The Meadows Foundation recently awarded Lake Highlands High School $5,000 for outstanding volunteer efforts during the 1992-’93 academic school year. The award specifically recognized the Girls Service League project, which raised $20,000 and constructed a house for a family of five in Garrett Park East, a neighborhood in East Dallas.
Lake Highlands High School was among the top eight honorees at the Meadows Foundation Awards for Charitable School Projects last month at the Loews Anatole Hotel.
In all, 99 secondary schools from Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis and Tarrant countries were recognized for volunteer efforts serving North Texas communities.
The schools received a total of $87,250 in awards from the foundation. The top eight received $5,000, and the remaining 91 schools received $500. A special recognition award of $250 went to eight of the 99 schools.
The Girls Service League worked with Dallas Habitat for Humanity to raise money for the East Dallas home, and then put in more than 800 after-school and weekend hours to complete the project.
The school will donate its award to Habitat for construction of other homes in Garrett Park East, and to purchase smoke detectors and construction materials to renovate and secure homes for the elderly in the school’s neighborhood.
“Our goal with this program is that every student in a participating school has the opportunity to do some form of community service and do it meaningfully,” says Eloise Meadows Rouse, vice president and special projects coordinator for the Meadows Foundation.
School projects qualifying for the awards had to be planned, executed and submitted by students under the sponsorship of a school organization and an individual teacher/sponsor.
This year, many schools participated in projects that focused on drug awareness, recycling, counseling elementary students and social service programs.
Jane Goodall Visits Hamilton Park
World-famous animal researcher Jane Goodall recently spent a Saturday talking with the parents and students of Hamilton Park Pacesetter Elementary School.
Goodall explained her work with chimpanzees to a full school auditorium. She then held round-table discussions with students from each grade level and autographed books and T-shirts.
Goodall is a friend of Hamilton Park teacher Mary Beth Dimijian.
Neighborhood Student Visits White House
Chris Cornutt, a Lake Highlands resident and student at Dallas Christian High School, was among a group of students recently honored in Washington by President Bill Clinton. The students were recognized for winning the National Championship Trophy in the second annual U.S. First National Engineering Competition held in New Hampshire earlier this year.
U.S. First (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a nationwide competition pitting radio-controlled “robo athletes” against each other. The robots are designed and built by students with the help of a company sponsor. Dallas Christian’s sponsor for this year’s competition is E-Systems, Inc.
The 10 students representing Dallas Christian were Cornutt, Jorge Diaz, Stan Hammon, Joe Sorrells, Heidi Weatherford, Mindy Lindsay, Angela Singleton, Ryan Presley, Jarrett Allen and Felicia Nabors.
More than 30 E-Systems, Inc., engineers and technicians volunteered more than 3,000 hours to the project. The seven engineers who accompanied the students to the U.S. First competition are Tony Norman, Carl Smith, Dayne Woodall, Chuck Ketcham, Bob Mimlitch, Robert Bruce and Price Ringo.
Area Student Named Ursuline Valedictorian
Lake Highlands resident Mary Preston was named valedictorian for the 1993 graduating class of Ursuline Academy. Preston is the daughter of Robert and Margaret Preston.
Her honors include National Merit Finalist, Brown University Book Award for achievement in English, University of Rochester-Xerox Humanities Award, English Subject Award, National Honor Society, University of Dallas Academic Rally, first place in Latin Oratory, TAPPS Tournament, first place in computer science, AP computer Science Award, NASSP Principal’s Leadership Award, and the Sedes Sapientiae Award, Ursuline’s highest honor.
Preston received a four-year presidential scholarship from Texas A&M University, which she will attend this fall. She plans to major in electrical engineering and English.
