Dallas College Newsroom

Over a 40-year career, Dr. Christa Slejko could point to dozens of memorable moments and achievements. She has championship rings from North Lake’s athletics teams winning national titles. She smiles when she walks by the big horse statue on campus that was built by Dallas College faculty and welding students to celebrate the school’s 40th anniversary.

Art is a puzzle. That’s a phrase professor Tina Medina likes to share with her students, and she’s been helping them solve that puzzle since joining Dallas College as an art professor in 2006. After almost two decades of teaching students, it never gets old when she sees a student figure out a solution to the puzzle.

Lara Dodson-Tello remembers her dad telling her to find a recession-proof career. She never forgot that piece of advice even though she had to put her career aspirations on hold while she raised a young family. But, when she was ready to start college in 2008, she arrived at Dallas College’s El Centro Campus with a simple mindset: find a recession-proof career.

Dallas College professor and U.S. Army Captain Steven Drayton spent a combined 30 months overseas during two deployments to the Middle East. His most heroic efforts, though, occurred stateside during a routine visit to a barbershop in August 2022 in his hometown of Killeen. As we celebrate Veterans Day this month, Dallas College is proud to highlight veterans such as Drayton who continue to serve our community and country.

Dallas College ESOL students and professor Minjung Park wrote 1,000 encouragement cards for breast cancer patients during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The cards will be included in National Breast Cancer Foundation HOPE Kits sent across the country. The project helped students make a positive impact while strengthening their connection to the community.

Harrison Nguyen, a Dallas College student with autism, overcame family issues, depression and learning challenges to build confidence and succeed in college. Through support from Dallas College Accessibility Services and involvement in SkillsUSA, he developed leadership skills and helped lead an award-winning voter engagement project that encouraged more than 1,000 people to vote. Harrison hopes his story inspires others to embrace their differences to pursue their goals.

Dallas College alumna Maricsa Trejo turned her passion for baking into the award-winning La Casita Bakeshop after studying in the college's culinary program and taking a leap of faith to start her own business. Through perseverance and support from her family, she grew the bakery into one of the most recognized brunch destinations in North Texas, earning accolades such as a James Beard Award finalist nomination and a Food Network appearance.

There isn’t a drop of oil anywhere. There isn’t one tool out of place. Dallas College alum Christopher Manning keeps his work area at the Mercedes-Benz of Plano service center as pristine as the cars in the showroom. He’s driven to end the old “dirty mechanic” stereotype as he has become a leading voice in the industry.

Elisa Ramos reflects on graduation. "I think my parents will be overjoyed, especially since I’m the first in the family to pursue college here," she said. "It’s my dad’s dream to have professionals in the family, and I will be the first of my siblings to reach that goal. My dad is my biggest inspiration to keep studying. Since I was a little girl, he always encouraged me to follow my dreams."

The Erin Tierney Kramp Encouragement Endowed Scholarship is just one of many scholarships available for Dallas College students to pursue. Meet two 2024 Kramp scholars.

Elijah Harrington earned an associate degree through Dallas College's Dual Credit Program at age 17 and later completed a bachelor's degree in psychology, graduating at just 20 years old. He credits Dallas College with teaching him perseverance, adaptability, and the value of hard work, skills that helped him overcome academic and personal challenges.

Faviola Cecena describes her journey to Dallas College from the RN program to later earn her bachelor's of nursing. She describes the support and knowledge Dallas College gave her as a first-generation college student.

Raven Furlough, a graduate of Dallas College's inaugural bachelor's degree in education, is now a kindergarten teacher who creates an engaging and supportive classroom environment for her students. She credits Dallas College's knowledgeable instructors and coursework with helping prepare her for the realities of teaching and bringing her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher to life.

Maris Rodriguez was a high school dropout and didn’t think she had much of a future. Because of Dallas College and the STEM Institute, Maris has been rejuvenated with life and is now pursuing a dream of working for NASA. Maris recently was part of the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars program at the Ames Research Center in California.

Dr. An Lu grew up with no electricity in a small village in Vietnam. Her family chased a better life, coming to the United States in 2003. At the time, An was a 14-year-old who spoke no English and struggled with other cultural barriers. But she always knew she wanted to become a doctor and took her studies seriously in high school. A high school teacher pointed her toward Dallas College’s Eastfield Campus to continue her studies.