A celebration of women: Three outstanding local women
BY ASHLEY TERRY
Female superintendents are few and far between in the state of Texas, but as proven by Dr. Cecilia “Cissy” Reynolds-Perez, women have the power to both lead and challenge gender stereotypes.
Since 2020, Reynolds-Perez has served as the superintendent of Kingsville Independent School District. As a native and graduate of Kingsville High School, she credits her former female teachers and principals for instilling in her the confidence to pursue a career path in education.
“They were very dynamic, but very strong and very confident in what they were doing,” she explained. “There weren't many principals in the field who were female, so I had something I turned to and thought, ‘You know, what? If they can do that, I think I could do that too.’”
From a student to a teacher, to a principal and now a superintendent, Reynolds-Perez has climbed up the educational ladder and now serves as a role model for other students.
“I think the most fulfilling part is when I see our students who are attending the schools that I attended and they come up to me and can relate,” she said. “I can tell them, ‘You can graduate, you can go to college, and you can become a leader of a business or an organization or a district this big.’ That's the most fulfilling part is just being able to relate to the students and let them know that they too, can become a leader in their community to help make our district and our community better and stronger.”
As a staunch advocate of public schools, Reynolds-Perez has earned several accomplishments during her career, including being named the HEB Excellence in Education Elementary Principal of the Year and Texas High School Principal of the Year by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals.
She is also a member of the Rotary Club of Kingsville and serves on the board of directors for several Texas associations, including the Texas Association of Community Schools — where she serves as legislative chair — and the Texas Association of Latin American Supervisors. In addition to that, Reynolds-Perez was also elected president of the Regional Advisory Committee, where she helps provide assistance and guidance to the Education Service Center.
With her many years in various leadership roles, Reynolds-Perez explained that she loves being able to guide students on their future path, knowing that she serves as an instrumental part in shaping their success.
"You don't realize it until maybe years later that kids will remember something you told them or remember some advice you gave them, and that really resonates, because it's the power of words,” she said. “One of our staff members reminded me of something I had told him, (which was) ‘Don't ever let anyone tell you your worth. Believe in yourself,’ and it was a great reminder of how, you know, as a teacher or as a principal, the words you say to your students are powerful.”
She added that while being a female leader can have its challenges, she advises other women to always lean on God and to always have a core group of family and friends to lean on when times get tough.
“You need to have people you can talk to that can kind of give your mind a break,” she added. “That way you can come back refreshed. Have a solid team that you can count on and that has the same vision as you ... United, we stand; divided, you fall. I always say teamwork works — and it's so true, as long as you have a team that works.”
Dr. Cecilia ‘Cissy’ Reynolds-Perez: 'United we stand’
Women are an essential force in shaping every aspect of society, from schools to the workplace and everywhere in between. In honor of International Women’s Month this March, Kingsville Monthly Magazine is proud to introduce three prominent women, who have dedicated their lives to the community and have served as inspirational leaders to those around them. As a minister, superintendent and business owner, Rev. Idotha Battle, Dr. Cecilia “Cissy” Reynolds-Perez and Lucy Camarillo have proved that even in the face of adversity, women will continue to rise and thrive — and there is nothing they can’t do.
Rev. Idotha Battle:
‘Angel in Kingsville’
BY ASHLEY TERRY
As a nurse, minister and former college instructor, Rev. Idotha Battle is living proof that women can do anything they put their mind to — especially when they feel a certain calling from God.
After retiring from Ingleside as an occupational health nurse in 2016, Battle became an instructor for the LVN course at Coastal Bend College. It wasn’t until a couple years ago though that she finally hung up her minister’s robe when she retired from St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church — her third time retiring.
“For a mature person, I’m pretty energetic,” Battle said, with a chuckle. “I’m married, I’ve got four kids, 17 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. That’s prime for me to be able to live this long and still be able to do all of that.”
Even with retirement though, Battle vowed she would never be the type of person to sit around and do nothing — and that’s exactly why she started volunteering with various community groups.
“I worked with the Women in Ministry and with the Kingsville Men and Women in Ministry, and then it became the Kingsville Ministerial Alliance, where we're still active today,” Battle said. “I enjoyed all the civic clubs that I could after I retired, so that I could be a part of the community, because all you can know is what you know, and when you want to learn more, you got to venture out.”
Battle became a member of the Rotary Club of Kingsville and the Kingsville Lions Club. In 2023, she was also named the new president of the Kingsville Crime Stoppers.
If that wasn’t enough, she also established a scholarship pageant called the DIVA (Divinely Inspired Virtuous Angels) Association of Kingsville, which is a nonprofit organization geared toward helping youth succeed in both school and in their personal lives.
