For immediate release — July 18, 2008
(DALLAS) — Evans Pierre of Dallas believes he must set an example for his children. He knows that they will remember how he balanced working, attending college, visiting their schools and volunteering in his church in order to meet the priorities he has set for his life. As a nontraditional (25 and older) student at Mountain View College, he knows that resources are limited for now, but Pierre and his wife agree that his investment in higher education now will improve their family’s future in the years ahead.
Pierre’s dedication to school, family and work — and his volunteer efforts with the sick and needy at church — helped ease his financial burden at home when he received the 2008 Dr. Wright Lassiter Jr. BKM Scholarship, which honors the Dallas County Community College District’s chancellor. The scholarship was established in 2006 by BKM Total Office of Texas, a Dallas-based office furnishings company. Pierre was awarded the $2,500 scholarship during a recent higher education seminar held at BKM’s corporate offices in Dallas.
The scholarship is administered by the DCCCD Foundation and funded by BKM.
Pierre says, “My first academic goal at Mountain View College is to earn certificates in the discipline of business, as well as human resources and supervision. Then I plan to continue my education at Mountain View and pursue a double major in business administration and speech communication. My goal eventually is to enroll at the University of North Texas (at their Dallas campus), earn a bachelor’s degree in organizational behavior and human resource management, pursue a master’s degree in dispute resolution and conflict at Southern Methodist University, and finish my education with a doctorate in corporate and administrative leadership from SMU.”
In order to receive the Lassiter/BKM scholarship, Pierre met the following requirements:
- Completed at least one semester at a DCCCD college and earned a minimum grade point average of 2.5 or better
- Enrolled for a minimum of 12 semester credit hours
- Majored in one of 10 specific fields of study
- Completed the required scholarship application, including an essay on short- and long-term goals, plus a letter of recommendation
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Pierre, a business and communications major who has a grade point average of 3.7, lives in Dallas. He is president of the Omega Omega chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an academic honorary for two-year colleges, and is noted on the National Dean’s List. He has been selected to participate in MVC’s Student Ambassador Program, and he is a member of the Trio Focus Program as well.
He says, “As a member of Phi Theta Kappa, I am learning that hard work and diligence are honorable. As a Student Ambassador, I am learning how to work with individuals in a team setting and to execute projects. Being a part of these clubs and organizations helps me put into practice what I have learned in the classroom so that I will be able to master it in the real world.”
He wants to work his way up the career ladder in jobs that introduce him to human relations management, business administration and communications. “My goal is to work for a Fortune 500 company as an entry-level human relations manager, earn my way into middle management and always foster my leadership skills and people skills as I grow.” Pierre adds, “People skills are one of the most important attributes that anyone can learn to help them master the business world. I believe that by working with the sick and needy(through Gateway Church in Southlake) I am learning to be compassionate and sensitive, which also will help me in management.”
DCCCD, the largest undergraduate institution of higher education in Texas, serves more than 64,000 credit and 25,000 continuing education students each semester. The district includes seven individually accredited colleges — Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, North Lake and Richland — plus the Dallas TeleCollege and several additional locations.
BKM Total Office of Texas provides workplace furniture and related services throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. BKM is a certified HUB dealer and Women Owned Business Enterprise; its products, breadth of services and experienced team enable the company to provide creative, comprehensive furniture solutions that work within any budget. BKM’s clients include DCCCD, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Bank of America, SBC, Verizon, the University of Texas at Arlington, UT-Dallas, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, SMU and Baylor University.
For more information about the scholarship, contact Ella Shaw, scholarship coordinator for the DCCCD Foundation, at (214) 860-2149. For details about BKM, contact Clark Rachesky at crachesky@bkmtexas.com.
Photo (left to right): Carlene Wilson, vice president, BKM; Dr. Felix Zamora, president, Mountain View College; Evans Pierre; and Carol Roehrig, president, BKM.
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Press contact: Ann Hatch
214-860-2478; ahatch@dcccd.edu
or
Eddie Miranda
214-860-2711; emiranda@dcccd.edu