By Craddick H.C.R. No. 46 77R3149 MMS-D HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, Ryan Berthold, a senior at Lee High School in 1-2 Midland, has received an Achievement Award in Writing through a 1-3 competition sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of 1-4 English (NCTE); and 1-5 WHEREAS, Mr. Berthold is one of 654 winners out of nearly 1-6 3,000 students from across the country who were nominated for this 1-7 prestigious accolade; and 1-8 WHEREAS, Students competing for the award are nominated 1-9 during their junior year; they are required to submit a writing 1-10 sample, either prose or poetry, that they consider their best work, 1-11 and an essay written under teacher supervision in a set time 1-12 period; and 1-13 WHEREAS, The students' written work is evaluated by a 1-14 committee of teachers, who then submit nominations to the NCTE; Lee 1-15 High School was allowed to submit the work of five students on the 1-16 basis of its 10th-, 11th-, and 12th-grade enrollment, and 1-17 Mr. Berthold was the only Midland student who received the award; 1-18 and 1-19 WHEREAS, A leading contender for valedictorian in a senior 1-20 class of 699 students, Mr. Berthold juggles a multitude of 1-21 extracurricular activities, including the speech and debate team 1-22 and the academic decathlon team, as well as various UIL academic 1-23 teams; and 1-24 WHEREAS, Two other endeavors testify to this student's 2-1 wide-ranging talents and signal his interest and ability in the 2-2 realm of engineering: he belongs to a Texas BEST robotics team, 2-3 whose mission is to design and build a remote-controlled machine 2-4 for a robotics competition, and he has helped to construct a 2-5 trebuchet, a medieval catapult, that Lee High School sends to an 2-6 annual trebuchet competition; and 2-7 WHEREAS, Mr. Berthold's superior grades have earned him 2-8 membership in the National Honor Society and the National Spanish 2-9 Honor Society, and he is in the running for selection as a National 2-10 Merit finalist; and 2-11 WHEREAS, A gifted and creative young man, Mr. Berthold has 2-12 compiled a record of accomplishments that promises a bright and 2-13 fulfilling future, and it is a pleasure to join his parents, Pat 2-14 and Rob Berthold, and the staff and students of Lee High School in 2-15 paying tribute to this outstanding new achievement; now, therefore, 2-16 be it 2-17 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-18 hereby commend Ryan Berthold on his receipt of an Achievement Award 2-19 in Writing and extend to him sincere best wishes for success and 2-20 happiness in the years ahead; and, be it further 2-21 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 2-22 prepared for Ryan Berthold as an expression of high regard by the 2-23 Texas House of Representatives and Senate.