Cassie Gonzales, a Chemical Dependency Counseling graduate from Texas State Technical College, now works as a reentry case manager for The Way Forward, T.A.M.A.R. (Photo courtesy of Cassie Gonzales.)

(RED OAK, Texas) – Not content with her degree in business, Cassie Gonzales, of Waxahachie, took inspiration from her past and enrolled in Texas State Technical College to change lives.

“Because of the things that happened in my past, I wanted to do Chemical Dependency Counseling and specifically work with people coming out of prison,” she said.

Being a mother of five children with a full-time job, Gonzales appreciated the convenience of the online TSTC program. Though meeting deadlines could still be a challenge, she dedicated her spare time to her education with help from her husband.

“Honestly, if online wasn’t available, I probably wouldn’t have done it,” Gonzales said about her time at TSTC.

A few months into her education, Gonzales began working as a reentry case manager for nonprofit The Way Back, which would later transition to The Way Forward, T.A.M.A.R. after being acquired by the T.A.M.A.R. Behavioral Health and Resource Center in Dallas. She achieved her desire to work with those coming out of prison.

“I’ve been to juvenile jail, and it’s good to be able to help them see that there is a way out and that they’re capable of doing it,” Gonzales said. “I probably wouldn’t have been able to get this job if I hadn’t already been enrolled in school for this.”

Ivy Delong, one of TSTC’s Chemical Dependency Counseling instructors, said the work Gonzales does leaves a positive impact on clients, their families, and communities across Texas.

“To know that she is working in the field and with a population of individuals for whom not everyone has a calling to work is truly honorable,” Delong said. “This type of work breaks cycles in families, which is what we hope for as counselors.”

Gonzales received her Associate of Applied Science degree in Chemical Dependency Counseling from TSTC in December 2025. She hopes to one day become a director of a nonprofit organization or open one of her own.

“You have to use your pain for purpose,” Gonzales said. “We don’t go through things just to go through them; we go through them for a reason. You have to use that stuff to give to others.”

According to onetonline.org, substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors earn a median annual salary of $60,630 in Texas, where the number of jobs was projected to grow 27% between 2022 and 2032.

Chemical Dependency Counseling is available exclusively online. The program offers an associate degree and two certificates of completion.

For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.