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View the Story – Bridgette Ponder

Tell us about your family?

I am married and have three children. All of my children are Trinity graduates. After becoming adults, they have each thanked me for the sacrifices I made to allow them the advantage of a Trinity education. 

 

Why do you choose to work at TST?

I am passionate about teaching students to understand, appreciate, and enjoy mathematics. I have taught and observed classes in many other schools, both private and public. Trinity School of Texas by far exceeded my expectations for a school that has an atmosphere that encourages learning and teaching. This environment has given me the freedom, material, and time to pursue learning the best pedagogy for instruction in mathematics. I look forward to coming to work each day and fulfilling the purpose God has made for my life. He gave me the gift of teaching, and I am blessed to share it with my Trinity family.

 

What do students receive at TST that they won’t get anywhere else?

Trinity students get to interact and build relationships with a collection of individuals that have a calling to see them succeed in the purpose God has designed for their life. Trinity students get to thrive in an environment that encourages strong relationship building and a commitment to service and lifelong learning.

 

What do you love most about Trinity?

What I most love about Trinity is the people. God has His hands on this school. He has brought together a group of people that become family. Students, parents, faculty, and staff all join in on the goal of pursuing purpose for each student. This goal fills our campus with compassion for people and determination in helping students find their direction.

 

Describe the students and environment at Trinity.

Trinity students are kind, motivated, and focused. The Trinity environment encourages the best behaviors from students. Trinity students are often found in the community helping with service projects to encourage them to have a heart for helping those less fortunate. The Trinity environment also encourages student to do their best academically by creating an environment conducive to learning and pursuing knowledge for a lifetime. The Trinity environment feeds the heart, soul, and mind of every student.

 

What do you love most about your job?

I love that I get to teach! There are no frivolous distractions that keep me from doing my best in the classroom. I love when alumni come back to visit and are overwhelmingly grateful for everything being a part of the Trinity family has given them. I love Trinity Graduation. Each year, I am honored to be part of the pomp and circumstance that is a Trinity Graduation. Seeing the fruit of my labor from years of pouring my all into a group of young people accumulate into one grand night of celebration is overwhelmingly bittersweet. I know that each will change the world for the better, but that I will not see them as often. I suffer through bouts of empty nest syndrome through the summer until finally opening my classroom door to a nest full of new and inspiring young people. I automatically love them and look forward to encouraging them to appreciate the world of mathematics.

 

What is something readers might not know about you?

I came from humbling beginnings and was the first in my family to go to college. I believe this has made me a better teacher as I understand how it feels to not understand something. I understand the importance of perseverance. I know how important it is to avoid letting your background be an excuse to not pursue the purpose God has for you.

 

 

Bridgette Ponder

My dream as a child was to be an astronaut. My plan was to enter the Air Force and become a fighter pilot. This would be my mothed of entering the space program. My terrible eyesight and petite frame prevented me from following that dream.


Because I had a propensity to excel in math and science, my initial major as an undergrad for LeTourneau was mechanical engineering. To help pay for tuition, I began tutoring. The moment I was able to help a student understand a difficult math concept was a pivotal moment in my life. It was almost as if God whispered in my ear, “This is what I designed you to do.” I was hooked!


There is no doubt I was called to be a math teacher. I am extremely blessed to have answered that call! I never work! It’s all joy!


God led me to Trinity in the summer of 1999. By design, TST needed an Upper School Math Teacher. Since then, Trinity School of Texas has been my home away from home. I am so blessed and so grateful to be here!


I have taught many different levels of secondary mathematics including Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, and AP Calculus BC. As an adjunct professor for LeTourneau University, I have taught Intermediate Algebra (MATH 1123), Pre-Calculus (MATH 1303), Calculus I (MATH 1903), Statistics (MATH 1423), and Discrete Mathematics (MATH 2003).


In my free time, I enjoy gardening, reading, researching math topics, riding across the country on the back of a Harley, and exercising. I also love spending time with my family, which includes my twin girls and my son who are all Trinity alumni.