Longtime Diamond Bar High School economics teacher Mary Gaxiola will be seeking greener pastures at the end of this month.

Gaxiola will be moving to Texas with her family. Her husband, who works for the foodservice company Canteen, landed a position there in January.

A week after returning from winter break, Gaxiola spoke with school and district administrators, and she said within a week they had posted a job opening for her position on Edjoin, a job board site for educators.

Even though she will be moving to a new state, Gaxiola said she hopes to continue working in the education industry.

“It’s what I’m most passionate about,” Gaxiola said. “I don’t know exactly my timeline as to when I will be looking for a job, but I know I will stay in the field of education because I love what I do.”

Gaxiola has been teaching economics at DBHS for 11 years and AP Economics for eight. She will be succeeded by Melissa Wilson, a DBHS class of 2010 alumna.

Over the course of her time on campus, Gaxiola said she has grown close to the staff members she works with.

“I love my co-workers,” Gaxiola said. “They’re not just people I smile and wave at in the hallways. I have lunch with them, I know them and their families, we hang out outside.”

Gaxiola said she will also miss the bonds she has formed with her students.

“I have such a commitment to my students and such a good connection,” Gaxiola said. “I feel that I’m letting people down, and that part is hard.”

Gaxiola said the worst part of the past two months has been keeping her students in the dark about her departure, which she revealed in class on Feb. 13.

“This whole thing has been just a roller coaster of emotions, from happy to sad to excited to anxious,” Gaxiola said. “The night before I had to tell my students, I didn’t sleep because it has been so hard keeping a secret. As much as it was difficult having that conversation, it also at the end of the day felt like a huge load had been lifted.”