Where Are They Now?
Misty English attended Dublin High School until her junior year in 2000, when she transferred to the Paradigm Accelerated Charter School. “I was actually in their first graduating class, in 2001,” she said.
English enjoyed the selfpaced model of the school, which she attended with her sister, although she resented the stigma that some people placed on the school. “One of my employers was like, “I know what kind of school you went to, and I know why you went there,’” English said. “And I was like, ‘No, you don’t.’” Students can choose to complete their education at the paradigm school for a variety of reasons. “While some people deem it as a school for ‘troubled’ students, not everybody goes there for that reason,” she said.
After she graduated from high school in 2001, English went to Tarleton. She didn’t feel like the school was for her, and ended up transferring to ITT Tech to study IT. English enjoyed the classes and the internship she had through the program, but she prioritized her personal life during this period and ended up leaving school and moving home.
She began looking for work, and found a job at Oakwood Assisted Living in Stephenville. “Working with elderly people, especially with Alzheimer’s or dementia — that’s truly where my heart is,” she said.
English worked there for four years, until she became pregnant with her daughter in 2007 and she decided to look for a higher-paying position to help provide for her family. She moved back to the Metroplex to work at a call center, then found another assisted living job in the city.
She stayed there for several years. Then, in August of 2019, English was expecting twin daughters, Brinkley and Brexley. The girls were born premature, however, and did not survive. To cope with her grief, English decided to move home. “I just needed to go back,” she said.
She took some time to heal, and found a new job in the area at Emerald Luxury Coaches, a part of Outlaw Conversions. “ They completely manufacture a coach bus or a luxury RV from the bottom up,” she said. “It just comes as a shell and then they completely wire it, floor it, put all the materials in it, everything. Appliances, bathroom, bedroom stuff. It’s amazing.”
She started off as an office supervisor, until in September of last year, English had a son, Brexton, and decided to move back to the Metroplex to be closer to her mother. “They offered me a remote position, so now I do purchasing,” she said. “I am working on the computer all day long, sourcing parts or working with vendors to make sure that our parts are coming in a timely manner.”
English enjoys her job. “I like the fact that they’ve given me the flexibility to be able to work from home and still do something that I’m good at,” she said. “I’ll stay with Emerald Luxury Coaches as long as they’ll keep me there. It’s an ever-growing company and from when I started and where it is now, there have been vast improvements.”
It’s the people who are working there who keep the company so vibrant and fun to work for, English says. “The owner, John Walker, has an open mind and the people who see his overall vision are what makes it a better place and continue to help it grow.” she said.
English lives in the Metroplex now with her partner Joseph and their two children, Mykadence, 15, and Brexton, 1. “We try to be really involved in our family,” she says. She often visits her grandmother, who is about to turn 93.
Her family is inspirational to English, both as role models, and as people who make her want to be a role model herself. “My grandmother has been one of my greatest inspirations,” she said. “And then my daughter — once she was born I wanted her to see someone strong.”
English’s advice to Dublin graduates is to keep an open mind about their futures. “I would say that the most important thing you can do is to follow your heart and always stay focused,” she said. “No matter if that’s college, or if that’s just finding something in life that you like. A college degree is wonderful, but it’s possible to succeed without it.” Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@ dublincitizen. com.