The mission of Eastfield College is to provide excellence in teaching and learning.
was a Dallas resident who learned to read at the age of 98 and who wrote Life Is So Good at age 100. Born in Marshall, Texas, the grandson of slaves, Mr. Dawson began working at the age of four to help support his family.
In his long life, Mr. Dawson held various jobs such as laborer, cowboy and farmer. By the age of 98, he had long since retired from a life of hard work and spent most of his time fishing. However, there was one thing he had never learned to do — read.
When a teacher from a local adult education program paid a visit, Mr. Dawson decided it was time to add literacy to the skills he had acquired from the school of life. Not discouraged that some of his classmates were 80 or more years younger, Mr. Dawson learned to read and write his name after a lifetime of signing papers with an “X.”
graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. His only formal writing class was the required freshman English 101 that he completed during the last quarter of his senior year. On his final writing assignment he received an ‘A’ which was uncommon during his college career. His professor said, “You actually have some talent. What are you going to do now that you are finished with school?”
Having graduated with no plan in mind, Glaubman surprised himself when he responded, “I'm going to be a writer.”
For three decades the rewards were not forthcoming. He held numerous jobs in restaurants, fished commercially in Alaska, planted trees in British Columbia and worked in the construction industry. He now teaches elementary school.
After reading an article about George Dawson, Glaubman began visiting him regularly. Their ongoing conversations led to the collaboration on the book, Life Is So Good, published by Random House, and in paperback by Penguin Books.
After several DCCCD employees learned of Mr. Dawson's story and met this humble and wise man, they decided he was the perfect advocate to lead a movement against illiteracy and promote lifelong learning. Those employees joined forces with the Dallas community, the nation and even some international citizens and elevated Mr. Dawson to celebrity status through various programs including a scholarship fund.
The “Hold Fast to Dreams” Scholarship allows deserving DCCCD students to follow Mr. Dawson's example to love life and value reading, writing, and learning ... at any age. The “Hold Fast to Dreams” Scholarship allows students to chase and catch their dreams, an adventure Mr. Dawson continued until his death.
In 1994, Erin Tierney Kramp was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 33. From the time of her diagnosis, Erin decided to fight cancer headon. Although she lost her battle, before she died, Erin's professional peers established the Erin Tierney Kramp Encouragement Foundation in her honor. In February 1999, the Foundation endowed a permanent scholarship with the DCCCD Foundation.
The Erin Tierney Kramp Encouragement Scholarship Award provides a full tuition scholarship to students who have demonstrated courage and perseverance in the face of adversity as exemplified by Erin Tierney Kramp.
