DCCCD Students with Talent in Music, Art, Writing Honored

They study, commute, have jobs and face the challenges of daily life. Additionally, they sing, paint, draw, sculpt and write to enrich their lives and the lives of others. That dedicated group of 15 Dallas County Community College District students has been recognized for their talent and skills by the DCCCD Foundation with cash awards for 2008.

Each year, the Cecil Wallace Fordham Award in Visual Arts, the Alice Jones Berding Award in Music and the Eleanor Jones Award in Creative Writing are given to students through DCCCD’s seven colleges who excel in art, music and creative writing. All three awards are funded through endowments administered by the DCCCD Foundation.

Each outstanding student receives a cash award of $400, made possible by gifts from the Jones family. The awards day, held April 4, featured a morning concert and visual arts exhibit at El Centro College in the H. Paxton Moore Fine Arts Gallery.

The awards and student recipient information is provided below, including home town, DCCCD college and academic major.

The Cecil Wallace Fordham Award in Visual Arts, made possible with a gift from Fordham’s daughter, Eleanor Fordham Jones, and her family, was created to remember Mr. Fordham’s love of visual beauty. The following students, who must be enrolled in the visual arts field at one of DCCCD’s colleges, received that award:

• William Smith of Dallas, Brookhaven College, visual arts;
• Daniel Snyder of Kaufman, Cedar Valley College, computer graphics;
• Esther Hasskamp of Dallas, Eastfield College, art history/anthropology;
• Nicole Norton of Dallas, El Centro College, art;
• Mario Gradiz of Cedar Hill, Mountain View College, art;
• LeAnn Boyce of Southlake, North Lake College, graphic arts; and
• Ka-Yan Mo of Garland, Richland College, graphic design.
  
  View Cecil Wallace Fordham Awards Recipient Biographies

The Alice Jones Berding Award in Music, made possible with a gift from Berding’s late brother, George Rather Jones, honors Ms. Berding’s years of teaching in Dallas schools as a piano instructor and a private teacher as well. Awardees must be enrolled in music, and preference is given to students who are studying piano. The recipients are:

• Katherine Lynn Moser of Dallas, Brookhaven College;
• Shanandolan Reynolds of Dallas, Cedar Valley College, commercial music;
• Joel Raphael of Dallas, Eastfield College, music;
• Calvin Demetrius Brock of Dallas, El Centro College, music;
• Eric Garces of Dallas, Mountain View College, music;
• Shannon Neill of Coppell, North Lake College, vocal performance; and
• Yealim Moon of Allen, Richland College, music/voice.
  
  View Alice Jones Berding Awards Recipient Biographies

The Eleanor Jones Award for Creative Writing was established in 2002 by her sons, daughter and grandchildren to honor Mrs. Jones’ birthday. The award is presented annually to an outstanding student who excels in the composition of prose or poetry at any DCCCD college that offers creative writing. This year’s winner, Doris Brogan of Mesquite, attends Richland College and is majoring in English.

“Through these scholarships, we honor the lives of Alice Jones Berding, Eleanor Jones and Cecil Wallace Fordham,” said Betheny Reid, chief development officer and president of the DCCCD Foundation. “Their dedication to music and the visual arts survives in the works and dreams of 15 outstanding students. Gifts such as these are a lasting legacy honoring both the benefactors and recipients.”

Fordham, born in Ohio, was a mechanical engineer who worked in the automotive industry for 40 years for both General Motors and the Ford Motor Company. In his spare time, he enjoyed building furniture and appreciated the creations of others. He also was involved in a number of major engineering projects during his career, including the construction of the Alaska Highway during early World War II. Fordham earned the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and also served on active duty as a sergeant during that war. When he died in 1962, he left one daughter, Eleanor Fordham Jones, and seven grandchildren.

Mrs. Jones and her husband, the late George Rather Jones, awarded the first Alice Jones Berding Memorial Award in Music in 1977, in honor of Mr. Jones’ sister. Mrs. Jones, her children and her grandchildren continue to attend the awards ceremony each year. The first Cecil Wallace Fordham Memorial Award in Visual Arts was given in 1979.

“Mrs. Jones has a great heart,” added Reid. “She is a wonderful example of a person who gives back to her community, and she is one of the first of our long-time donors who gave to the Rising Star scholarship program. Donors like Mrs. Jones inspire others to give.” Her son, Robert, is a member of the DCCCD Foundation’s board of directors.

For more information, contact Kathye Hammontree at (214) 860-2455.

Page last updated April 2008