A kindergarten teacher and a military veteran who heads a high school ROTC program were named winners of the 2016 Trinity Prize for Excellence in Teaching during an emotional ceremony Friday, April 29, on the Trinity University campus. The Prize honors motivated and dedicated educators in the San Antonio region.
This year’s Trinity Prize recipients are Carol Marie Hudson, a kindergarten teacher at Henry T. Brauchle Elementary School in the Northside Independent School District, and Calvin W. Lambert, senior Naval and JROTC science instructor at Uvalde High School in the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District.
Although Hudson has worked in an elementary school for 10 years, she believes college begins in kindergarten. Her goals for five-year-olds involve finding ways to nourish and develop students to be self-confident, eager to learn, and to love learning. To prepare them for lessons, she showers students with “brain sprinkles,” pops popcorn to teach a unit on the five senses, and embraces the philosophy of “if it’s worth learning, it’s worth celebrating.” She creates personalized take-home reading bags for each student and is considered by her principal to be a “dream teacher” who makes learning an adventure. She holds an early education degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Known as “Master Chief” at Uvalde High School, Lambert prepares cadets in the national junior ROTC program for future military service through a comprehensive curriculum and a program of citizen development that includes school support and community service. The son of farm workers who did not finish high school and the oldest of seven children, Lambert served 26 years in the Navy, with assignments ranging from the Vietnam War to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. On nights and weekends, he earned a degree from Southern Illinois University. Teaching for 23 years, Lambert has a reputation for providing a warm, inviting, safe climate where students are genuinely cared for and their best interests valued.
Hudson and Lambert were chosen from 19 distinguished educators who were nominated by their school districts in recognition of outstanding performance in public education.
The greater San Antonio area’s oldest and most prestigious teaching award, the Trinity Prize was launched in 1982 to honor public school teachers who distinguish their teaching practice through outstanding classroom performance, leadership in the school and school district, contributions to the education profession, and stellar community service.
Recipients of the Prize – which is sponsored by Trinity’s education department, along with the H-E-B Grocery Co. – each received $2,500 and a crystal apple. A panel of San Antonio business and community leaders selected the winners. Members of this year’s selection committee are:
Christa Aldrich, Literacy Program manager at H-E-B; Antoinette Hill, Community Advocate for Military Families and Students with Disabilities; Suzanne Peterson, vice president of Frost Bank; and Ileana Sherry, outstanding Senior in Education, B.A. Class of 2016, MAT Class of 2017.
During the ceremony, the 2015 National Teacher of the Year Shanna Peeples, delivered the Kappa Delta Pi Lecture for Outstanding Educators. She teaches high school English in Amarillo, Texas.
For more information, contact Trinity’s department of education at 210-999-7501.
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