Battle said it was her joy to establish the DIVA Association but credits her parents for instilling that dedication in her to succeed academically.
“The people in my community worked together with my mom, because my mom had five kids, and I was the oldest,” she said. “They did all they could pulling, raking, and scraping to be able to get me money to go to college. With that love, I had a sensitivity for that and wanted to help young people. I want the girls to take pride in themselves ... and we teach them about helping the community.”
Through the DIVA association, Battle utilizes certain skills from her faith-driven life and her busy career to change the lives of local youth.
"My part as a nurse and my part as a minister come together, being a little angel in Kingsville and making things happen,” she said. “Until I cannot, I will find something to do and try to do it to the best of my ability.”
Though Battle has had a few challenges serving as a female leader throughout her career, one piece of advice she wants other women to follow is to: “get outside of yourself.”
"When you reach out to help somebody else — if you love God and you love other people — then you'll find things to do, even if it's just filling out a card to send to the nursing home,” she said. “If you just have a positive mind and stand firm, you can accomplish anything. People can say what they want about you, but you don't have to let it be true, and you don't have to stop being you.”
Lucy Camarillo: Stocking supplies, sharing support
BY ASHLEY TERRY
For Lucy Camarillo, the only thing more plentiful than her office supplies is her never-ending passion for volunteering and giving back to the community.
Since 1987, Camarillo has been the owner of Tejas School and Office Supply in Kingsville. From highlighting ideas to crossing off items on her to-do list, Camarillo has been penning a name for herself in the office supply business — leaving no sticky-note unturned in the process.
While she didn’t originally intend to become a business owner, the opportunity presented itself when she was working for Texaco and realized supplies were constantly running out.
In need of an office supply store to depend on, Camarillo enlisted the help of a neighbor and decided to open her own store in Fremont.
Though she encountered a few bumps along the way, her business began to flourish with success and eventually led to the opening of a second store in Kingsville.
With the struggle operating two stores, however, she eventually decided to close the Fremont location in 1994 and officially planted roots in Kingsville in 2001.
Since then, Tejas School and Office Supply has become such a community staple — literally — and has allowed Camarillo to form lasting connections with several residents.
“I'm trying to downsize now because I really, really need to retire ... but I enjoy people,” she said. “I was with a customer, and she was telling me that her mother used to come and buy from me ... I remember her well, and I thought she used to have such a beautiful smile ... That lady has been gone for 12 years, but I still remember her. Now the daughters are coming to buy from me.”
While her customers have definitely left a lasting impression on her, Camarillo has also played a huge part in shaping the lives of her younger female employees.
"I had three or four girls that I can truthfully say I would trust them with my life because they were very honest and I've given them high recommendations,” she said. “The majority of them have done very well on their own. Some of them have their own businesses, some of them have worked for major banks, some of them have become teachers. They've even become principals and superintendents in their school districts, so I feel like they learned something when they were here with me — and I feel good about that, because I feel like, ‘Oh, those are my kids.’”
Though she made sure to leave her mark as a business owner, Camarillo has also lent her support as a volunteer to several organizations, helping out with local churches and using her accountant background to serve as treasurer for Kingsville Crime Stoppers, Brush Country CASA, DIVA Association of Kingsville and the Kingsville Noon Lions Club.
In fact, her dedication to the community is so strong that she didn’t even go to the hospital for several hours after breaking her knee in 2020 — because volunteering for the Lions Club was just too important to interrupt.
"We were having a district meeting here, and they were going to (award) scholarships ... and I broke my knee doing that,” she said. “I was volunteering when I stumbled and fell, and I still continued. I broke it about 10:30 in the morning and I didn't go to the hospital until about three o'clock that afternoon. I got there and they told me, ‘You got a broken knee, lady.’”
Since the accident occurred during the middle of the pandemic, Camarillo never received physical therapy and has had to force herself to slow down due to the constant pain.
"As you can tell, that's been my life,” she said. “I volunteer here, and I volunteer there. I was precinct chair of my precinct at one time, until, like I said, I broke my knee, and I thought, ‘I can’t be moving and having meetings,’ so I gave that up too.”
While Camarillo may be close to retiring and has stopped volunteering for all but two organizations, she hopes to instill that same go-getter energy in other women that she was lucky enough to find in herself.
“If you have it in you, and you can do it, and you can manage it, do it,” she said. “I enjoyed my life. I did probably (work) to the max and sometimes even (beyond) the max, but I had fun doing it. I have people that helped me at home, as well as here at the store, so it made it easy for me — but if you can do it, do it. It just depends on you and how you feel about it.”