Meet Reina Cuzdey | Educator

Hi! I’m Reina with Reina’s Research Retreat, where I teach Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmetic. When it comes down to it, I really just wanted to teach. When I started my business, Reina’s Research Retreat, I was still working on my Associate’s degree. I wanted to teach, but I had my own personal education restriction.

This past year I became a substitute teacher, and I noticed that so many students were struggling with what seemed like these… basic skills: the stuff everyone learns in elementary school. On top of that, it seemed like a lot of students of today have what’s called a “fixed mindset” where they allow what they don’t know to stop them. While lots of students did subconsciously see the value of learning, there were many that didn’t. Those that didn’t, didn’t ask questions nor did they care about the who/what/when/where/why of something. I wanted to make it my personal mission to change that.

For so long I wondered why that was, why the students of today are so different than students 10, even 5, years ago. Instead, I came up with a solution! It was late at night one night, I was trying to think of ways to help my community, and that’s when it hit me! I thought of “Reina’s Research Retreat.”

Over the course of the next few months I developed this plan, this curriculum of sorts, to help students of all ages fill in their foundational gaps.

For starters, I’m currently a college student, a substitute teacher, a tutor, a nanny, and now an instructor at Reina’s Research Retreat. I’m 22 years old, and I believe in hard work and perseverance.

I started Reina’s Research Retreat with 2 main goals in mind: 1. helping the students around me by closing the foundational learning gaps, and 2. rebuilding the bridge between parents and teachers. I believe that a lot of students of today don’t care about school, nor see the value that comes with having an education. I see many high school students around me (while working) who struggle with school, yet the things they struggle with are skills they should already have by the time they get to high school. Several students have confided in me that they feel lost, and haven’t learned anything in years!

That being said, one of the biggest things I can do is remember to just keep my head up. Teaching is a hard profession, and there’s so many things that an educator deals with on the daily that the average person probably couldn’t imagine! Starting a business is really hard, and it’s even harder if your main audience isn’t even interested in what you’re doing.

Here’s a couple lessons I’ve learned over the years:

Narrow your audience: The audience is important. The advertising focus should be where the audience is, or where the main group is. Even though my program is for teenagers, and I tutor students of all ages, I don’t advertise towards that group. I advertise towards parents mainly, because that’s who I need to be interested in the program.

Commitment and perseverance: Working towards a business or towards something greater seems like a lot all at once. This is why when I’m working I always try to do a little bit everyday. It’s extremely important to get into the habit of doing something towards your goals, even if the only thing you do show up. After a few months of 15 minutes or more of work everyday, it’s shocking to see how much progress there is when you finally take a step back.

There’s so many challenges that I’ve had to overcome with this. The first being: I don’t have a space. I’m currently working out of people’s homes, my parent’s home, and the local library. I’m working towards being able to save enough, and grow enough over time to where I could possibly have a seasonal space during the summer months. Other than that, advertising is extremely hard. The amount of flyers I’ve printed and posted is insane! There’s so much hands-on work in regards to advertising, especially when Reina’s Research Retreat is so locally focused. Another obstacle, my online presence! I’ve been working to develop a website beyond a Facebook page, and believe it or not, I’ve had many clients ask if my program is online! I’m currently working to make that happen.

Along the way I’ve learned a couple things, for sure. A lot of people are interested, and a lot more want to offer support but don’t know how. People can show their support by following or liking my page, or by simply getting in contact with me.

Lastly, what do I want people to know about my brand and my story?

Education is the key to everything. I’m Reina’s Research Retreat, where I teach Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmetic. I want to work on closing the foundational gaps, and rebuilding the connection between parents and teachers. Education is so important. Reading, writing, and math is so important. Those three skills are extremely vital in today’s society. I want to be able to reach as many people as possible. I want to help the students of today open up their minds and show them how to utilize the world they have at their fingertips.

I don’t go to into the city often, but when I do…

Breakfast spots/Cafes: Toasted in Fort Worth, Spoons Café in McKinney

Lunch: Mellow Mushroom in McKinney, Jason’s Deli

Dinner: Twisted Root Burger Co.

Drinks: Rodeo Goat in Rockwall, Native Station In Royse City

Hang out: The Church in Dallas, Galleria Mall in Dallas

Other: The Illusion Museum and Globe Life Stadium.

My favorite place to go is Native Station in Royse City, TX. I recommend it to everyone that I meet. It’s a quaint little beer garden. I love it. If you’re driving down route 66, be sure to stop at Native Station!

I recently had the first round of my program, and there’s one student in particular who reminded me of why I do what I do. This student has come a long way since we’ve been working together. Alana is an extremely quick learner who doesn’t even recognize her own abilities. She strongly dislikes school and has spent a lot of her time just getting by. I put her through the works of my curriculum, and there was one day where she just… absolutely surprised me.

We went to the library that day, and we were looking at books about the Prohibition. We were talking about speakeasies, illegal alcohol sales, bootleggers, and eventually we started talking about Al Capone. I had her go online and start reading about him. We’re both reading excerpts from the same webpage, and she sees that he had a wife and son. She’s looking down at her phone, pauses for a second and asks, “Did Al Capone love his family?”

I couldn’t help but smile when she asked this, because I knew in that moment I had finally reached that spot of curiosity inside of her. I was shocked, but in a good way, and I couldn’t help but wonder to myself if she was relating Al Capone’s family to her own family. I knew at that point, I had woken up the “why?” that I’d been searching for this entire time.