Mountain View Pioneer and Alumni Memories

She chose to attend Mountain View because it was close to home and offered a strong performing arts program. Kavalier began her college education as a dancer. As a Mountain View instructor, she taught ballroom dance and built a competitive ballroom dance program. Her students had opportunities to travel and compete nationally.

Her greatest memory, as a Mountain View student, was the excellent faculty.

“I was so impressed with the quality of instruction – especially as I moved on to the university level. In comparison, I feel like I received such a great education at Mountain View College. It prepared me well,” she said.

The instructors that most influenced her were Rod Wilson, who oversaw performing arts and the theatre faculty, and Dr. Bruce Coad, who taught English.

Kavalier earned an Associate of Arts and Sciences degree at Mountain View and went on to complete a bachelor’s degree in English at Texas Christian University, a master’s degree in business from Amberton University and a doctorate in higher education at The University of Texas at Austin.

Originally from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, she was the first in her family to graduate from college.

In many ways, Mountain View turned out to be a guiding influence in her life. Even more than her time as a student, she says her experience teaching at Mountain View helped define the career path she would follow.

“As an employee, I learned from people like former chancellor Bill Wenrich, who taught me so much of what I know and what I utilize today, regarding innovation,” Kavalier said. “I would not be here, had it not been for him and his support.” Her choice to pull up stakes, leave Mountain View and move out of the area to attend the Community College Leadership Program (CCLP) at UT, was a turning point in her life that provided new and exciting opportunities.

“I left my job at Mountain View to become a full-time student at UT. That was challenging, and it took a lot of courage to take that step forward in my life,” she said. “But I have enjoyed the opportunity to work in different states and in different positions. It’s been a wonderful learning experience.” 

Her passion is her work. Kavalier describes herself as innovative, future focused and creative. She enjoys research and writing and has published books and articles. “At the end of the day, for me, education is about social justice. I think I am a good example of that, especially in the community college world,” she said. “It’s about providing opportunity to succeed for individuals who have been typically underserved or underrepresented. Education allows people to fulfill their dreams, especially at the community college level.” 

According to Kavalier, a number of individuals from Mountain View went on to become community college presidents. “I bet more community college presidents came out of Mountain View than any other college in the country,” she said. “I think that’s pretty amazing and a piece of history about Mountain View that ought to be recognized and celebrated.” 

She and her husband, Jim Kavalier, reside in St. Charles, located in the greater St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area. The couple met at Mountain View where he was a faculty member for more than 20 years.

Dr. Barbara Kavalier is in her fifth year as president of St. Charles Community College in Cottleville, Missouri. Her first college presidency was at San Jose City College in San Jose, California. She was also president of Navarro College in Texas.

For Goodman, the decision to attend Mountain View was a departure from the academic path he expected to follow after high school. Already accepted at The University of Texas at Austin, he anticipated going straight to the university upon graduation. Although his path changed, he remained steadfast in his goal of attending UT.

In his junior year of high school, Goodman’s mother lost her job.

“During that time, we still made it. I was able to graduate with clothes still on my back, lights still on in the house, food still on the table,” he said. “I don’t know how she did it, but she did it. She made it happen.”

After high school, he had a difficult decision to make. He chose to stay in Dallas, get a job and help pay the bills at home until things became more stable. He took a position managing a retail store and applied for admission at Mountain View. He focused on his studies and took classes every semester, never losing sight of his goal of transferring to UT.

Goodman credits his advisors with providing the guidance he needed to stay on track and encouraging him throughout the process.

“The support from the advisors helped me reach that goal,” he said, adding that attending Mountain View helped him get his feet wet and see what college looks like.

Community college helped him prepare and gain confidence, but when he transferred to UT, there were still some growing pains. He says the university experience for transfer students isn’t on par with the experience of first-time freshman college students.

“If I hadn’t started at Mountain View and had gone straight to UT out of high school, I think my path would have been totally different,” Goodman said. “I don’t think I would have had the same mindset, if I hadn’t started out at community college.”

Attending Mountain View and serving as a student ambassador started his path in student government. It fueled his desire to advocate for transfer and low income students and for better transfer resources.

“I think a lot of people see community college in a negative light,” he said. “At a community college like Mountain View, there really are advisors and people who want to help you reach your goal. I definitely had that.”

Goodman advises current students to take advantage of opportunities to explore, learn and try new things.

“Figure out what your goals are and your next steps, in terms of your academic or occupational career,” he said. “People at the college are there to help you reach those goals. Use those resources.”

His personal passion to serve comes from the fact that he didn’t have the resources he needed. Goodman is grateful to have had people in his life who helped him when he couldn’t help himself, both financially and in general. Now he feels that same passion, a responsibility really, to do the same for others.

