Catherine Cuellar is the director of Communications, Outreach & Marketing for the City of Dallas and a Pearce grad. Here she reflects on her RISD journey.
“Each month, retired J.J. Pearce psychology teacher Dr. Bob Nelson hosts an online salon called Socrates Circle. Most in the Circle, who live from coast to coast, are his former students — including my sister and me. You may wonder how a teacher could inspire such lifelong loyalty and learning. Dr. Bob revealed how and why we think. He models empathy.”
“Most importantly, he taught that the most valuable things — including creativity, humor, imagination, and love — cannot be measured by a test. As a high-performing student leader in the excellent, highly competitive Richardson ISD, that last one blew my adolescent mind.”
“It was one of countless ways in that my youth as a Prestonwood Panther, Parkhill Raider and Mighty Mustang, I was privileged to have my horizons expanded by an international, multicultural, interfaith community where I forged deep lifelong friendships.”
“Fabulous female leader Lynn Casey, who conducted sixth-grade All-District Choir at Berkner, not only united students from different campuses to harmonize through teamwork, but also taught how to stand in front of a crowd and not faint. Although Latin at Parkhill lowered my GPA, it raised my SAT score — helping me earn a Presidential Scholarship in college. Honors Physics teacher Richard Taylor’s high school field trip to conduct labs on the rides at Six Flags helped me see science everywhere, and relish Texas’ leadership in STEAM education and careers. Being high school yearbook editor taught me design, storytelling, time management and leadership skills that served me well throughout my career as a multimedia journalist and in my current role as director of Communications, Outreach & Marketing for the City of Dallas.”
