Texas House Representative Lois Kolkhorst visited Prairie View A&M University Tuesday, Feb. 12 in the Carden-Waller Cooperative Extension auditorium to deliver a lecture on becoming a leader in today’s society.
The lecture was held as part of the Department of Agriculture’s Dean Guest lecture series.
Representative Kolkhorst serves House District 13, which includes Austin, Grimes, Walker, and Washington Counties. Kolkhorst is responsible for a district spanning over 3,000 square miles and consisting of over 140,000 people. She serves as the Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, which oversees funding for the state’s public schools, community colleges, public universities and health-related institutions.
In recent years, Kolkhorst has served on the House Select Committee on Higher Education, where she worked to foster positive changes in the state’s colleges and universities.Kolkhorst has been a long time education advocate and has been honored by the Texas Retired Teacher Association.
Kolkhorst’s lecture was centered on the characteristics of leaders.
“A leader,” according to Kolkhorst, “is one who leads by example and is trustworthy, loyal, and has a level head.”
The example that she used was if someone were to stop to throw away a piece of trash they saw on the ground, others will see that person and wonder why they were doing such a thing.
“Even though it may seem strange at first, eventually, people will start to follow along,” said Kolkhorst.
Kolkhorst highlighted the importance of setting goals in order to get what one wants out of life. Kolkhorst advised students to write down 10 goals for the next year.
“Statistics show that by the same time next year, you will have achieved 8 out of the 10 goals,” said Kolkhorst.
Students and administrators in attendance were pleasantly surprised by Kolkhorst’s relaxed and inviting demeanor.
“She was so nice and seemed so comfortable around us. You could tell she wanted to help,” said Sabrina Simon, graphic designer for the Cooperative Extension program.
To culminate the event, Kolkhorst was presented with a Prairie View collared shirt by the Department of Agriculture and Human Sciences.