Sixth-grade boy wanting to follow his father’s footsteps gets a “big rig” surprise from Lone Star College-North Harris

Lone Star College North Harris News

Published on: November 10, 2015
HOUSTON (November 10, 2015) When Lorie Walters-Qualls, director of Lone Star Colleges Transportation Institute, received a letter in a childs handwriting from Leggett Independent School District, she didnt know what to think. However, after reading it, she was inspired to surprise a student in this tiny school district of 162 students located about two-hours northeast of Houston.
Richie Sales, Leggett ISD elementary school social studies/history teacher, sent the letter, along with a note of explanation, to Qualls after one of his students turned in a homework assignment that struck a chord with Sales. Sales had posed a question to his students that asked, If you received a free ride to any college, university or trade school, where would you go?

Sales was expecting to read responses that included Big 10 universities and some of the larger universities in Texas such as Texas A&M and the University of Texas. However, one of his students, sixth grader, James Gray, admired his fathers profession so much, that he selected Lone Star College Transportation Institute so he could follow in the career path of his father and become a truck driver. Not familiar with Lone Star College or the programs offered at the institute, Sales reached out to Qualls for more information and an idea was born.
Qualls, moved by James letter, decided that she and LSC-TI Instructor, Martin Molina, would drive up to Leggett ISD with a big surprise for him. So, on Friday, Nov. 13 at approximately 11 a.m., the colleges signature 18-wheel big rig will pull into Leggett Elementary School parking lot and Qualls will present James with a model of the big rig truck and college information. Unbeknownst to James, all of his classmates will be in attendance as well when the truck pulls up to the school. This is a perfect opportunity for students to learn about the different ...

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