Congratulations to the 2018 Alumnae Award Recipients! Award recipients will be celebrated on Sunday, November 11, at the Park City Club in Dallas during Homecoming Weekend. Register for the weekend activities.
Distinguished Alumna - Kathleen Flatley Hickman '76
Established in 1984, the Distinguished Alumna Award honors a graduate who through her service, leadership, and achievements has distinguished herself to Ursuline, her community, or her profession over her lifetime. She is a recognized leader in her chosen field who reflects the Christian ideals, standards, and objectives of the Academy.
Throughout her 31-year career, Kathleen Flatley Hickman distinguished herself as a United States Secret Service agent, leading security teams charged with protecting prime ministers, presidents, vice presidents and first ladies in the U.S. and around the globe.
Upon graduating from Ursuline in 1976, Kathleen attended Texas Tech University. After college, a Secret Service agent persuaded her to apply for a position in the Dallas Field Office. After a lengthy application process and 32 weeks of training Kathleen was assigned to the Dallas Field Office where she conducted counterfeit, credit card fraud, and protective intelligence case work. In 1993, she was recommended for transfer to the Presidential Protective Division (PPD) for President Clinton and his family and became the first female to work PPD shift formation for a Presidential Inaugural Parade.
Kathleen has conducted domestic and foreign advances in Russia, Australia, Egypt, and Nepal, and has traveled to remote and high-threat international locations to oversee logistics, intelligence, and security concerns. For the NATO 50th Anniversary Summit, she was Lead Federal Coordinator, managing the security of 150 heads of state. This prompted The New York Times to feature her in an article: "In Her Hands, Security at a Gathering of World Leaders." She was also charged with protecting The Bush Family in Dallas as well as Pope John Paul II when he visited the United States.
Since her retirement from the U.S. Secret Service in 2015, Kathleen has worked as Global Security Director for a commercial real estate corporation and with a security consulting group. She is a past member of the Ursuline Academy Board of Trustees and currently serves on the Oak Hill Academy Board of Trustees.
Serviam Alumna - Claudia Lewis Crocker '71
Established in 1990, this award honors a graduate who embodies the Serviam volunteer spirit of Ursuline Academy. She is recognized for her commitments, involvements, achievements, and service within the last five years. By the quality of her life and spirit, she exemplifies the Christian ideals of her Ursuline education in her service.
At her eldest daughter's confirmation in the mid-90's, Claudia met Bishop John McCarthy of the Diocese of Austin, who insisted she serve at the Volunteer Legal Service Clinic, which provides pro-bono legal assistance to thousands of low-income citizens and refugees who do not understand the system. She has been involved with the Clinic ever since but has always been called to do more to help others.
She continues the Serviam spirit by supplying new work boots to the homeless in Austin, Texas. She embraced this remarkable mission after seeing feet covered with only duct tape, and knowing that for many, the lack of shoes keeps them from finding work. It's not unusual, in fact, to find Claudia under one of the I-35 bridges searching for specific individuals for whom she had promised new boots.
At Ursuline, Claudia was a Jesuit cheerleader who loved sports and school just as much as the life-long friends she made at The Academy. She attended The University of Texas at Austin and graduated in 1975 with a B.S. in Political Science. After moving to California, she decided to pursue a law degree at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles where she was a member of the Law Review before graduating in 1981.
After a short time in Dallas with a boutique real estate firm, Claudia, her husband Rick, and their three daughters moved to Austin. There she opened her own practice in 1987 in real estate law which she continues to practice today.
Young Alumna - Dr. Allison Mathews '03
The Young Alumna Award honors an alumna who graduated in the last 15 years and who, through her service, leadership, and achievements, has made outstanding commitments within her community and/or profession.
Allison Mathews works as a postdoctoral researcher at UNC Chapel Hill in the Department of Social Medicine and the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Disease. There she serves as director of the 2BeatHIV project and consults with colleagues in China and South Africa to ensure equitable and ethical practices in clinical research. She is also CEO and founder of Community Expert Solutions, a consulting company that uses crowdsourcing to develop community-based projects to solve health problems.
As a student at Ursuline Academy, Allison served as President of the African American Student Union, performed in the main stage production of The Wizard of Oz, and awarded for her creative writing. It was during a speech that she gave to the entire student body that she was moved to pursue a career in social justice activism. Her upbringing and educational experiences engendered her interest in integrating social justice with arts, research, and technology.
Allison earned a B.A. in Sociology from Howard University and a M.A. and PhD in Sociology from UNC Chapel Hill. During her graduate studies, Dr. Mathews was awarded the prestigious 5-year, merit-based Humphreys Fellowship with the Royster Society. As a research assistant with the LinCS 2 Durham project, she helped examine ways to better engage community in HIV prevention clinical research. Upon completion of her PhD, Dr. Mathews was inspired to continue in this work.
In 2017, Dr. Mathews was awarded the Dr. Hatch Early Career Professional Award at the North Carolina Health Equity Impact Awards, which recognizes individuals and organizations who have successfully implemented a systems-change approach to reducing health disparities and promoting health equity across North Carolina. Her company recently received a seed grant with NC Idea to pilot test the Digital LinCS software with Durham County government.
Sister Marie Staats Award - Myrna Lamping Tenholder '54†
The Sister Marie Staats Award honors a member of the Ursuline family, male or female, who has shown an outstanding commitment and tireless service to Ursuline Academy or its Alumnae Association. Such individual's service and commitment should have deeply and positively affected the Ursuline Community.
During her 35+ years at Ursuline, Myrna Lamping Tenholder taught and guided generations of girls. She helped Ursuline students get accepted into college by writing countless letters of recommendation, educating herself on practically every school in the country, meeting with admissions representatives, and hosting numerous college nights at Ursuline and Jesuit.
Ursuline Academy was always a very important part of Myrna's life. A student at Ursuline from 1950-1954, she was part of the first 4-year graduating class from the then-new Walnut Hill campus. Throughout her four years, she received many accolades and "Blue and Gold Bows" (symbols of conduct and academic excellence). She was Class Valedictorian and also named the "Prefect of Sodality" her senior year, honoring her for her life of Serviam.
After graduating from Ursuline, Myrna attended Saint Thomas University where she earned a B.S. in Chemistry. In 1960, she began her career teaching Physical Science and Chemistry at Ursuline. In the late 70's while still teaching, she earned a master's degree in counseling. Myrna later moved to the counseling department and became the senior guidance counselor and department head.
In the late 90's, after retiring from Ursuline, Myrna became the senior counselor at The Colony High School and continued to help high schoolers until 2008 when she retired from working. Still wanting to help others, Myrna volunteered as a pregnancy counselor at the White Rose Women's Center and was a member of the St. Rita Holy Spirit Circle.
Myrna passed away in 2014 after a long battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. She will be remembered for devoting her life and career to teaching and counseling young people.
Award recipients will be celebrated on Sunday, November 11, at the Park City Club in Dallas during Homecoming Weekend. Register for the weekend activities.