SAN ANGELO, Texas- When Martha Saucedo first began her career, she was a housekeeper, and now, she’s making an impact on the children of our future.

“When I went off to college, life happened. I came back and found myself as a single mom. I didn’t have my education at the time and I did what was natural to me. I took a job cleaning,” said Saucedo, a Remarkable Women nominee.

A woman she met while cleaning houses pushed and financed for Saucedo to go back to college. After that, she took a teaching job at Brady high.

“My assistant superintendent called and we had a position available at Brady High School for family consumer science. She mentioned Martha’s name and said do you know her? I said hire her now,” said Dr. Hector Martinez, former principal of Brady High School.

Saucedo was a powerhouse taking on 5 different classes, and becoming the golf coach. The work paid off as she became the 2016 Texas Teacher of the Year. The Assistant Principal at the time, Eric Bierman tells us why he chose her.

“The relationships is the thing. You can know all the stuff you want to know, every book, and everything but its not all that matters. It’s the relationship you have with the kids,” said Bierman.

“We have 330,000+ teachers and I can tell you right now they all do what I do. They’re amazing and for me to be recognized in that way, I don’t know what to say,” said Saucedo.

Her teachers from Menard High School tell us the love she had for English shined through and propelled her to where she is today.

“When she would analyze literature, when she would write essays, magic just came out in her words, it was like poetry,” said Laura Austin, Saucedo’s Junior English Teacher.

They’re quite proud to see her follow in their footsteps.

“So very proud! We always love it when our students become teachers,” said Betty Jackson, Saucedo’s Freshman/Sophomore English Teacher.

She is now an education specialist at Region 15 and a catalyst in the ascension of the Rise and Teach Conference, which is offered to 46 counties to encourage high school students to go into education careers.

“I hope I’m not disrespectful when I say this but not everybody can be a teacher. It’s a calling and if there is a kid in a high school right now that wants to be a teacher, we want to support them and grow that passion and that love because we need good teachers,” said Saucedo.

Life was tough for single mother Saucedo but she is now working on her Doctorate and her love for education has pushed her 25-year-old son to get his degree from Angelo State University.