Spring Branch ISD Featured News

In the 1960’s, Shelly Tornquist’s parents moved from Kansas to Texas, specifically to the Spring Branch area because the school district was deemed highly successful. 

Tornquist attended Ridgecrest Elementary and Spring Shadows Elementary before transitioning to Terrace Elementary in fifth grade. She went on to Northbrook Middle and graduated from Northbrook High School (NHS) in 1980.

Tornquist's NHS senior photo. 

Tornquist thanks her father for helping her choose high school classes, which prepared her for life post-graduation. She notes that there were no counselors to guide her at the time and her father encouraged her to take drafting classes throughout her four years in high school, which taught her how to make detailed drawings and models that provide all the technical details needed for assembling and manufacturing physical items. 

Upon graduation, Tornquist was awarded a scholarship from NHS and attended Sam Houston State University where she received a bachelor’s degree of science in Industrial Design. Tornquist began working at Shell Oil as a cartographer and was thrilled to be chosen to be as an operator in the Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) project. She enjoyed the role, but found that something was missing. 

Tornquist operating the mill in one of her college classes. 

“By divine intervention I entered the field of teaching, “ said Tornquist. “I started student-teaching at Spring Oaks Middle in their wood shop. Here I found my love for teaching, and I thank Spring Branch ISD for taking a chance on me.” 

Tornquist transitioned to Stratford High School (SHS), where she taught all the business classes. She notes that she had never typed before and was not familiar with a spreadsheet, but Frazer Dealy, SHS principal at the time, encouraged her to teach the classes. Tornquist taught WordPerfect 5.1, the standard word processor at the time. 

During her third year teaching, SHS wanted to start a CAD program and Tornquist was asked to lead it. 

“I thought I was done with drafting, but it was so much fun to be able to do it again and in my home district!” added Tornquist. “At the time we did not have an information technology person, so I had to figure out how to connect machines and load software.”

After nine years at SHS, Tornquist was asked to join Memorial High School (MHS) to design an engineering program. She introduced Project Lead the Way to SBISD, and MHS became one of the first Texas schools with the national pre-engineering curriculum in 2000. The program grew quickly and came to include various classes including Principles of Engineering, Digital Electronics and Computer Integrated Manufacturing. 

SBISD is committed to instilling in Every Child the belief that they can achieve more than they think possible. SBISD’s T-2-4 vision guides district teachers, schools and teachers as they  assure every graduate attains a technical certificate, military training or a two-year or four-year degree. 

During her 16 years at MHS, Tornquist taught more than 3,000 students and trained over 700 teachers from across the country on how to teach engineering design, as part of Project Lead the Way. She also became a certified Autodesk Evaluator and Trainer and helped lead the nation into incorporating engineering design notebooks.Tornquist also received a grant from the University of Houston, which she utilized to purchase a 3D printer. MHS was one of the first schools in the state with that high technology. 

In 2015, Tornquist received a job posting from a friend. It was a position at Texas A&M University as the Director of PK-12 Engineering Education Outreach. 

“Even though I had never considered leaving SBISD, this opportunity spoke to my heart and encouraged me to move the needle in engineering education in PK-12 across Texas,” said Tornquist. “Now I reach thousands of people through one of the most powerful university systems in the world in the best college of engineering.” 

Tornquist notes that creating her team at Texas A&M could not have been possible without all the people who encouraged her along the way. She thanks her kindergarten teacher Dorothy Greer, who taught her to love learning and to be creative, her Industrial Arts teachers, Gary Johnson, Richard Stephens and Karen Shaffer, who encouraged her when women were rarely found in her field. Tornquist also appreciates all the help her principals provided her and for allowing her the space and freedom to create something great. 

Finally, she is grateful to the SHS and MHS communities who always cheered her on. Tornquist affirms that SBISD will always be her home. 

Tornquist is grateful that her father encouraged her to take drafting classes in high school, as it helped her understand how things are made and how they work. She also mentions that being the only girl drafting and at the machine shop taught her grit and to learn from the experiences that are scary and make you feel out of place. 

The experiences she obtained at NHS helped Tornquist develop SBISD’s Core Characteristics. She is Academically Prepared with a learner’s mindset and is also Persistent and Adaptable, as she persevered through her career with confidence and courage. 

“Who you become is largely based on how you approach the world,” concluded Tornquist. “I like learning new things and being female does not limit me on what I can do. Therefore, I ride a Harley motorcycle, I recently took a welding course and do various other crazy things. I will never not be learning something new. I will also never forget who I am or where I came from. Thank you SBISD!”