Spring Branch ISD Featured News

At Memorial High School (MHS), Suzette Holiday prepares future welders, auto technicians, and construction managers with the essential safety knowledge they need to succeed. 

She leads the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) course for her campus, part of a new course offering available this year at each of SBISD's high school campuses.

This gateway course equips students with foundational safety skills and serves as a pathway into two new programs launching at the Guthrie Center in the 2026–2027 school year: Welding and Automotive Technology.

As the department chair of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program at MHS, Holiday considers the new course essential, especially as more students explore trades as potential career options. Her aim is to present the material in interactive ways. with an approach that is intentionally flexible and hands-on.

“Students don’t learn by reading slides. They need more engaging ways to learn, especially the critical topics covered in OHSA,” she said. “I don’t want them memorizing and spitting back definitions. I want them to recognize danger in real life, to understand why you put locks on a breaker, or how a glove can save a finger.” 

This is why Holiday’s typical class includes a warm-up, a short video, a hands-on activity, followed by a guided discussion. As she shapes the course material, she works to align every activity with OSHA’s required safety topics, including bloodborne pathogens, electrical hazards, fall protection, and “caught in between” hazards, commonly found on job sites. 

But in her classroom, Holiday teaches more than safety protocols. She teaches confidence, responsibility, and compassion. She often refers to herself as her students’ “other mother,” a role she clearly takes to heart. 

“Teaching OSHA isn’t just about hard hats and hazard signs. It’s about caring enough to make sure students get to build successful and safe futures,” she said. 

The OSHA course directly supports SBISD’s T-2-4 vision, which prepares students for success in technical training, military service, or two- or four-year degrees. It also affirms SBISD’s standing as a two-time CTE District of Distinction recognized by the Career and Technical Association of Texas (CTAT).

“SBISD works hard to create relationships with their students and give them every opportunity to succeed,” she said. “They understand that each student has a different learning style and their own unique paths.”

Although Holiday did not set out to be a teacher, she is glad that life led her into the classroom. With eight years of teaching under her belt, she clearly enjoys it, saying that kids keep you “on your toes” and force you to grow. She particularly enjoys teaching the OSHA class because it pushes her to connect real life with the curriculum every day. 

While this is just the first year of OSHA in SBISD, Holiday hopes the program will expand, especially as more students show interest in skilled trades. 

“They may just be kids now, but they are also our future generation of workers, and we need to make sure they are adequately prepared,” she said.

Learn more about CTE in SBISD here.