Five Killeen ISD distinguished alumni shared pearls of wisdom and points of passion with a small group of Harker Heights High School seniors Thursday over lunch.
While munching on chicken sandwiches in the school library, the five accomplished KISD alumni and a dozen or so chosen seniors sat at small round tables chatting informally before the distinguished guests formally introduced themselves and answered questions.
The distinguished alumni, officially honored during a ceremony later in the evening, include the following:
Alison Schannep Belliveau, Rockwall ISD principal and executive director (Ellison Class of 1993)
Amanda Burch, U.S. Magistrate Judge (Ellison Class of 1994)
Christopher Diem, Texas A&M University School of Medicine Assistant Dean of Student Affairs (Harker Heights Class of 2001)
Carlos De Los Santos, NASA senior systems engineer (Killeen Class of 1983)
Leroy Nellis, retired former Travis County budget director (Killeen Class of 1965)
The alumni told their own stories, how they found their career paths and, in response to questions, shared some of their passionate pursuits outside of work.
De Los Santos said he dreamed as a child of becoming an astronaut, but poor eyesight made that unattainable. He joined the Army, then worked as a contractor and ended up in Washington, D.C. working for a series of companies.
His connections and his persistence in continuing to apply to NASA paid off, leading to an engineer post in America’s space program.
Belliveau was a banking manager at age 21 when she noticed gaps in career preparation while hiring employees. That led her into career preparation education, administration and advocacy on a national level.
Nellis worked in accounting in large Houston firms before taking a job as budget director in Travis County, where he discovered the desperate need for mentors in public schools to help keep youths out of the prison system. He spearheaded programs in county and city governments that continue to provide mentors to Austin ISD.
Burch and Diem both pointed out to the seniors the unusual and positive distinction of growing up in a place where so many friends have lived all over the world and experienced such a wealth of cultures.
One senior, Tori French, said the stories built her excitement to step into the next part of her own story to finish high school and begin college.
“This experience was really fun. It opened my eyes to a lot of different experiences. I was really interested. Hearing about them jumping out of planes and how stories intertwined was exciting,” she said.
“It made me excited. I’m trying to be a doctor. They made me more excited than I already was.”
