It's never too late to learn
Ernie Houdashell
Age: 61
Occupation: Randall County Judge

Where did you receive your education?
Hedley High School; Amarillo College; Bachelor of Science degree, West Texas State University.

How has your education played a role in your life today?
It allowed me to not hold myself back from reaching for my goals in life.

What was your greatest educational challenge and how did you overcome it?
Age. I was not able to complete my education until later in life. My professional careers did not allow me to attend school until my mid-30s.

What is the value of your education?
A value cannot be placed on it. I do not think I would've ever had any sense of accomplishment without it.

What would you say to someone who is undecided about continuing their education?
Education is such a personal thing. I don't know if I would have anything to say to them or not.

When did you make education a priority?
When I came to the point in my life that I knew the window of opportunity was going to close on my ability to fulfill the dream of having a degree.

What made you realize the importance of education in your life?
I always knew professional success was tied directly into an education. Again, this statement is only a personal one and there are millions of successful citizens who never completed college.

Did you ever think about quitting? What made you keep going?
There have been many times I have fallen short of my personal goals, but I have never been one to just say, "I quit."

I look back at my years at AC and WT and I get a real warm feeling in my heart. I know my wife, Sandy, really encouraged me to make the effort. Within the past two weeks, I took my 3-year-old grandson over to the WT campus to walk around. It's such a beautiful place. We are so fortunate to have schools such as AC and WT.