Former Jag named Deputy Emergency Coordinator
Former University of Houston-Victoria softball player Jena West has never been one to shy away from hard work.
Following a very active college career at UHV, West has been busy working hard to keep the Victoria community safe as an employee with the Victoria County Public Health Emergency Management Department.
After serving a little over three years at the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, she was recently named to the Deputy Emergency Coordinator position with the Victoria Office of Emergency Management.
She will continue to be responsible for preparing, preventing and responding to potential natural and man-made emergencies through planning, development and staff training, only a larger scale.
“I am totally 100 percent excited about this position,” said West, who was a member of the UHV softball team in 2012 and 2013.
“I’ll be reporting directly to the emergency management coordinator for both the city and county,” said West. “We will be working closely with first responders to help them out in times of crisis and will be wearing a lot of different hats. Our main goal is to make sure everyone is talking the same language and are on the same page during emergencies.”
West was a member of the Jaguars’ 2013 Association of Independent Institutions Conference softball championship team and also served as Student Government President from 2012-2013.
During her two-year career as a member of the Jaguars softball team, she compiled a .338 batting average, a .401 slugging percentage and a .424 on-base percentage in 64 games. She finished with 30 RBI, 26 runs, five doubles and two triples.
She was recognized as a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete in 2012 and 2013, and the UHV Dean’s List on three occasions.
“I’m proud of Jena’s success and this highlights what a destination university is all about and the role athletics plays in that,” said UHV athletics director Ashley Walyuchow. “We recruited Jena to come to UHV and Victoria as a softball student-athlete and upon graduation she decided to pursue her career in Victoria, put down roots, and help Victoria grow. She is one of many who have done the same in Victoria.”
The Missouri City native had no problem juggling her softball and education career as she earned a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice and Homeland and International Security from UHV.
West said her involvement at UHV help paced the way for her career.
“The uniqueness of the classes and smaller class sizes allowed for more interaction with the professors and that was a big factor in showing you how well you could work and interact with other people,” said West.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
