Texas

Texas Tech student operates 3 businesses in Lubbock. Here’s her inspiring story

Published

2 years ago

April 21, 2024

Texas Tech student operates 3 businesses in Lubbock. Here’s her inspiring story

“What is embedded in your DNA?”

That is the first question Natalie Snow, a full-time first-generation Texas Tech student, asks her employees at Lubbock’s HTeaO stores.

“What is in my DNA is taking care of people, and having a passion to serve something greater than me,” Snow said. “Putting a smile on people’s faces has always been something that I’ve been, probably, an advocate for, for so long.”

Snow manages to serve her passion for people as the head of operations for HTeaO in Lubbock, and recently opened the third location. Her job description consists of payroll and back-end business, but she also trains her managers and helps in every aspect from cleaning to making tea alongside her team.

“I’m never going to ask (my team) to do something if I can’t do it myself,” Snow said. “I think there’s not many managers nowadays who have that mindset.”

Snow, who graduated from Monterey High School in 2020, has become an inspiration to her team, and both her current and former educators. She started working when she was 15, became an HTeaO manager at 19, then took over as head of operations at 21, all while attending classes.

“If you were to ask me when I was in high school, I would have never thought that I’d be doing this,” Snow said.

Snow’s success is not unexpected, according to one of her Texas Tech instructors and her Monterey orchestra director.

“She’s just like her grades in my class – straight A’s,” said Jazmine Brantley, a lecturer at Texas Tech. “Hustling to take notes, Natalie shows an eagerness to learn, but it’s not to just pass the course. It’s to perfect her own skillsets so she’s an unstoppable leader as she embarks on her journey.”

Brett Berridge, Monterey orchestra director, felt that even in high school, Snow would become an inspiring leader.

“Whether it was in class or in small ensembles, she showed she wasn’t going to ever give less than her best – so she proved every day how she had the will to never give up,” Berridge said. “To see the way Natalie has stepped back in to help support Lubbock ISD at every turn has been something pretty special. Any time I’ve asked for help, she not only says, “YES!”, but she asks about the next step and how we can go even bigger to get even more bang from her support.”

From groceries to leading operations: Here’s how Snow’s path to leadership began at age 15

Snow started working when she was 15 years old, first at Market Street, then Chick-Fil-A, while also attending Monterey High School.

“I got exposed to tons of leaders and managers, and that’s where my leadership grew,” Snow said. “I loved (HTeaO) as a customer. I looked around and thought, ‘I could work here.’ At the time, I never imagined this is what it would come to in a short two-and-a-half years.”

By 19, she interviewed for the assistant manager position at HTeaO on Milwaukee Avenue. Two weeks later, the general manager quit, and her superior asked Snow if she wanted to move up.

“It put me in a really difficult spot, but I’m always up for a challenge,” Snow said. “I was kind of nervous, but I took it on and excelled up. It kind of came to luck for me, but it was the hard work that I put in to get where I’m at now.”

She continued to take the initiative, creating her own position as the marketing director for Lubbock’s operations. When her superior stepped down, Snow moved up once more to become the area’s head of operations.

“He said ‘the only person I trust is you with this business,’” Snow said. “I was 21 when I took it on, so it’s been a wild ride.”

Part of that wild ride caused her to change her former STEM major to business in her junior year of college.

“After getting the marketing director position, I found a niche for digital marketing, community involvement, donation, everything that goes into marketing,” Snow said. “It took a couple tears to have to switch my major as a junior out of the blue, but I’ve loved it. It was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made.”

The decision also continues to improve her HTeaO team, as she can take what she learns at Tech and share it with her employees.

“When we have our management meetings, I’m able to tell them about what we’re learning,” Snow said. “And I use it in what we’re talking about, and what we’re going through. It provides a knowledge base, and adds more of that education to people who wouldn’t normally get it.”

Trailblazing a path for women leaders

Her experience as a young leader has encouraged her to give other women the same opportunities. All of her managers are women under the age of 25, and Snow trains them by using information she continues to learn at Texas Tech.

“Some people will say (19-year-olds), they’re not ready to handle a business,” Snow said. “We like to break those standards and say any 19-year-old can do it. I’m a believer in growing the future of young female leaders and business leaders.”

Customers often see these leaders-in-training behind the counter at Lubbock’s HTeaO locations – 6704 Milwaukee Ave., 2616 50th St., and 5105 98th Street. Two of those leaders include General Manager Kayden Crawford, who has been friends with Snow since middle school, and Assistant Manager Jadyn Morris.