“The phrase ‘Never give up’ is my personal motto. Through my struggles and downfalls, this motto has pushed me to persevere and create the man I am now,” he said.

Goodman is an operations analyst at Goldman Sachs. He attended Mountain View from 2014-2016 and graduated with an Associate of Science in Business Administration and Management before transferring to UT Austin where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2020.

He served as president of the student government at UT. Together with his vice president, they made history as the first Black students to hold those two offices at the same time. He was a speaker for the 2020 UT virtual commencement ceremony.

“Being a part of the fantastic, talented, conscientious group of people at Mountain View College for 50 years gives me a feeling of contentment,” said Charles Wickersham.

Over time, friendships have grown into family relationships. He has seen students become parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, fulfilling their goals along the way.

His students have gone on to teach school, serve as police officers, work as nurses or doctors and build successful careers in business. Past student Sherry Wilson became the first female firefighter in Dallas.

“I feel that I had a small part in my students becoming successful,” he said.

His favorite class to teach is Developmental Math where he sees students overcome math anxiety, complete algebra and college-level courses and use math to achieve success in their careers.

Wickersham’s daughter, Kathy, considers Mountain View the finest educational institute she attended. She graduated from Mountain View College in 1987, followed by East Texas State University in 1989 and Texas Tech University Law School in 1992.

By far, Wickersham’s fondest memory of the past 50 years at the college is meeting the love of his life, Shelly Brown Wickersham, in the hallway at Mountain View.

“She was a student in the 1980s and had many friends on campus. We loved to walk in the halls of our school,” he said. “We married in 2001.”

Armed with a plan to major in English or business, she started her journey in higher education a little later in life.

“I married right after high school and had three children, so I wasn’t able to attend college until my children were all in school. Mountain View was the perfect solution, a way to ease back into education,” she said.

Her focus shifted when she discovered a love for journalism, fueled by her favorite professor and journalism instructor, the late David Wolfe. After her essay about older women returning to college won her a small scholarship from DCCCD and second place in a statewide competition, she was hooked.

“As editor of the Mountain View newspaper and later magazine, I learned how much a small but determined team of writers and photographers could accomplish with the right guidance from our instructors,” Holt-Caussey said.

She was hired as the women’s editor of the Oak Cliff Tribune while still in school. So her time at Mountain View led to instant employment.

After more than 30 years as a journalist, she was named a North Texas Living Legend by the Press Club of Dallas in 2016. She was honored to introduce Wolfe as her special guest at the award ceremony. Later, she left her public relations agency to return to her favorite job as a freelance journalist.

At Mountain View, she learned to be more self-confident and self-reliant, which she said was especially important for her after becoming a single parent.

She advises students to be active on campus.

“Participate in all the extracurricular activities you can without endangering your GPA,” she said. “I learned as much from speech tournaments, reader’s theatre, student council and working on the newspaper and magazine, as I did from regular classroom studies.”

Her husband, Durhl Caussey was an adjunct history instructor at Mountain View. They still reside in Oak Cliff and are active in the community.

“Knowledge is important, regardless of whether it leads you to a degree or increase in your paycheck,” said Mountain View alumni, Felix Villalobos. “Education, not only opens doors, but also minds.”

Villalobos attended Mountain View 2004-2005. He worked during the day and attended classes on nights and weekends. He had initially started classes at El Centro but stopped when he started working full-time. When he lost his job, he realized he needed to go back to school. Location was important. Mountain View was close to his home and convenient.

“I was able to find a new job and attend school in the evenings,” he said. “I did not have time to walk around or enjoy the El Centro campus, but I was able to do so at Mountain View College.”

He completed an Associate of Science degree and went on to Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, where he earned his law degree. Villalobos was the first in his family to attend college.

At Mountain View, he gained an appreciation for education that he hadn’t had before.

“I did not have that appreciation in high school or at El Centro,” he said. “In fact, I never thought about law school until I attended a class (at Mountain View) taught by a police officer who spoke a bit about law.”

On one of his assignments, there was a note asking if he had ever thought about attending law school. His parents had made similar comments, which he had just dismissed. Since he didn’t know any attorneys, it really didn’t mean much to him at the time.

“For some reason, once I went to BYU, surrounded by others planning to attend law school, it triggered something in me,” he said.

Villalobos is now an attorney with The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES). His title is affirmative services unit director. He says it is “just a fancy title for being in charge the affirmative department, which focuses on affirmative applications, such as naturalization, residency, DACA, etc.”

His advice to current students is to go to class and listen.

“Listen to what is taught. Don’t think about how it will benefit you now, because you never know how it will benefit you in the future,” he said.

The instructor that influenced him the most during his time on campus was, not surprisingly, the police officer who spoke “a bit about the law.”

For Villalobos, his Mountain View experience instilled the value of education and hinted to a path he hadn’t really considered.