Holy Trinity teacher given Crystal Award

Although she's spent more than two decades in education, there was a point in her life when she couldn't have imagined standing at the front of a classroom.

Teaching is actually a second career for Palmer, who spent 10 years in the military as a lab tech before deciding to become an educator. She had just finished advanced lab school when she was asked to stay on and teach – an offer she initially declined because she was shy.

"I told them absolutely not and that I would be too embarrassed," Palmer said. "They convinced me that I could do it. When my daughter was born, I decided that there was nothing more important that someone could do with their life than be an educator, so I changed my major and went back to school."

Palmer's dedication to helping her students learn has not gone unnoticed. The Spring Branch Education Foundation recently selected her as one of the four recipients of this year's Crystal Award, which is awarded to educators in the Greater Houston area who help make a difference in the lives of their students. Palmer, along with the other three Crystal Award-winning educators, was honored at the 2013 Crystal Awards Gala earlier this month.

"I was deeply honored by the fact that my head of school even nominated me for it, but it blew me away to hear that I had won," she said.

Of course, Palmer's favorite part of her job has nothing to do with awards and galas, and everything to do with watching her students grow and progress.

"It's very rewarding to watch children learn and be excited about the labs that we do in science or field trips that we're going on," she said. "I get a lot of reward just watching them learn and grow."

When she's not busy teaching at Holy Trinity, Palmer enjoys traveling, spending time with her grandson and cooking. Palmer also describes herself as an avid reader who prefers "easy reads" during the school year and classics in the summer.

For more information on Donna Palmer or Holy Trinity Episcopal School, visit www.holytrinityeschool.org. To learn more about the Spring Branch Education Foundation or its annual Crystal Awards event, visit cms.springbranchisd.com/district/News/tabid/28726/Default.aspx.

ABOUT Donna Palmer
AGE: 57
OCCUPATION: Teaches fourth grade at Holy Trinity Episcopal School
COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Humble resident
FAST FACT: Particularly enjoys cooking Chinese dishes

Megan Mattingly-Arthur is a freelance writer. She can be reached at neighborhoods@chron.com.