By: Dr. Andrew Yox, Honors Director
For their performance in two challenging honors seminars at Northeast Texas Community College in relation to their peers, two Presidential Scholars have recently won $100 checks.
Courtney Sahara Baldwin, from Mount Vernon, had the highest combined grade in the Fall of 2018 Humusic Seminar, a learning community that combines modern world history, and music appreciation. Verania Leyva Garcia came ahead of her peers in the Biotex Seminar, that combines general biology with Texas history.
An anonymous donor has funded the Eckman Awards in memory of the late Richard and Joan Eckman. Richard Eckman was a long-time inventor for Dresser Industries, a signature Texas oilfield corporation.
“The intensity of competition for the two awards this past fall was remarkable,” notes Honors Director, Andrew Yox. “This past fall we received from the seminars some of our best researched and most conceptualized essays ever.”
Leyva-Garcia was the 2018 Salutatorian of Mount Pleasant High School. Baldwin was the winner of several awards in California before coming to Northeast Texas.
Both Baldwin, and Leyva-Garcia have prominent roles in the film premiere coming up on 8 February at 7PM in the Whatley Center for the Performing Arts at NTCC on Camp County opera star, Barbara Conrad. Both are active members of Honors Northeast, and Alpha Mu Chi at NTCC.
