can see the big picture like it’s not going to take me very long. … It helps a lot. A lot of them get very motivated when they see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Davila said. “That’s why I try to plan everybody out so they can see the finish line.”
Born in Andrews, but raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, Davila attended Odessa College in August of 1995 and graduated with an associate of arts degree. She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degree in bilingual education in 2010 at University of Texas Permian Basin.
Davila enjoys spending time with her two children and her husband. Gisela also enjoys traveling to different parts of the world to learn and experience different cultures.
“Odessa College is so fortunate to have Gisela on our team, as she brings over 20 years of education experience to the table and has a passion for making education accessible to everyone in the Permian Basin,” said Ashley Warren, executive assistant to the president. “Ms. Davila quickly identified ways to connect with potential students while they are still in high school to help students and families alike see how affordable and accessible a bachelor’s degree from Odessa College is. Just in the past year our bachelor’s degree programs have grown by over 50 students and we know that is just the beginning with Gisela leading many of these efforts.”
