By: Shapleigh S.R. No. 265 1-1 1 1-2 SENATE RESOLUTION 1-3 WHEREAS, It is indeed a privilege for the Texas Senate to 1-4 recognize Donna L. Kvapil, recipient of the Mike A. Myers Teaching 1-5 Award, 1997 Texas Excellence Award for Outstanding Teacher; and 1-6 WHEREAS, Presented by The University of Texas at Austin 1-7 College of Education and The Ex-Students' Association, the award 1-8 honors Mrs. Kvapil for her exceptional contributions to her 1-9 profession; and 1-10 WHEREAS, An instructor of business education at Andress High 1-11 School in El Paso, Donna Kvapil has taught in public schools for 14 1-12 years; after completing her course work for an associate degree in 1-13 education at El Paso Community College in 1979, she continued her 1-14 studies at The University of Texas at El Paso, earning a bachelor 1-15 of business administration degree in 1983; and 1-16 WHEREAS, The eldest daughter in a family of eight children, 1-17 Mrs. Kvapil helped her parents care for her brothers and sisters 1-18 from the time she was six years old; her earliest teaching 1-19 experiences began in her home when she taught her siblings basic 1-20 tasks; and 1-21 WHEREAS, Encouraged by her parents to get a high school 1-22 diploma so she could help with family finances, young Donna lacked 1-23 the motivation to apply herself until her senior year when a 2-1 shattering experience caused her to want to become a teacher so 2-2 she could make a difference in the lives of her students; and 2-3 WHEREAS, Although her dreams of being a teacher took 17 years 2-4 to become a reality, Donna never lost her desire to accomplish her 2-5 goal; because she sees each child as special and treats all of them 2-6 with trust and respect, her students thrive on her nurturing and 2-7 the positive impact she has on their work; and 2-8 WHEREAS, Her belief in each child enables her to see the best 2-9 qualities in a student's character; willing to spend untold hours 2-10 working with those students who are having difficulties, she has a 2-11 special gift for motivating her students to do their best; and 2-12 WHEREAS, Her dedication, attention to details, and total 2-13 commitment to Andress High School's quest for excellence have earned 2-14 her recognition from her colleagues; elected state president of the 2-15 Texas Business Teachers Association for 1996-1997, she was chosen 2-16 as the organization's District 19 Teacher of the Year in 1994; her 2-17 fellow teachers at Andress High School honored her with the Teacher 2-18 of the Year Award in 1992, and she was selected for the El Paso 2-19 Independent School District Top 10 Teacher of the Year Award in 2-20 1987; now, therefore, be it 2-21 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 2-22 75th Legislature, hereby extend congratulations to Donna Kvapil for 2-23 receiving the Mike A. Myers Teaching Award; and, be it further 2-24 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for 2-25 Mrs. Kvapil as an expression of the high regard and appreciation of 3-1 the Texas Senate with best wishes for continued success in the years 3-2 ahead. 3-3 ______________________________________ 3-4 President of the Senate 3-5 I hereby certify that the above 3-6 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 3-7 on March 3, 1997. 3-8 ______________________________________ 3-9 Secretary of the Senate 3-10 ______________________________________ 3-11 Member, Texas Senate