Hall of Honor Class of 2023

DeSoto ISD Inducts Four New Members to the Hall of Honor!
Posted on 05/15/2023
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During the 2023 Cadence of Celebration at DeSoto High School four new members were inducted into the DeSoto ISD Hall of Honor.

    

Established during the 2011-12 academic year, DeSoto ISD launched the Hall of Honor to recognize two categories of honorees – the DeSoto High School Alumni Hall of Fame and the DeSoto ISD Distinguished Service Award.

 

The Hall of Honor recognizes and celebrates those who paved the road for student success and those students who have taken flight!

 

The criteria include special achievements and honors in the individual’s career, community service or contributions to society plus service to education and DeSoto ISD. 

 

The permanent display for the Service Award is located in the atrium of the academy wing. The Alumni Award permanent display is located at the Eagle Drive entrance to DeSoto High School.

 

For 2023, the district inducted one Distinguished Service Award recipient and three recipients for the Alumni Hall of Fame. 

 

2023 Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Levatta Levels

 

2023 Alumni Hall of Fame

Corey Borner, Class of 2011

Tiffany Jones, Class of 1989

Dr. Carly Strasser, Class of 1997

 

The four individuals selected have demonstrated commitment and service to DeSoto ISD as they have excelled in their chosen fields of endeavor.

 

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

DR. LEVATTA LEVELS

  • Assistant Superintendent as well as Interim Superintendent in DeSoto ISD
    developed the selective enrollment process
    developed the inaugural dress code policy for the district

  • assisted in the implementation of the iSTEAM, Male Leadership, Medical Magnet,and Fine Arts Magnet programs at the elementary and middle school levels

  • coordinated the district wide implementation of the Positive Behavior Supports System

  • led turnaround campuses

  • development of the ReJuv program aimed at addressing the needs of the overaged middle school population

  • Dallas NAACP’s Juanita Craft Award for Education, the highest distinction from the Dallas NAACP

  • PTA Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Who’s Who in Black Dallas

  • National Council of Negro Women Community Service Award

  • South Dallas Professional and Business Woman’s Trailblazer Award

  • University of North Texas Alumni Recognition
  •  Skyline High School Distinguished Alumni Recognition


 ALUMNI HALL OF FAME

COREY BORNER – DHS CLASS OF 2011

  •  Digital Influencer for North Texas area awarded by K-104 Radio Local Love Awards for two straight years (2017-2018)

  •  Graduated from Cedar Valley College with Associate Degree in the Arts`

  • Graduated from UNT Dallas with a degree in Communication/Tech

  • Reached 102K followers from across the nation on Instagram with his encouraging testimony. (and still building)

  • Member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity at UNT-Dallas.

  •  Influencer, encouraging people to FIND A WAY, sharing logoed wristband with D L Hughley, Ice Cube, Terrell Owens, Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott, Ellis Hobbs, Floyd Mayweather, Donte Whitner, Mack Brown, Errol Spence, Darren Woodson, Wade Philips, Bob Stoops, Deion Sanders, and Tim Brown to name a few.

  •  Awarded the Fresh Start Foundation's Community Influencer award

  • Supports/volunteers at Vacation Bible School at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church

  • Reads to students at DeSoto Private School, Northside, DeSoto West, and McCowan, Lancaster Rosa Parks Elementary School and Dallas Holmes Middle School and Lancaster high school football team and Cedar Hill Football Team. He also spoke at Little Elm High School.

  • Speaker for Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy. PASOS scholarship awards, Boys to Men youth leadership Conference

  • Completed DeSoto Citizen Police Academy

  • Random acts of kindness for others such as buying dinner or bringing gifts to lift someone's spirits.

  • Pre-game speaker for two teams, locally as well as the University of Texas when at the Cotton Bowl, and the XFL Arlington Renegades. 

 

TIFFANY JONES – DHS CLASS OF 1989

  • 1987-88 Basketball first team All-District

  • 1989 DeSoto High School SOAR Award

  • 1988 and 1989 National Honor Society

  • 1989 All District Choir

  • 1989 Basketball All-District 11-AAAAA, also Defensive Player of the Year

  • 1989 First team Academic All-State

  • 1989 Selected to play in Good Grades Games

  • 1989 Texas Girls Basketball Coaches Association First Team All-state and selected to play in the All- State Game

  •  BA from Oklahoma Baptist University

  • Master’s in education administration from Lamar University

  • Secondary Principal Certificate in 2015 and a Common Core Certificate also in 2015 

  • 2006-2008 Model United Nations event sponsored by the Oklahoma City Memorial

  • 2006 to 2018 Sponsored a child through “Compassion International” financially

  • Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration- Chaperoned Duncan High School AP US Government students to the capitol in Oklahoma City to lobby for public education bills. This was the first-time high school students had worked with CCOSA to lobby for public education.

  • Wrote a grant and traveled with the CCOSA to Washington D.C. and met with Senators and members of the U.S. House of Representatives to advocate for legislation supporting public education nationwide.

  • Social Studies Department Chair for Duncan High School from 2008-2011. Duncan High School Head Senior Sponsor, 1999-2011

  • Social Studies Department Chair in Broken Arrow High School from 2014-2018.

  • Head Middle School cross-country and softball Varsity Girls basketball Head Coach at both Duncan and Broken Arrow High Schools 1994.

  •  2014 State Champion 6A Girls Basketball with record 28-0

  • 2015 State Champion 6A Girls Basketball 2016 State Semi-finals 6A Girls Basketball

  • 2018 State runner-up 6A Girls track-assistant coach. 2018 State runner-up 6A Boys track-lay coach




DR. CARLY STRASSER, DHS CLASS OF 1997

  • Ranked 3rd in her high school graduating class

  • member of the National Honor Society 

  • Editor of the award-winning school newspaper the EAGLE EYE during her junior and senior years 

  • Served on the yearbook staff for 3 years 

  • Played snare drum in the State recognized EAGLE BAND

  • Research Data specialist at the California Digital Library

  • Director of Alliances and Strategy for the FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER in Seattle, Washington. This center is the preeminent leader in cancer and infectious disease research-and now clinical cancer care- They are translating discoveries into cures; their pioneering research has saved hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide. They have a collaborative effort to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer and other diseases. Their vision is to eliminate cancer and other diseases that cause human suffering and death.

  •  BA in Marine Science from the University of San Diego.

  • PHD focus in Biological Ocenography from MIT/WHOI joint Program

  • National Defense Science and Engineering-Graduate Fellowship (2002-2006)

  • National Barry Goldwater Scholarship recipient

  • University of San Diego Dean's list (1997-20010

  • Outstanding Scholarship for Marine Science Department at USD (2001)

  • USD Associated Students Research Grant (1999)

  • USD Trustee Scholarship Recipient (1997-2001)

 

Congratulations to the Hall of Honor Class of 2023.