Press Release – Polk Employee Sends Daughter to Harvard
Grand Prairie, TX May 8, 2007 – Polk Mechanical Co. LLC, a Grand Prairie based firm, and a leading facility service provider in the Dallas – Ft. Worth area as well as the Houston / Bay area, announced Jesika Silva will be attending Harvard in the fall.
At Polk, the most important part of business is the opportunity to interact with people. We are proud of each employee and share in their pain and their joys. This is one of those joyous occasions.
In 2004, the Houston Independent School District shifted emphasis from enrollment to attendance rates as the gauge for campus funding. Many programs were then implemented within the district to promote attendance. Boosting attendance by awards isn’t a new idea and some of these programs are well received and some are not. For one student in particular, the award was for doing and achieving something that just came natural.
Last year, Connie Berger, Principal at HISD’s Reagan High School instituted a new award for graduating seniors: a trophy for perfect attendance over an entire school career. The prize this year goes to Jesika Silva, 17, who didn’t even realize what she had set in motion many years ago. Jesika has never missed a day of school!
Jesika, an only child raised by immigrant parents, both working full time or more, said perfect attendance ribbons in elementary school were an early motivation. But eventually she just got in the habit of going to school and perfect attendance became her standard, year after year.
“There were times where I said, ‘I feel sick,’ or, ‘My head hurts,’ but I always managed to get out of bed,” she said.
Next year, Jesika plans to continue her perfect attendance record – at Harvard University – where she plans to study law.
Jesika is Valedictorian for the 2008 graduating class of John Reagan High School, Houston, Texas. She is the recipient of a Jesse H. Jones scholarship, a Phi Beta Kappa scholarship, a Project Grad scholarship, a McDonald’s scholarship, and a Harvard Alumni scholarship. Jesika also enjoys reading and dancing.
Jesika’s proud father, Victor Silva, is a Journeyman Plumber for Polk Mechanical at the Woman’s Hospital project in Houston, Texas. We rejoice with the Silva family and wish Jesika the best of luck in her endeavors at Harvard.
About Polk Mechanical Company
A leading diversified mechanical services provider, serving the commercial and industrial markets in the Dallas – Ft. Worth area as well as the Houston / Bay area.
Polk Mechanical Company installs and services the equipment and systems that allow their customer’s facilities to operate reliably.
For more information on Polk Mechanical, visit www.PolkMechanical.com or contact us at:
2425 Dillard Street
Grand Prairie, TX 75051
972.339.1200