At the Northside Education Foundation annual gala, the guests of honor are homegrown.
Six outstanding graduates of Northside ISD were honored as the 2008 "Pillars of Character" at the NEF black-tie gala, held earlier this week at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort. The annual gala raises money to fund innovative classroom programs through teacher grants.
This year's Pillars include a composer, engineer, college softball coach, energy executive, U.S. Army major, and an expert on wildlife research, all dedicated to improving the lives of others.
For the last decade, NEF has selected six NISD alumni and living role models to represent a character trait that is taught in Northside classrooms as part of the District's character curriculum. The six Pillars of Character are: responsibility, citizenship, respect, fairness, caring, and trustworthiness.
Teachers weave lessons about the Pillars into activities throughout the year, and the Pillars themselves also make classroom visits. Posters of the honorees are hung in 6,000 classrooms across the District to remind students that everyone has the potential to be a Pillar of Character - and a classroom celebrity.
The following NISD alumni are the 2008 Pillars of Character:
Pillar of Caring: Charles "Chuck" Booker, Jay High School Class of 1970
Band music composer/conductor
Years after graduating from high school, Chuck Booker returned to his alma mater to ask his former band directors, Dan Schreiber and Al Sturchio, "Are you a musician or a band director?" They replied, "We are teachers." Chuck Booker is that and more. An educator and former U.S. Army Bandmaster, Chuck Booker is also a musician and published composer. While in the U.S. Army Band program, the UTSA alumnus marched in the inaugural parades of President George H.W. Bush and President Bill Clinton and played trumpet at the funerals of Presidents Truman and Johnson. Today, high school, university, and military bands around the world perform his music. Because Chuck Booker cares about the musicians of tomorrow, he currently shares his talent with students as the Director of Bands at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
Pillar of Citizenship: Dr. Geoffrey Orsak, Clark High School Class of 1981
University Engineering School Dean
Since earning his doctorate from Rice University, Geoffrey Orsak has focused his work as Dean of Engineering at Southern Methodist University on his two great passions: reforming U.S. science and engineering education and applying innovation to the critical problems of global development. In 1999, he founded the Infinity Project, an award-winning national program in engineering education that today operates in 40 states and six countries. This, along with his work in encouraging women to pursue careers in engineering, earned Dr. Orsak the first-ever Educator of the Year award presented by EE Times magazine. Today, in collaboration with international experts on poverty (like Microsoft's Bill Gates), he has developed a new global initiative to create and deliver ultra low-cost solutions to the problems that affect nearly 1.4 billion world citizens surviving on less than $1 a day. A rare combination of scholar and activist, Geoffrey Orsak demonstrates the ultimate in citizenship.
Pillar of Fairness: Donna Eckert-Fields, Holmes High School Class of 1983
University Softball Coach/Administrator
Being fair and being a winner epitomizes Donna Eckert-Fields. As a child with eight brothers and sisters, the only doll she played with was a sports figure. She grew into such an outstanding teen athlete that St. Mary's University offered her a three-sport scholarship in 1983 for volleyball, basketball, and softball. Following graduation from St. Mary's, she continued her winning ways as a coach at Taft High School for 10 years, and is now head Softball Coach - and senior woman administrator - in the St. Mary's Athletic Department. She is the only St. Mary's Rattler to earn a national championship as both a player (1986) and coach (2002). In 2008, she posted her 500th career win as the head softball coach. She was inducted into the St. Mary's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Holmes High School Hall of Fame in 1999 in recognition of her dedication to increasing opportunities for women.
Pillar of Responsibility: Tony Pelletier, Jay High School Class of 1971
Engineer/Energy Executive/Pilot
Both a "math geek" and a linebacker in high school, Tony Pelletier today is an oil and gas exploration company co-owner and a pilot who flies Angel Flights missions to transport cancer patients and blood and organ donations. Educated at Lackland City Elementary, Rayburn Middle School, and Jay High School, he was elected class President four years in a row and football captain as a senior. A turning point in his life came his junior year when Texas A&M recruited him for a summer National Science Foundation program, and his high school math teacher encouraged him to forego a dead-end summer job to attend. He later graduated from A&M and now is President of Alamo Resources in Houston. A heart attack survivor, Pelletier rides his bike in long-distance (150 miles) races to raise funds for multiple sclerosis research in honor of a fellow Jay graduate. In his spare time, he speaks to high school and college students to encourage them to take responsibility for their futures.
Pillar of Trustworthiness: Maj. Steven Gventer, Clark High School Class of 1988
Wounded Warrior Care Leader
Steven Gventer, a Clark High School scholar and athlete, graduated from Baylor University and was a high school teacher in north Texas until 1997, when patriotism motivated him to enlist in the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School. By 2004, he was a commander in Sadr City, Baghdad's most dangerous neighborhood. Seriously wounded twice, he was awarded two Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars. Next, Maj. Gventer was asked to develop and lead the first U.S. Army Warrior Transition Company at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His attention to the quality of care at Walter Reed and other military hospitals prompted his promotion to Executive Assistant in the Warrior Care and Transition Office of the U.S. Army Surgeon General. America's fighting men and women injured in the line of duty can trust in Maj. Steven Gventer to help them navigate the health care system and get back on their feet - often saving their lives.
Pillar of Respect: Dr. Fred Bryant, Marshall High School Class of 1966
Wildlife Research Institute Director
A true product of Northside, Dr. Fred Bryant recently attended the 42nd reunion of the first-ever state championship team (basketball) from Northside ISD. Prior to attending Marshall High School, he attended Leon Valley Elementary, and Ross and Neff middle schools. Following graduation, he earned degrees from Texas Tech, Utah State, and Texas A&M. To become an expert on wildlife research, endangered species, range management, and environmental issues, Dr. Bryant worked all over the world - from Peru and Bolivia to Morocco and Australia. However, since becoming Director of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M-Kingsville in 1996, he says, "We can be world class without doing research all over the world." Calling South Texas "the last great habitat," Dr. Bryant supervises biological research with respect for the environment: the people, animals, and plants in it.
