Six outstanding graduates were recognized as Pillars of Character at the Northside Education Foundation’s annual gala, held Sept. 1 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort.

 

Almost 700 business partners, community members, and educators attended the gala, which raised about $150,000.

 

Each year, Pillars are selected from the nearly 100,000 Northside alumni who have graduated from NISD high schools since 1951. The Pillars represent the six character traits taught to NISD students in kindergarten through 12^th grade that are part of the Josephson Institute’s Character Counts program. The Pillars of Character are: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship.

 

The NISD alumni selected as Pillars were the guests of honor at the NEF gala and are depicted on posters displayed in all 6,000 NISD classrooms throughout the 2009-2010 school year.

 

The 2009 Pillars of Character are:

 

Surprisingly, Cureau didn’t learn to swim until he was attending college at UTSA, but he became an Assistant Curator of Animal Training at SeaWorld San Antonio after training and performing for years with whales and dolphins. Also a radio and television personality, Cureau has appeared on the “Howie Mandel Show,” “The All New Captain Kangaroo Show,” and hosted the Discovery Kids network series “Trading Spaces: Boys versus Girls,” which was nominated for a 2006 Emmy. Growing up in a military family, he enrolled in NISD as a freshman at Marshall High School where he excelled in theatre arts and Navy JROTC. He has volunteered in NISD as an Independent Study Mentor and has hosted several character-building DVD series for children. He appeared with Kevin Spacey in the film, “The Life of David Gale,” and is an announcer for the San Antonio Spurs.

An advocate for leadership by women in the military, Col. Firmin was the first colonel to command the expeditionary mission support group at Balad Air Base in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was instrumental in building the air base despite austere conditions and more than 175 rocket and mortar attacks, and her efforts earned her the Bronze Star Medal. Known as a staunch advocate for minorities and women, Col. Firmin has received numerous honors including the Governor of Texas’ Yellow Rose Award and profiles on Univision’s “Lo Mejor de lo Nuestro” and in Latina Style Magazine. Currently, she is the Commander of AFROTC Detachment 842 and Professor of Aerospace Sciences at UTSA. A descendent of Mexican immigrants, she was a member of the first NISD championship girls’ basketball team at Holmes High School before graduating from Texas A&I Kingsville.

 

A Phi Beta Kappa UT-Austin graduate awarded “Outstanding Student” status, Held earned her M.D. from UT Medical School in San Antonio where she now is a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology. Specializing in cataract and refractive surgery, she was the first woman to perform PRK and LASIK eye surgery in the city and is a founder of Alamo Laser Vision and owner and physician at Stone Oak Ophthalmology. Dr. Held attended Colonies North Elementary School, Hobby Middle School, and Marshall High School, where she was a Grand Prize winner in the 1976 Science Fair. She has been listed in “Best Doctors in America,” “America’s Top Ophthalmologists,” and “Texas Super Doctors” and is a physician advocate for responsible patient-centered healthcare reform.

 

Crystal Clear Communications is an award-winning Houston public relations firm specializing in media campaigns, niche marketing, and community outreach. Former clients include Calvin Klein, Intel, Best Buy, and Nike. Twice voted Miss Congeniality in the Miss Texas USA pageant, Brown-Tatum was named 2009 Texas Blazing Star by the Texas Women’s Chamber of Commerce and named one of Houston’s 40-under-40 by the Houston Business Journal. A breast cancer survivor, she wrote Saltwater Taffy and Red High Heels: My Journey through Breast Cancer, earning an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” She attended Adams Hill Elementary School, Pease Middle School, and enrolled in the Holmes High School gifted and talented program. She is an Honors graduate in Radio-TV from the University of Houston.

 

Owner and chief veterinarian at Oaks North Animal Hospital, Richardson is dedicated to family pet services, whose success, she says, depends on communication with pet owners. She attended Glenoaks and Colonies North elementary schools, Neff Middle School, and Marshall High School. Working for a local veterinarian after school and during summer vacations, she then earned her degree from Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine. Richardson has a long history of community service, volunteering as a missionary in Guatemala for the past five years at an orphanage for troubled girls and mentoring a high school student interested in becoming a veterinarian. She is the daughter of Dorothy Sweet, former principal of Glenoaks Elementary School, and Art Sweet, former vice principal at Marshall High School.

 

Throughout his education at Meadow Village Elementary School, Jones Middle School, and Jay High School, Thomas was an outstanding athlete and student leader. He earned an Engineering degree from the United States Air Force Academy where he was an All-American defensive back. He flew as a Mission Commander during Desert Storm where he was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism. The story of his war-time ejection from his burning F-16 and the subsequent team rescue effort has inspired his motivational speeches across the country for Mach 2 Seminars. In 2000, Lt. Col. Thomas left active duty to fly for American Airlines and joined the Air Force Reserve 97th Flying Training Squadron at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, where he is now Commander responsible for Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training.