As a child and young adult, I grew up in Weslaco, Texas as Monica Denise Zepeda. The daughter of Adrian and Josie Zepeda, my brother, Adrian, and I were raised in a middle class family who supported and encouraged the value of education, which is the reason I am who I am today and do exactly what I love to do........TEACH/COACH.

I realized early on in my high school career that I wanted to be a coach. Being influenced by a few coaches and their impact on my life is what led me to decide that I, too, wanted to impact kid's lives through sports. After graduating from Weslaco High School, I attended the University of Texas Pan American where I earned a bachelor of science degree in Education.

I started my teaching career in 1999 at Lyford Consolidated Independent School District in Lyford, Texas where I taught physical education and coached for three years. Getting started in such a small community was such a great place to start my career. LCISD was and will always be a community I call family.

After my three years in Lyford, Texas, I made the move back home to teach/coach at the Weslaco Independent School District. I married my high school sweetheart, Sergio Martinez, who also works for the Weslaco district as a teacher and football coach. My husband and I are the proud parents of three boys, Sergio Sebastian, Andres Alberto, and Marco Mateo. With "boys being boys," they surely keep us on our toes, but definitely are the love of our lives.