“She really is inspiring, and she showed us that it is possible for women to get up there in business,” Crawford said. “She’s actually the reason I transferred to the business major as well.”

Morris agreed that Snow is an inspiration, and attributed Snow with helping her come out of her shell.

“I started building those relationships with my coworkers, and I feel like it was really because she got me out of my shell, make me more susceptible to seeing myself in a management position,” Morris said. “I want to be a good manager and leader like her.”

Snow’s advice for upcoming leaders and managers: ‘Go for it.’

“My advice, especially management majors that I’ve met along my way, is to go out there and get the experience,” Snow said. “Make sure you know how to treat people, how to talk to people, and what’s in the best interest for (your employees), not just yourself or your business.”

Snow’s advice also included:

Have confidence.
Prove why you are the one for the position.
Do the not-so-fun things.
Treat people right.
Network.
Go for the big position.
Follow your passion.
Find a company that aligns with your values.
Be ethical.

“If you’re feeling the same way that I did when I was younger and you want to make an impact but don’t know where to start, start with what’s embedded in your DNA,” Snow said. “We need more leaders in this world, especially strong female leaders.”

Source link

Click to comment

Texas

SMU secures commitment from Texas A&M transfer TE Theo Melin Öhrström

Published

11 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

SMU secures commitment from Texas A&M transfer TE Theo Melin Öhrström

One of the biggest questions facing Rhett Lashlee and his SMU football program this offseason is how the Mustangs will replenish the tight end position.

Not only did SMU’s tight ends coach leave, but the Mustangs are losing their top four tight ends from the 2025 roster. RJ Maryland, Matthew Hibner and Stone Eby all graduated and redshirt sophomore Adam Moore entered the transfer portal.

SMU began its rebuild of the tight ends room with a commitment from Texas A&M transfer Theo Melin Öhrström.

Melin Öhrström entered the portal on Dec. 26 after four years with the Aggies. The Stockholm, Sweden native appeared in 40 games for Texas A&M, catching 29 balls for 352 yards and three touchdowns. In 2025, the 6-foot-6, 257-pound tight end made four starts and caught 19 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown.

Melin Öhrström redshirted in 2022, so he has one year of eligibility remaining and will have a chance to secure a bigger role during his final collegiate season. He chose the Mustangs over Houston, Kansas State and Auburn

Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Find more SMU coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Source link

Texas

Arizona State transfer RB Raleek Brown commits to Texas

Published

23 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Arizona State transfer RB Raleek Brown commits to Texas

Recruiting a running back out of the NCAA transfer portal wasn’t clean and simple after the winter window opened last week, but the Texas Longhorns were able to land a huge commitment from Arizona State transfer Raleek Brown on Thursday.

The 5’9, 196-pounder has one season of eligibility remaining.

Texas offered Brown out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana (Calif.) when he was a top-100 prospect in the 2022 recruiting class. A consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 3 running back nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings, Brown committed to home-state USC without taking any other official visits.

Brown’s career with the Trojans didn’t go as planned, however — after flashing as a freshman with 227 yards on 42 carries (5.4 avg) with three touchdowns and 16 receptions for 175 yards (10.97 avg) and three touchdowns, Brown moved to wide receiver as a sophomore and only appeared in two games, recording three catches for 16 yards and a touchdown.

Wanting to play running back again, Brown transferred to Arizona State in 2024, but was limited by a hamstring injury to 48 yards of total offense.

In 2025, though, Brown finally had his breakout season with 186 carries for 1,141 yards and four touchdowns, adding 34 receptions for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Brown forced 53 missed tackles last season, 67 percent of the total missed tackles forced by Texas running backs, and more than half of his rushing yardage came after contact.

Brown ran a sub 4.5 40-yard dash and sub-11 100-meter dash in high school and flashed that explosiveness with runs of 75 yards and 88 yards in 2025, so Brown brings the speed that the Longhorns need with 31 yards over 10 yards, as well as proven route-running and pass-catching ability.

At Arizona State, the scheme leaned towards gap runs, but Brown has the skill set to be an excellent outsize zone back if Texas head coach Steve Sarksian decides that he wants to major in that scheme once again.

