Student Achievements: Celebrate These

Mia Barnett (Courtesy Photo)

1. Super service

Members of the Mockingbird Chapter of the National Charity League in the last year contributed 8,998 hours of community service to Dallas philanthropy partners working in crisis and violence intervention, education, elderly and animal support, and poverty and hunger prevention.

NCL, a nonprofit focused on philanthropy and leadership development, fosters mother-daughter relationships by providing opportunities for community service.

The Mockingbird Chapter boasts about 275 members, including girls in grade seven to 12 from Highland Park and Lake Highlands high schools; E.D. Walker Middle School; Christ the King St. Monica, St. Patrick, St. Rita, and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic schools; Lakehill Preparatory School, Dallas Lutheran School, and Ursuline Academy.

During its Celebration of Service on Sept. 16 at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church, the chapter also honored Mia Barnett, a senior at Dallas Lutheran School in Dallas and daughter of Laura and Dan Barnett.

With 150 hours of community service, she won the Merci Award as the Chapter Ticktocker who completed the most individual philanthropic service hours. To learn more, visit nationalcharityleague.org/chapter /mockingbird.

2. Rocket girl

The Hockaday School’s Sydney Slay went to space camp in Huntsville, Alabama again – this time for the Advanced Space Academy this summer.

The 16-year-old even earned college credit, her mother said. Introduction to Space Science (ESS 100), a one-hour course from The University of Alabama in Huntsville, will transfer to other schools, Alicia Slay said.

Sydney, a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) enthusiast who participates on a robotics team at Hockaday, has spent parts of several summers at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, where she’s participated in mission simulations. She couldn’t go last year because of the pandemic.

One year she got an idea of what it might be like on a lunar mission through the center’s one-sixth gravity chair. This year she learned to scuba dive.

She is now eligible to attend the Elite Space Academy next year. 

3. Fairway to Success siblings

A couple of 2021 Thomas Jefferson High School (TJ) graduates followed their siblings’ footsteps and earned Deloitte/NTPGA Fairway to Success scholarships.

In all, seven 2021 Dallas ISD high school graduates received the scholarships.

FROM LEFT: Erin Crittendon (Carter), Alejandra Resendez (TJ), Noelia Espinosa (TJ), and Mykielia Lovgren (Lincoln), plus (from Samuel) Catalina Salazar, Analee Loredo, and Antonio Segura.

Espinosa, the sibling of 2018 recipient Elia Espinosa, is pursuing a degree in hospitality management at the University of North Texas at Dallas, where she received a full, four-year scholarship as part of the Fairway to Success program.

Alejandra Resendez, the sibling of 2019 recipient Miriam Resendez-Ortiz, is pursuing a degree in nursing at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her scholarship: $20,000.

The Fairway to Success program awards scholarships based on academic performance, extracurricular activities, community involvement, and financial need and introduces students to golf and the life lessons of discipline, honor, and integrity. 

Share this article...
Email this to someone
email
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

William Taylor

William Taylor, editor of Park Cities People and Preston Hollow People, shares a name and a birthday with his dad and a love for community journalism with his colleagues at People Newspapers. He joined the staff in 2016 after more than 25 years working for daily newspapers in such places as Alexandria, Louisiana; Baton Rouge; McKinney; San Angelo; and Sherman, though not in anywhere near that order. A city manager once told him that “city government is the best government” because of its potential to improve the lives of its residents. William still enjoys covering municipal government and many other topics. Follow him on Twitter @Seminarydropout. He apologizes in advance to the Joneses for any angry Tweets that might slip out about the Dallas Cowboys during the NFL season. You also can reach him at [email protected]. For the latest news, click here to sign up for our newsletter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.