April 17, 2003
(DALLAS)
— A former Dallas Cowboy, a novelist, a successful businesswoman, a
licensed commercial pilot, a family doctor, a high school teacher, a
former flight attendant, a "virtual" student and an active civic leader
recently were named the recipients of the 2003 Dallas County Community
College District Distinguished Alumni Awards.
The nine
recipients, who overcame various challenges to succeed in their
respective endeavors, will be recognized at an invitation-only reception
on May 5 in the home of DCCCD Foundation Board Member Marilyn Augur and
her husband, Jim, in Dallas. The reception also will honor DCCCD's
major supporters for the past year.
Introduced in 2002 by the
DCCCD Foundation, the award recognizes former students who have made
significant contributions in the community and in their professions and
who credit DCCCD for having a significant impact on their lives. Each of
the district's nine teaching institutions selects its recipient each
year for this prestigious award.
"These distinguished alumni
serve as our community role models because they have made extraordinary
achievements for themselves and those they serve," said Robert L.
Thornton III, Foundation board chair. "When these outstanding
individuals attribute their accomplishments to the education they
received at one of our colleges, it says a lot about the quality of our
institution, whether it be one class or an entire program."
The 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients and the DCCCD colleges/locations they represent include:
- Julia
Soto Cabrera, El Centro College — Civic leader who has helped to
improve the City of Dallas through her involvement in a number of
causes, most recently through the City of Dallas Charter Review and
Housing Finance Corporation Board committees. Ms. Cabrera graduated from
El Centro in 1983 with an Associate in Arts and Sciences degree.
- Dr.
Guy L. Culpepper, M.D., Eastfield College — A distinguished medical
doctor and family physician who was voted by his peers as "Top Doctor"
in 1992, 2000 and 2002 in D Magazine. Dr. Culpepper has been caring for
families in his private practice, Bent Tree Family Physicians, since
1987. He graduated from Eastfield with honors and an Associate of
Science degree in May 1978 before completing his Doctor of Medicine
degree at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston.
- Mylène
Dressler, Richland College — A novelist whose most recent work, The
Deadwood Beetle (2001), earned national acclaim. A native of the
Netherlands and Dallas Ballet retiree, Ms. Dressler is also a Fulbright
professor and visiting writer at the University of Texas at Austin,
which awarded her the prestigious Paisano Fellowship in Literature. Ms.
Dressler attended Richland in the mid-1980s before transferring to the
University of San Francisco, where she graduated summa cum laude in
1988.
- Valerie Freeman, Brookhaven College — Owner and CEO of
Imprimis Group, Inc., a specialized outsourcing and service company, and
a recognized businesswoman in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. She also
taught at Brookhaven and El Centro and currently serves as vice chair
of the DCCCD Foundation board.
- Amy Lightfoot, R. Jan LeCroy
Center for Educational Telecommunications — A native of Garland, Texas,
who took online courses via the LeCroy Center's Dallas TeleCollege when
she moved to Seattle, Washington. Ms. Lightfoot will receive her
associate's degree this year after taking almost all of her classes
online.
- Andy Mungenast, Cedar Valley College — A licensed
commercial pilot and instructor/coordinator of Cedar Valley's computer
information systems program. After working in the computer industry for
20 years, Mr. Mungenast returned to school to pursue a quality technical
education in DCCCD, earning his associate's degree in computer
information systems at Cedar Valley in 1995.
- Preston Pearson,
Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development — A former Dallas
Cowboys star who, through the Priest Institute, helped launch a
counseling program for NFL players on drug rehabilitation and financial
management. Currently the president/partner of Pro-Style Associates, a
sports marketing and management firm in Dallas, Mr. Pearson has
maintained strong ties with the Priest Institute's Small Business
Development Center, where he attended numerous seminars and counseling
sessions to assist in the development of his business.
- Martin
Rice, North Lake College — A high school teacher for the Lewisville
Independent School District who heads the welding department at LISD's
Dale Jackson Career Center. He has produced a number of award-winning
welding students from LISD's high schools. He also contributes to the
nation's leading welding magazines. After sustaining a disability that
no longer allowed him to continue in his job, Mr. Rice enrolled at North
Lake, where he earned his associate's degree in 1991.
- Raul
Treviño, Mountain View College — A former international flight attendant
who now serves as specialist in professional development and staff
training for Dallas Public Schools. He received his Associate in Arts
degree at Mountain View in 1991 and graduated with honors at Southern
Methodist University in 1993.
|
For more information, please contact Betheny Reid, DCCCD Foundation executive director, at 214-860-2474.