Daisy Robeson's journey as an educator and leader

BY JOLEE SKINNER / Editor-in-Chief

Daisy Faith Robeson, born in Grapevine, Texas, is graduating from Tarleton State University this year. As Daisy prepares to walk the stage, she takes a moment to reflect on her college experience and what has led her to this moment. Daisy has always wanted to be a teacher and while she was in high school, she had a moment where she realized this.

“Me teaching the students and it was the light bulb moment in their head when they finally were understanding is what got me to be like ‘Wow I could do this forever,” Robeson said. “That was the trip that really, like, changed everything for me.”

But before Daisy had this moment of realization, she grew up in Hurst, Texas for the majority of her childhood with loving parents and a family who was super close to her growing up. But life for Daisy took a turn when her dad became disabled when she was in elementary school.

“His spine slid off his pelvis and they had to open him up from the front and move all his vital organs out of the way,” Robeson said. “They said he was probably going to be in a wheelchair by the time he was like 45. Well, he's 53 and walks with a cane so that's really great.”

Daisy credits her mom for helping her and her dad get through everything that had happened. 

“Things were a little bit of a struggle at first,” Robeson said. “But my mom persevered through it all.”

Daisy also loved serving in ministry growing up. Her grandmother was the first one to start bringing her to church when she was little and was taught the importance of giving everyone grace.

“The lord gave us grace, we should give grace to others too,” Robeson said. 

These values carried Daisy through high school as well. Daisy graduated high school in spring of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. She says COVID-19 did take some special senior events away like prom but her and her friends didn’t that stop them from making memories that last semester. 

“It really brought a damper on things because Covid hit in March and I didn’t get to go to prom,” Robeson said. “But we ended up having a little fake prom and it was all of my friends from different schools. Like, how often do you get to do prom with your very best friends who go to different schools? Which is never.”

After Daisy graduated, she began her first semester at Tarleton. She did get offers from schools like Abilene Christian University, but it was the great education program at Tarleton that led her to being a Texan. 

“Tarleton’s education program was truly what sold it for me,” Robeson said. “They [Tarleton] had just actually told us that they were about to launch the residency program. And that was the best decision I ever made.”

Daisy also knew she wanted to get involved while at Tarleton, so her freshman year she decided to go through sorority recruitment and ended up getting and accepting a bid from Phi Mu. 

“I just felt like I really connected with them especially because of their values, love, honor and truth,” Robeson said. “And I really appreciated that, from what I saw, it wasn’t the typical sorority girl experience that I didn’t know I really wanted or really needed.”

While being in the chapter, Daisy served as parent/alumni chair, then served as reference chair which is the assistant to membership director, then became membership director then finally became chapter president. Daisy said holding all these positions taught her valuable lessons and skills.

“It taught me a lot of communication skills, it taught me a lot of leadership skills,” Robeson. “It taught me how to make hard decisions even whenever I didn’t want to make them. It really taught me how to be a strong person and a strong leader.”

While at Tarleton, Daisy worked in the math department and really appreciates her bosses for helping her become better at teaching.

“Dr. Riggs and Dr. Smith, the department head and the associate department head of the math department, really awesome ladies, awesome bosses, they helped me really become a really good teacher,” Robeson said.

Daisy also got involved in a college ministry program in Stephenville called Paradigm and became a challenge group leader. 

“My faith I think really guided me to the right people and I’m really honestly hoping everybody got to see God through me more than anything, just because that’s the way I wanna live my life,” Robeson said.

Daisy accredits Tarleton with helping her prepare for her future career, specifically the teacher residency program.

"Yes, you're with another teacher in a classroom for this [program] but I feel like I’m not coming out as a first year teacher,” Robeson said. “I feel like I’ve already had my first year which I think is so beneficial going into a place completely new and completely by myself.”

Daisy already has plans for her future as she wants to eventually go back to school to get her master’s degree in administration.

“I want to be an instruction specialist, so like working on curriculum, we’re working with other teachers to help them get better in their classrooms,” Robeson said. “But I truly believe good admin, spend time in the classroom first, so I wanna spend as much time in the classroom as I can.”

Summing up her college experience at Tarleton, Daisy describes it as life-changing. She reflects on how when she came to Tarleton as a freshman, she was shy but now is completely different.

“I truly do not think I would be the person I am today without all the little things that made me throughout my college career,” Robeson said. “Being in Phi Mu broke me out of my shell completely, whether it be through Paradigm and me growing more in my faith, in the math department, growing more in my people skills. There's not a single thing that I regret about my college experience.”