With one running back secured from the portal, the question becomes whether Sarkisian and new running backs coach Jabbar Juluke want to add a big-bodied back to the roster or are comfortable with rising redshirt sophomore Christian Clark and incoming freshman Derrek Cooper handling that role.

Source link

Texas

Texas leaders react to fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Texas leaders react to fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

article

Texas lawmakers are lighting up social media with opinions about the fatal shooting of a woman in a car in Minneapolis by an ICE officer on Wednesday morning.

Reports from officers differ drastically from those of uninvolved eyewitnesses — the official DHS stance is self-defense against a “domestic terrorist,” while bystanders tell a story of an innocent woman trying to leave peacefully.

The political internet arena Texas is divided along party lines. Republicans generally condemn Minnesota leaders’ reactions to the shooting, while Democrats are calling for ICE to be investigated for the possible murder of a civilian by an anonymous officer.

Texas Republicans react

Among the most vocal of the Texas GOP members after Wednesday’s shooting, U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Houston) was quick to question Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s dismay at the incident. Hunt posted the following to X, formerly Twitter:

“We’ve hit a breaking point in this country when an ICE officer is rammed by a lunatic in an SUV and the Mayor of Minneapolis responds not with condemnation, but by telling federal law enforcement to “get the f*ck out!”

UNITED STATES – JANUARY 22: Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Hunt, currently in the running for U.S. Senate, later reposted a Fox News video of Gov. Tim Walz’ reaction. Hunt compared Walz to Jefferson Davis before posting a full statement later in the evening that reads, in part, as follows:

“The radical left isn’t turning the temperature down, they’re cranking it to 450 degrees. When leaders normalize this kind of rhetoric, the outcome isn’t hypothetical. It’s dangerous. It’s reckless. And it puts lives at risk. If violence follows, responsibility doesn’t belong to the officers enforcing the law, it belongs to the politicians who lit the fuse.”

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz was more to the point with his criticism of Minnesota leaders, reposting a different video of Walz and referencing the recent fraud scandal within the state.

Walz in the video said Minnesota is “at war with the federal government.” Cruz replied, “Is that why y’all stole $9 billion?”

Texas Democrats react

The other side:

State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin), another candidate for the same U.S. Senate seat as Hunt, rang in from the other side of the aisle.

“At our town hall last night, I called for a full investigation into ICE,” Talarico said in his post on X. “Today, an ICE agent shot and killed a civilian. We should haul these masked men before Congress so the world can see their faces.”

State Representative James Talarico, a Democrat from Texas and US Senate candidate, during a campaign event in Houston, Texas, US, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. Talarico is jumping into the Democratic primary for US Senate in Texas, taking on a former

Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, yet another Senate hopeful, also expressed his ire for the actions in Minneapolis.

“As a civil rights attorney, I’m outraged by today’s ICE shooting in Minnesota that took a woman’s life,” Allred said on X. “No family should lose a loved one this way. No community should live in this fear. ICE has become a rogue agency — operating recklessly, terrorizing communities, and now taking lives. To every community terrorized by these tactics: I see you. I stand with you. And I won’t stop fighting until you’re safe.”

Minneapolis fatal ICE shooting

The backstory:

An ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning.

Federal officials are claiming the agent acted in self-defense, but Minnesota leaders disagree. The shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. in the area of East 34th Street and Portland Avenue. The woman died at the hospital.

Witnesses told FOX Local that a woman got into a red vehicle and there was one ICE agent on either side of the vehicle trying to get in, and a third ICE agent came and tried to yank on the driver’s side door. One of the agents on the driver’s side door backed away, and then opened fire, shooting three times through the driver’s side window, witnesses said. One witness said the vehicle wasn’t moving toward the agents. However, federal officials said ICE officers were “conducting targeted operations” when “rioters” blocked officers. One of the “rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”

Officials said an ICE officer who was “fearing for his life” fired “defensive shots” to save himself and his officers, killing the woman.

A video of the shooting shows a red Honda Pilot blocking the roadway as an ICE squad approaches. When agents approach the vehicle, the Pilot attempts to drive away, moving towards an agent. When that happens, the agent fires three shots at the driver. Police say the driver was struck in the head. The agent appears to mostly avoid the vehicle as it speeds past and ends up crashing into a parked vehicle.

The Source: Information in this report comes from public statements made by Texas lawmakers on social media. Background comes from FOX 9 coverage in Minneapolis.

Texas PoliticsU.S.Texas

Source link