Professor Yvonne Robinson got in on the beginning of emerging technology when she switched from business education to teach one of Eastfield's first computer programming courses. Though she's remained in the same office for 28 years, her job and career field have evolved as dynamically as the field of computer technology.

But for Robinson, the end of computer education is really just a means of affecting lives in the classroom. "Being a community college professor allows me to teach students how computers impact their lives on a daily basis," she says. "My best day on the job is when I feel I've been successful in the classroom."

Robinson holds a doctorate in secondary and higher education from Texas A&M University at Commerce, a Master of Business Education degree from UNT and a Bachelor of Science in business education from the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. Before joining Eastfield's faculty in 1978, she served as an assistant business professor at Bishop College and a business instructor at Tarrant County Junior College, having first worked in Urban League programming and housing development in Washington, D.C.

Beyond the classroom, though, Robinson believes in reaching out to the community and guiding young people who may need an extra edge in college. She is active in The Links, Inc., an international organization of professional African-American women, for which she helps mentor young African women attending local colleges. Robinson will chair the group's international fashion show next spring to raise scholarship money. She has served as a mentor in Bryan Adams High School's executive assistant program and attends numerous professional conferences each year on educational issues affecting minority students.

"I teach at the community college level because I feel like I really have an impact on the life of my students, and that's very gratifying," she says. "The best part of my job is the interaction with students."

For professor Yvonne Robinson, it all began here.