Where Are They Now?
Erica Ybarra has always loved the sense of certainty found in math. “I love things that are exact, things that make sense that don’t waver or change,” she said. “And so math has always been one of my favorite subjects.”
At Dublin High School, she enjoyed taking an accounting class with Ms. Jurney. “I fell in love with the balance of it all and the beauty of how a business runs,” she said.
Ybarra graduated from Dublin High School in 2005, and moved to Belton, Texas to attend Mary Hardin Baylor to study business. Her first year there she danced on the drill team, but later stopped to focus on her studies. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 2009.
Throughout college, she had worked as a banking specialist at Extraco Bank in Temple, and when she graduated she stayed on until she found a job at Ashley Furniture in Killeen.
“I started out on the customer service end, but quickly moved up and became the HR director,” she said.
Ybarra also took on the bookkeeping for the business, and found that she loved that side of the work. At Ashley, she met her now-husband, Jay Ybarra, and continued to work there for nine years until she and Jay moved to Houston for his work.
When the family got to Houston, Ybarra started working as that HR director and bookkeeper for a small company, then transitioned to doing bookkeeping for a property management investment company called DGV Investments.
When COVID hit, the Ybarra family found themselves without childcare for their young daughter Amalia, so Ybarra decided to stop working at the investment firm and devote her time to taking care of the baby. “I love staying home with our daughter,” she said. “I love having that opportunity because I know a lot of people don’t get that.”
Now, Ybarra’s daughter is four years old, and a normal day for Ybarra consists of taking Amalia to playdates and dance classes, and managing the home. Her husband enjoys his work as a salesman in the oil and gas industry. “Overall, we’re living a pretty happy life at the moment, which is nice,”Ybarra said.
This summer Amalia will attend summer school, and Ybarra plans to use her extra time to study for the exam to earn her Certified Public Bookkeeper license. “When she starts kindergarten, I’ll have an opportunity to go out back into the workforce,” she said.
When Ybarra has free time, she enjoys spending it with her family outdoors. “I love anything nature, I love trying to go out and do hikes, walks in parks, go to splash pads,” she said. “Anything that I can incorporate for our daughter is a big plus.”
She also enjoys gardening. “My husband has his horticulture degree and he’s always been really good with the landscaping and gardening and all that,” she said. “We have a dream one day of owning our own land and having a big garden and orchard. I try to cultivate that a little bit now in my spare time, but we have a small backyard so it’s hard to do it much. My parents have a huge garden, so we love going there and playing in their garden.”
Ybarra’s parents, Tinker and Theresa Lemke, still live in Dublin, as does one of her three sisters.
Throughout her life, Ybarra’s family has been a great source of inspiration, and have helped shape her perspective on balancing work and life. “My parents and my siblings were always pushing me to be whoever I wanted to be, but also not make work my life and focus on the things that were important to me outside of that,” she said. “For me work is something that you should enjoy and should elevate you to your other enjoyments in life, but not be the be-all end-all for your dayto- day.”
She’s also found direction through her faith. “I try to put God in the center of all of my choices that I make, and let him be my guide,” she said.
She and her family attend NewDay,anondenominational church in Houston.
Ybarra’s advice to Dublin graduatesistoknowthemselves and trust their guts. “Don’t let the world sway you from who you know you are and the path that God wants you to be on,” she said. “Remain true to yourself and your faith, despite the obstacles of the world, even if it doesn’t seem cool in the moment.”
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.